Nail Polish 101.

It's unknown how many women in the world regularly apply nail varnish, but we'd say it's a pretty safe bet to predict that more than half of us ladies across the globe enjoy a coloured set of nails once in a while!

With that, here's some quick facts on the iconic hand paint so many of us cherish:

1. Coloured nail polishes were launched in the 1920s by cosmetics powerhouse, Revlon. 

2. Nail polish is made of nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent, to which various pigments are added. Some of the other ingredients include methacrylate and vinyl polymers, formaldehyde, camphor, acetone, ketone, toluene and other suspending agents.

3. Believe it or not, the chemical composition of nail polishes is close to that of car paints, which constantly raises questions on safety and the environment. Nevertheless, these issues don't appear to have affected what is a global market of nail painting lovers.

Right. Now that you have some background, here's some useful tips on making sure your manicure experience is up to par. At The Mobile Spa, we maintain the finest in beauty services, hygiene and care, and we'd like to help you do the same!

• To preserve nail polish for longer periods of time, keep it in the fridge. Also, avoid leaving the bottle loosely open. This not only results in dried up lumpy liquid, but it can also unnecessarily expose you to the strong fumes. In any case, always go for good quality nail polish. This genuinely makes a difference, both in chemical content and number of coats required. The Mobile Spa chooses essie for all its manicure/pedicure delights. Safer, better, with lots of colour variety!
  
  
• Should the strong smell of nail polish make you a little dizzy, go outside and apply it there. Better still, book an appointment with The Mobile Spa, and you can have your nails pampered outside of the stuffy salon atmosphere, and absolutely wherever you like!
  
  
• The best method in nail polish application is the following: base coat, followed by two layers of nail polish and finally, a top coat. Each layer should be thin and applied in three strokes. A top coat can be applied daily (if the layers under it are intact, of course) and this way you can prolong the life of your perfectly painted nails.
  
  
• If you want to minimize chipping, “wrap” the polish i.e. paint a little across the edge and under the nail tip.
  
  
  
  
  
  And remember, this season, dark is the new light!