The importance and difference between nail polish base and top coats.
The Base
What is a Base Coat? You can think of a base coat as the nails’ double-sided sticky tape. It sticks to the natural nail coating it with ingredients that may help strengthen and help nails grow, while the other side acts as a “receiver” for the formula of the nail polish you will apply ontop. This ensures a tight bond between the nail and the colour you will be applying.
Why use a Base Coat? Base coats are most commonly used to prevent the colour pigmentation in nail lacquers from staining your natural nail. Those dreaded reds, dark blues and blacks that are constantly staining your nails can now be worn every day as long as you apply a base coat to act as a barrier between your nail and the nail polish. Base coats are also there to help your nail polish last longer. As seen in the description above, a base coat can help ‘stick’ your colour onto your nail using the double-sided sticky tape properties.
My current Base Coats – I was using Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails Base Coat most of last year, but unfortunately it started turning into a thicker, gooey, consistency and took forever to dry. I then turned to a nail build/Base Coat combo from Tip Top’s Miraculous Results range. I am currently alternating between the nail build by Tip Top, Sally Hansen’s Salon Manicure Base Coat and O.P.I’s Start To Finish Base and Top Coat.
The Top
What is a Top Coat? A top coat is a clear layer of nail polish that is applied over dried coloured nail polish to create a barrier surface to prevent chipping and provide a high-gloss shine. It also dries in a short amount of time.
Why use a Top Coat? Top coats are there to make sure your pretty mani stays, pretty. If you apply a top coat on top of your nail lacquer/polish then you should notice that chipping will be less and your mani will last a few days longer. Top coats are also there to give your mani a high gloss shine to catch people’s attention and make an impression.
My Current Top Coats – My favourite top coat at the moment is O.P.I. ’s Start to Finish Base and Top Coat.
To ensure you have a complete manicure that will last up to 7 days, I suggest investing in a good base and top coat to help your regular nail polish stick to your nail and give the colour an extra boost of shine and durability.
Article by: Claire Mitchell http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/miss-claira-bella