Patricia’s puzzled about polish: Does nail polish go bad or can it become contaminated? For example, you paint your nails once or twice and then don’t use it for a couple of years because you misplaced it, is it still safe!

The Right Brain nails the right answer:

If you’re looking for an excuse to splurge on a new bottle of OPI, we could tell you that you have to throw your old nail polish away after 6 months because it’ll spoil like a bottle milk on a hot summer day. But if you want to know the truth, we have to tell you that nail polish doesn’t really go bad.

Bacteria

Unlike water based cosmetics which are breeding grounds for bacteria, nail polish is pretty much self-preserving because of all the solvents it contains. (Not much grows in a ethyl acetate cocktail!) Just look at the major ingredients in an OPI nail polish: Butyl Acetate, Toluene, Nitrocellulose, Ethyl Acetate, Tosylamide/Formaldehyde Resin, Dibutyl Phthalate, and Isopropyl Alcohol. Nothing’s gonna grow in THAT chemical cocktail. You could say that nail polish is preservative free!

Dry Solvent evaporation

Of course just because it won’t grow bacteria doesn’t mean it can’t dry out. If you didn’t screw the cap on nice and tight before you lost the bottle two years ago, you can pretty much kiss your polish goodbye. Because those same solvents that won’t grow bugs will do something else: evaporate! And once nail polish dries out there’s not much that can be done to save it.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

While your polish may dry out quickly if you leave the cap off, you don’t have much to fear in terms of it spoiling because of old age. In fact, scientists predict that Hostess Twinkies and OPI nail polish will be the only things to survive a nuclear explosion. Oh wait a minute, that’s cockroaches. Well, never mind, you get the idea. And if you’re wondering about your other beauty products you might want to read our previous post on 4 Ways To Tell If Your Cosmetic Has Expired.

PS If you’re losing bottles of nail polish for years at a time, it sounds like you need a good makeup case!

What do YOU think? What’s the longest you’ve ever held on to a bottle of nail polish? Leave a comment and share your tawdry secrets with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Natasha needs to know: My principal banned black nail polish because he said it ruins your nails. So my question is does black nail polish really ruin your nails?

Sarah Bellum responds:
Natasha, I’m sorry to hear about your problem at school. The Beauty Brains would never question the authority of your principal, but what about the science behind his decision? That’s another story!

Yellow nails

It’s true that wearing dark shades of nail polish can stain your nails yellow. (Been there, done that!) That’s because there’s a reaction between the colorant and your nails. (The Left and Right Brains blogged about this before – go read their post on yellow nails.) But even if you do stain your nails, they’ll return to their normal color when they grow out. Other than the staining issue, I’m not aware of any other problems caused by black nail polish. Also, I believe that other dark colors can cause staining, so it’s not just about black.

Fashion sense or science?

Here’s what I don’t get: if the Principal is so concerned about nail health, why not ban all dark nail colors? Heck, why not ban acrylic nails? They can create problems too! Or, tell students they can’t get pedicures because they can cause infections. Why stop at black nails if health is really the issue here? Could it be that there’s another reason for the his decision? Could this be more related to school dress code than science? Hmmmmm. This makes me wonder how your Principal would look wearing OPI Black Onyx. But seriously, write back and tell us if you learn anything else from your Principal. We’ll present his side of the story too.

Has anyone ever got in trouble at school or work for using a certain kind of beauty product? Leave a comment about your larcenous behavior!

Kay’s curious: What are the dangers of using acrylic and tips?

The Left Brain responds:
The good news is, overall, it’s pretty uncommon for acrylic nails to cause significant health problems. Of course, that’s assuming that the technicians are careful and have properly sterilized their instruments. Nonetheless, there’s still cause for concern. From Dermatology Times, here are four dangers of acrylic nails:

1. Nasty nail abuse

Mistreating your artificial nails can have serious consequences. It’s particularly bad to make the mistake of using your nails as a tool. According to Zoe Draelos, M.D., a High Point, N.C., dermatologist “Some of those nail sculptures are so rigid that a lot of people will use them, for instance, to clean things or as some type of screwdriver. The problem, says Dr Draelos, is that “the bond between the artificial nail and the real nail is stronger than the bond between the real nail and the nail bed, so it rips the nail from the nail bed, and that creates a space for which infection can occur.”

2. Chemical calamity

Chemical allergens used in acrylic nails and nail polishes can also cause problems. The top offenders: formaldehyde (which is used to crosslink polymers), methyl methacrylate (the resin that make up the bulk of the nail); and the tiny metal balls in the bottom of your bottle of nail polish. (That’s because the balls can contain traces of nickel, a known allergen.

3. Cursed UV cure

Gel-sculptured nails (the kind that requires curing with a UV light) can be problematic for people who are on photosensitizing medications. Dr. Draelos warns that “if a customer is taking something like tetracycline, which can sensitize them to light, there could potentially be a phototoxic reaction in the nail bed if the sculptured nails are cured under a bright light.”

4. Perilous polish removal

Nail polish removers can be damaging to (real and artificial!) because of their drying effect. Once the nail is dried out it can easily peel and crack. Dr. Draelos recommends using nail polish remover only every other week – which means you should do a good job of applying polish so it lasts.

Source: Dermatology Times

What do you think? Are fake nails worth tempting fate? Leave a comment and share your worst nail nightmare.

Jennifer’s Jittery: My nail salon uses a UV nail polish dryer. Should I be worried about age spots on the top of my hands and feet from the UV light?

The Right Brain enlightens her:

We looked into UV dryers and found that the wavelength of the light they produce IS the same type that causes photo-aging and skin cancer. (That’s the UVA range from about 320 nm to 400 nm for those of you keeping score at home.)

Nail dryers won’t cause sunburn

Fortunately, the danger seems pretty slight because drying lamps have a very low power output, only around 10 watts. Compare that to the power of a full sized tanning bed that can put out up to 2400 watts! So your fingers probably aren’t in much danger. Still, if you’re concerned you could apply some sunblock before using the lamp.

(Are any of you nail salon owners out there listening? That would be a great way to plus up your service for your customers. Offer them a little sunscreen to moisturize and protect the skin of their fingers while the nail lamp is doing its drying duty.)

But they can still be dangerous

So is there ANY danger associated with using UV drying lamps? Yes, in fact, you might be in danger of getting ripped off!
That’s because UV light only works on special, more expensive, topcoats that contain a certain type of acrylic polymer that is cross linked by the light. Some salons try to save money by using a regular top coat before using the drying lamp. The UV light won’t do anything to make that kind of polish dry faster. So whether you use OPI, Sally Hansen, or any other brand, it makes sense to ask what top coat the nail technician is using so you can make sure you’re getting what you pay for!

Kelly and Dixiemedic have the same problem: Kelly has acrylic nails and every time she applies Coppertone Waterbabies sunscreen to her daughters, it ruins her manicure. Dixie says sunscreen makes her nails all sticky but she`s not sure if it`s the topcoat or the nail itself that`s messed up. They both want a sunscreen that won`t mess with their nails. The Right Brain tries to help:

Are Sunscreens Bad for Nail Polish?

We`re surprised more people haven`t asked about this; in fact, we`re surprised this isn`t all over the internet! Why? Because it`s TRUE that sunscreens can soften or dissolve acrylic nails or nail polish. As we`ve said before, sunscreen ingredients can be tough to dissolve (by the way, if you haven`t read our post on 3 Ways to Tell if Your Sunscreen is Bad, this might be a good time to do so).

Anyway, it just so happens that some of the ingredients used to dissolve the sunscreen agents also dissolve the kinds of acrylic chemicals used in nail polishes and fake nails. In fact, some of these dissolving agents (or emulsifiers, as we chemists like to refer to them) are used in acetone free nail polish removers!

For example, if you look at Cutex`s Acetone Free polish remover, you`ll see that it contains dimethyl adipate which is very similar to “dibutyl adipate,” a common emulslifier used in sunscreens. So it’s not surprising that you’re seeing a problem with your sunscreen making your nail polish sticky! And, this problem is only likely to get worse because as new high SPF, broad spectrum sunscreens become increasingly popular, cosmetic formulators will have to add more dissolving agents to the product to keep the active ingredients dispersed.

Unfortunately, we can’t just tell you which sunscreens will cause the problem and which won’t. We’d have to test each sunscreen with each type of nail polish before we’d know for sure. That’s not very practical for us do to, but we can give you a tip for testing your favorite products:

How To Tell if Your Sunscreen Will Ruin Your Manicure

Smear a little of your favorite nail polish on a piece of glass (you can use an empty nail polish bottle or even a old compact mirror. Then, take that with you when you`re shopping for a sunscreen. Squeeze a little of the sunscreen product onto your polish smear and see if it softens the film. That should be a pretty good predictor if it will be ok when you actually apply it with your manicured fingers.

Kelly, try this experiment with your Waterbabies product and see if it helps! Let us know how it works out. And as always, thanks for being part of the Beauty Brains community!

A pedicure can hideously disfigure your legs.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but pedicures can be dangerous, at least according to one dermatologist`s report.

The report describes a case in which 110 women developed persistent red boils on their legs after having their toe nails done in a nail salon. It turns out that the infected sore were caused by a skin disease called mycobacterial furunuculosis. Further investigation showed that the whirlpool baths the women used were contaminated with Mycobacterium fortuitum, the bacteria that cause this condition.

Two factors made the situation even worse: First, their salon used the throne type footbaths that are mounted to the chair (as opposed to the plain foot baths that can be picked up and washed in a sink.) These throne type baths are more likely to be contaminated because they`re harder to clean. Second, 70% of the women who contracted the disease had shaved their legs prior to their treatment which left them even more vulnerable to attack by the bacteria.

While this condition is treatable with antibiotics, the infection can be tough to get rid of and it can leave the legs seriously scarred. So, to make sure you`re safe out there, here are the Beauty Brains’ tips on how to protect yourself during a pedicure:

1.) Get off the throne
The common denominator in these cases was the throne type footbath. So get off the “throne” and use a plain footbath that is thoroughly washed and disinfected between uses.

2.) Wait until after your pedicure to shave
Since shaving your legs can open up tiny cuts in the skin through which bacteria can enter, you`re much safter if you shave AFTER your pedicure. Remember, shaving was a risk factor for infection in 70% of the patients.

3.) Don’t be promiscous with your choice of salon

The salon in this study had 110 customers who became infected. Knowing the people who run the salon and knowing others who use their services will increase your chances of being tipped off to a problem before you`re the next victim. If you consistently use the same salon you’ll be better off in the long run.

The Brains Bottom Line:

Sure your nails look good with a coat of Orly or OPI. But your legs DON’T look good covered in oozing red sores. So use some salon smarts and protect yourself from pedicure panic.

Webmaster Wants To Know: I’ve stopped biting my nails and now I’m trying to grow them out. However, after they reach a certain length they would start to break. I’ve been using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, but to no avail! Therefore, my question are: Are the ingredients in Sally Hansen more harmful than helpful to growing my nails and possible health? Are there any nail products that you could recommend that could promote stronger nails?

The Right Brain responds:

The idea that nail hardeners can help your nails grow longer is a myth; but here are four things you CAN do to help your nails:

1. Avoid nail polishes containing formaldehyde.

This chemical can cross link the keratin protein in your nails. While it does make the nails harder, it also makes them so stiff that they become brittle so they actually break MORE easily.

2. Dont bother with gelatin.

Many products claim that gelatin strengthens nails because it is made from protein, but there is no scientific evidence that gelatin has any benefit to nails.

3. Limit your use of polish removers.

These products contain alcohol and other solvents that dry nails out, making them more prone to breakage.

4. Use a good hand cream or cuticle cream.

Daily exposure to detergents and harsh chemicals dries out your nails and makes them break more easily. By moisturizing them often you can prevent loss of moisture and reduce the chance of breakage. Lotions with petrolatum or mineral oil are the best. You might try the Terra Naturals Nail Strengthener.

Source: American Academy of Dermatologists, 10/06