QuestionHello! Lately I have had trouble with my manicures. Almost every time I paint nails, air bubbles are evident in the nail lacquer. I buff and polish the nails with the OPI smoother file, then apply EZ BOND to each nail, then a base coat, 2 thin color coats, and a top coat at the end, all from OPI. How can I avoid the air bubbles???
thanks so much for your help
Diana
AnswerHave you already tried not shaking your polish bottles? I used to roll my eyes at this advice, but it really is true. Shaking polish bottles instead of rolling them results in tiny-- sometimes microscopic-- air bubbles getting dispersed throughout the polish. When you apply a coat of polish, those tiny bubbles rise to the surface of the polish layer. Since the polish is in the process of drying, it starts thickening and not all the bubbles can escape before they are trapped near the surface. Like the air bubbles in a pumice stone-- if you've ever taken a geology class and had to learn how pumice is created.
Other culprits are so-called fast dry agents that are essentially just oil. The oil doesn't really dry the polish any faster, but it creates a slick layer over the polish so that if a client should accidently bump a nail just lightly, it's more likely to slide over the oil than catch the polish and dent or smudge it. Unfortunately, the oil can seal in the solvents that need to evaporate in order for the polish to "cure" properly. Which can leave tiny bubbles or pitting in the polish.
Which OPI topcoat are you using? I know they make several. It's possible that a fast drying top coat might be drying faster than the polish underneath it, causing a similar problem as I described with the fast dry oils. You can try contacting OPI tech support online at http://mail.opi.com/HelpDesk/HelpDesk.nsf/WTSF?OpenForm to see if they can offer product specific help and suggestions.
