Does nail polish go bad?

trouts mom

trouts mom

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I just went to paint my toenails, and as soon as I brushed the paint onto my toenail, it started to seperate.

I didn't put on alot, like the polish wasn't overdone where it would move around on the toenail..but it literally seperated in front of my eyes!

Any idea?
 
yourbriness763

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I think it does & I don't really have a solid answer as to why, I just know any nail polish I've had longer than a couple years goes on like crap & looks like crap!
 
GoldyCat

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I think it dries out. I got some stuff one time that was supposed to thin old nail polish. It helped some, but it would have cost less just to go buy new polish.
 
ut0pia

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Yes it dries out and when it does it becomes really hard for it to dry on your nails. Usually nail polish is made of paint and acetone. Acetone is in a lot of nail polish removers, it's best to use acetone free but I used to buy an acetone nail polish remover and add a tiny bit to the old nail polishes to make them less dry. It works, but it also makes the color less intense...I wouldn't recommend doing that more than once and if the nail polish is completely dried out, it isn't going to work at all so it has to be a little drier but still good...
Oh and also if you have some brand new nail polish that you haven't used but you've had it for a while- the paint settles to the bottom and the acetone gets on top. For that all you have to do is mix really well and it's just as good.
 
kittybernard

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Do you mean.. like it was 'watery'?
I've had polish that gets that way for some reason.. couldn't say why, but it's annoying as hell.


The only other thing I can think of is if you had any lotion left over on your nails before applying it?
 
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Revlon had (don't know if they still do) a thinner for nail polish. I used to have extremely long nails so had mega bottles of nail polish. They would start to dry up and the thinner would let me use the bottle to the end.

Some folks use nail polish remover to thin their polish and that will ruin your polish. If anyone thinned your polish with that, it could be the reason your polish is separating.

1 bottle of the thinner (same size as a bottle of nail polish) might cost a bit more than you expect to pay but mine lasted for several years and let me use my nail polish up so it is a good investment.

Also, I assume you know that you should never use a metal nail file on your nails.
 
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trouts mom

trouts mom

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Hmmm, I am not sure what happened...but I did not file them, I did not have lotion on them, I put the base coat on yesterday so they weren't wet or anything.

I have no idea why it was seperating. It is pretty thin polish to begin with..but..

Okay, picture what oil does when its poured into water..THAT is what it what doing just seconds after I brushed it onto the nail. So weird eh?
 
natalie_ca

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It doesn't go bad as in getting contaminated with bacteria. But the solvents in it will dry out in time. Do not put nail polish remover in the bottle because it will dull it and the polish won't dry as hard. There are products that you can buy that you can add to the polish to thin it out a bit.

Here are the facts on nail polish.

IMHO they should sell smaller bottles. I've yet to use a full bottle of nail polish before it dries out, even when I painted my finger and toe nails all of the time...I'm talking 2 or 3 times per week!
 
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trouts mom

trouts mom

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

It sounds like the nail polish isn't working with your base coat. Are they the same brand?
Click to expand...
No they are not the same brand....can that really happen?

I am going to try another nail polish tonight on top of this base coat and see what happens. Stay tuned
 
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Originally Posted by yourbriness763

Wait, why? Does it do something to your nails?
Click to expand...
Yes, metal nail files can cause your nails to split and chip. An emery board is much healthier for your nails and also do not file back and forth. File outward only on the sides and gently across the front of the nail.

I assure you I know of what I speak - I had natural nails so long and beautiful when I was younger that most people thought they were false nails. I could easily remove staples with them because they were so strong and healthy. Now I'm old, my hands and nails are dry and I don't take the same care of them as I used to but have promised myself that I am going to start better care.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

Yes it dries out and when it does it becomes really hard for it to dry on your nails. Usually nail polish is made of paint and acetone. Acetone is in a lot of nail polish removers, it's best to use acetone free but I used to buy an acetone nail polish remover and add a tiny bit to the old nail polishes to make them less dry. It works, but it also makes the color less intense...I wouldn't recommend doing that more than once and if the nail polish is completely dried out, it isn't going to work at all so it has to be a little drier but still good...
Oh and also if you have some brand new nail polish that you haven't used but you've had it for a while- the paint settles to the bottom and the acetone gets on top. For that all you have to do is mix really well and it's just as good.
Click to expand...
Thinning nail polish with nail polish remover will ruin your nail polish, it will not dry properly and be sticky. Using the proper thinner is the best way to treat your nail polishes. Some polishes I bought were fairly expensive so I wanted to be able to use them to the end which is possible with the thinner. I believe at the time I bought the thinner it was around $15 CDN for a bottle the same size as a bottle of polish but that one bottle would last me about 2 years and I changed my nail colour every day to match whatever outfit I was wearing the next day. I'm one of those weird folks that always laid out my clothing for the next day the night before.
 
ut0pia

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Thinning nail polish with nail polish remover will ruin your nail polish, it will not dry properly and be sticky. Using the proper thinner is the best way to treat your nail polishes. Some polishes I bought were fairly expensive so I wanted to be able to use them to the end which is possible with the thinner. I believe at the time I bought the thinner it was around $15 CDN for a bottle the same size as a bottle of polish but that one bottle would last me about 2 years and I changed my nail colour every day to match whatever outfit I was wearing the next day. I'm one of those weird folks that always laid out my clothing for the next day the night before.
Click to expand...
I wish I had the patience to do that!
It did eventually ruin the nail polish, but it gave me a few extra applications- it didn't ruin it right away..
I think I will get some thinner now that I know it exists though because I end up throwing away bottles of nail polish that are nearly full when they dry out...I found some thinners online for like $5-10, that's not that much more expensive than the bottle of nail polish itself. It's definitely worth it!
 
swampwitch

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

No they are not the same brand....can that really happen?

I am going to try another nail polish tonight on top of this base coat and see what happens. Stay tuned
Click to expand...
It was just a guess because the same thing happens with paints (if they do not have the same base).


Originally Posted by Yosemite

...I assure you I know of what I speak - I had natural nails so long and beautiful when I was younger that most people thought they were false nails. I could easily remove staples with them because they were so strong and healthy. Now I'm old, my hands and nails are dry and I don't take the same care of them as I used to but have promised myself that I am going to start better care....
Click to expand...
I have nails like that, too, they are very hard and grow long - are more like claws! People thought mine were fake, too. I used to wear polish all the time (didn't change it every day, though) and always made sure my nails and toenails matched, lol! When I had a baby, I accidently scratched her with my long nails so I cut them all off and that's how they've stayed.

Good thing the style now is shorter nails, I can still put polish on them and it looks okay.
 
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