NSInail systems international

Acrylics (liquid and powder products) are the most sophisticated, high-tech products used in the entire beauty industry.

HISTORY

Nail enhancements have been around since the mid to late 50’s when the very first experiments used dental products to form an artificial nail.  The products at the time were crude and inconsistent, because science and technology were not nearly as advanced as it is today.  NSI, and specifically the Slack family and their chemical team, have been true pioneers that innovated many products and techniques used by other companies today.  That pursuit of cutting-edge ideas and perfection has kept NSI at the forefront of the most advanced nail products on the market. 

Acrylics (liquid and powder products) are the most sophisticated, high-tech products used in the entire beauty industry.  In fact, this is true of artificial nail products as a whole.  Methacrylates, urethane acrylates, and cyanoacrylates are used in life saving medical devices, computers, commercial jets, and even in space shuttles.

Cyanoacrylates	Methacrylates	Urethane Acrylates
Wraps	Monomer and Polymer (Odorless and Traditional)	UV Gels
No-Light Gels	UV Gels
Tip Adhesives (Glue)

ACCELERATORS, INITIATORS, CATALYSTS and ENERGY are needed by all artificial nail enhancement products.   If one is missing or compounded improperly, chemical reactions will happen much more slowly or not at all.

POLYMER POWDERS: ATTRACTION, CLASSIC AND SPEED

Polymer powder particles, otherwise known as “beads”, act as carriers for other ingredients. Several of the ingredients needed to make nail enhancements are embedded inside each powder bead as well as coating the outside.

The polymer also carries a heat sensitive catalyst.  Remember that  when liquid and powder are combined, they create their own heat which is the energy needed to start the chain reaction.  Gels require UV light as their energy source.

The catalyst is called benzoyl peroxide, or BPO.  Heat from the accelerator/promoter in the monomer provides enough energy to break the BPO molecule in half.  This occurs when the BPO is mixed with the proper “starter”, “promoter”, or “accelerator” found in the liquid.  When the initiator breaks in half, it gives birth to a free radical.  Free radicals get excited and start a chemical reaction.  Once it passes energy to the monomer, the free radical dies and is eliminated.  Each half of the BPO has enough energy to excite a monomer.  The energized monomer attaches to another monomer’s tail and passes the energy onto it so it can do the same; and so the molecular chain reaction begins.  This cycle repeats itself billions of times, reaching very long polymer chains.

Each liquid is formulated with its own percentage of DMT (Accelerator / Promoter / Activator) to match the percentage of Catalyst (BPO / Benzoyl Peroxide) which is dispersed onto the polymers. If the ratios of DMT and BPO are not correct then slower or faster polymerization can occur. Product that sets too fast results in polymerization shrinkage, which causes lifting. On the other side, product that sets too slowly because of improper formulation does not completely polymerize before the tech starts to file. This can cause microscopic pulling of the unset product.

MMA liquid un-polymerized monomer is what the FDA does not allow.  MMA monomer has been restricted for use in the nail industry since the mid 1970’s.  There has been much controversy over this topic.  The MMA in polymer is completely hard polymerized solid plastic and has no free MMA monomer in its polymer bead; therefore it is not restricted.  Please see the information from the Nail Manufacturers Council for more information.

Homo-polymers are the same single chemical polymers and have been around for many, many years.  They do not offer a wide range of properties and are not as versatile as co-polymers.  Toughness is a combination of strength and flexibility, which is achieved by using a combination of copolymers with the tri-monomer.  NSI has created “designer blends” of polymers customized to perform specific functions.

MONOMER LIQUIDS: ATTRACTION

The monomer liquid system is the backbone and most important part of the nail enhancement.  There are many types of monomers.  NSI uses a complex combination of monomers containing several types of cross linkers and many special additives.  Technology is extremely advanced to give the enhancements toughness, great adhesion, color stability, exceptional workability and much more.

NSI uses an advanced blend (a special recipe) of tri-monomers to create the most advanced monomer on the market today.

• Ethyl Methacrylate or EMA is commonly used throughout our industry.  EMA is excellent for adhesion, making it necessary for client retention and new referral business.  Enhancement lifting is the number one problem plaguing nail professionals today.  Proper nail preparation is the key to promoting and getting the product off on the right foot.  EMA alone or cannot cross link; it only makes straight polymer chains, so additional monomers need to blend with it.
• Hydroxy Ethyl Methacrylate or HEMA is another great adhesion promoter used in Attraction Nail Liquid.
• Triethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate or TEDGMA monomer is for reinforced cross- linking and makes the enhancement resistant to solvents.