Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Nail Polish! - Part 2

Welcome to the second half of my summer nail polish surprise!  In my prior post I mentioned that I happened upon a shop called Life on a Sandbar in Nags Head, North Carolina while on a family vacation.   Once there, I saw a sign for a Del Sol Nail Polish.  I was familiar with Del Sol color changing T-shirts, since I purchased one once at a shop in Virginia Beach several years ago.  I didn't realize that  Del Sol offered nail polishes now, so I had to check them out. 

For those who missed my last blog and to those who are unaware, Del Sol makes t-shirts and now nail polishes that change color in the sunlight.  The colors in the products use a technology that was developed by NASA called SpectraChrome.  To explain it simply, SpectraChrome acts like a flower in sunlight, opening when it hits the suns rays to reveal the inner color.  With the nail polishes, it seems that you can have almost any color on the outside and then when the sun hits the SpectraChrome molecule, it opens to reveal it's inner color.  Nina, the manager at  Life on a Sandbar was extremely helpful in finding four polishes for me that had some extreme color changes in the nail polishes.  The second two I want to show you today are Electrik and Glitz & Glam.

I really liked Electrik, and so did some of my clients, because of it's frosted teal blue.  Again, the frosted color went on pretty smoothly, as frosts go, and the color was a gorgeous shade of teal blue.  

While you can't see it so well from these photos, Electrik goes from a teal blue to a Mint Green in full sun.  Check out the next photo to really see the difference.

Again, since I am such a "green girl" I just loved this one.

The next color I want to share with you is a glitter polish called "Glitz & Glam".  It is such a pretty medium iced blue that turns glittery purple in the sunlight.

Even better is a pic of Glitz & Glam in full sunlight!

I have some "die-hard" purple fans amongst my clientele (they know who they are) and I thought they were going to fall off their chair when they saw this color in the sunlight!

I would like to thank the folks at  Life on a Sandbar for introducing me to these fun nail polishes!  And if you wanted to see more of these colors, this is not my last blog on Del Sol color changing nail polish collections.  There are more on their way, complements of the Del Sol shop in beautiful Sedona, AZ.  

If you missed the first blog, check out "Fun in the Sun - Color Changing Nail Polish! - Part 1"  

Don't forget to enter our Del Sol Nail Polish Contest!

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Stay tuned for more Del Sol Nail Polish colors to come!

Is It Dangerous? The Truth About UV Gel Polish and UV Gel Lamps

This is concerning UV gel manicures as they have been discussed a lot in the media as to  the level of safety, both in the chemical composition and in the use of a UV lamp to cure the gel polish.  There have been a few articles I've read but I find them full of holes and the informed consumer needs to be able to read between the lines.  It makes me wonder if all of the "research" was paid in part by the nail polish manufacturers that are loosing money due to the popularity of some of the Gel Polish brands.  It's not that some of the polish companies have a bad product, in fact, I'm certain that are many excellent products currently on the market, it's just that some of the reports that I read seem biased.  We'll let you decide for yourself...

Gel Polish Safety

One of the problems that are mentioned are that the gel polishes contain ingredients that are considered hazardous due to reproductive harm or cancer causing ingredients.  Some ingredients in the gel polish brands may be listed in California's Proposition 65 list (this lists the ingredients that may be considered hazardous), I'm certain that the manufacturers have kept the chemicals well below the limits listed.  For those of you who do not know about Proposition 65, it lists chemicals known to be carcinogens and reproductive toxicants.  The list shows numerous ingredients that can be found in almost any product, some of the most recent being tape measures, belts, art kits, footwear, etc, etc, etc.  (You get the idea.)  Any intelligent manufacturer of nail products would be diligent in making certain that any ingredient needed would remain below the recommended "parts per million" as designated by Proposition 65.   Why would they take the risk?  The manufacturers are not stupid enough to have chemicals that could prevent the sale of their product.  

                                           

UV Lamp Exposure

The second concern seems to be the UV exposure while curing the gel polish. The amount of exposure required to cure the gel polish with a UV gel lamp equates to approximately 20 minutes per month which would be much less than it would be to drive your car daily.  According to Nails Magizine ("UV Nail Lamps Are Safe, Say Industry Experts", Nov 2010);

• "UV-B output for both UV nail lamps was less than what was found in natural sunlight...  the amount of UV-B to which client skin is exposed is equal to what they could expect from spending an extra 17 to 26 seconds in sunlight each day of the two weeks between nail salon appointments"
• " UV-A exposure is much lower than suggested in the dermatologists’ report...Test results show that UV-A exposure for client skin is equivalent to spending an extra 1.5 to 2.7 minutes in sunlight each day between salon visits, depending on the type of UV nail lamp used."

For Those Still Concerned by Chemical Ingredients and UV Exposure

For those concerned about chemicals, remember this, everything is a chemical, water is a chemical.   Water is extremely good for the body but too much can kill a person, even drinking too much.  Everything in moderation.  As for the UV exposure, if you are concerned, there are gloves available that inhibit UV exposure to the hands while still leaving the fingertips exposed for curing the gel.  And for those concerned with both... just use regular polish, you can keep it on for up to 10 days with a little effort and knowledge on your part.  For those who don't know how, (and here is my own little marketing plug) get the book "The Secret to Beautiful Natural Nails" by Alicia Lyons. 

Gel Polish – Long Wear Without the Hassle

I’m certain that most of you are unaware there is a trend in the beauty industry to have chip free, 14 day wear, nails have a mirror finish with zero dry time! You heard that right... It's Gel Polish!

Gelish Basix Starter Kit - Find it at Sally Beauty Supply

There are several types of gel polish on the market; Shellac by CND, Gelish by Harmony, Mani-Q by Young Nails, Geleration by Jessica, GelColor by OPI, Gel FX by Orly, LeChat Gel Nail Polish, IBD Just Gel Polish, NSI Polish Pro,  and more. All of them need a UV light to cure the polish. Some require you to "buff" (lightly file the top of the natural nail with a 220-400 grit file). One of my favorite brands is Shellac. Shellac does not require you to buff the nail at all and can be soaked off without filing the top of the natural nail. This minimizes the damage to the natural nail plate. But beware, there are some NSS (Non-Standard Salons) that, even when asked specifically for Shellac, they will give you another brand of Gel Polish. Shellac, like most brands, also requires it’s qualified technicians to use the Shellac brand Base Coat and Top Coat. Shellac comes off easy with a 10 minute soak.

But a word of warning to those that think that they can go longer than the two weeks of wear or those that pick at their polish! Gel polish is so strong that if you do not take it off when it starts to wear at the tips, it will make your nails peel! In some cases, it can be as damaging as artificial nails. But when done correctly, Gel Polish will maintain a strong nail with a chip free, mirror finish!

Shellac made the news in the New York Times in April of 2010 (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/fashion/22Skin.html).
To find a qualified nail technician who offers Shellac brand gel polish, go tohttp://www.cnd.com/Locate/Find-A-Salon.aspx