Goodman1

Kate Goodman

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

21 February 2020

How Does Air Temperature Affect the Speed at Which Nail Polish Dries?

98% of the US population uses nail polish and nail products (Statista).Since so many

people paint their nails, they shouldn't waste their time waiting for nail polish to dry. I figured it

would be important to learn about how long it would take. I didn't know if the temperature

changed the way nail polish dried.​ I thought that if nail polish is applied in a cold room and a

hot room, then it will dry faster in the cold room.

What Happens When Nail Polish Dries?

Nail polish is a liquid much like water. The air around your nails makes the polish

evaporate, at the same speed the air around your nails does. When you dry nail polish you are

lowering the vapor pressure. Water makes nail polish dry slower and air helps it to dry faster.

The more aged nail polish is, it will take longer to dry. Putting your nails in a bowl of ice water

helps lower the temperature of your nail polish. Nail polish contains four things solvents,

polymers, pigments and plasticizers (More).

Why Do People Put Their Nail Polish Under a Light at the Nail Salon?

Gel manicures use UV and LED lights. Gel has a photo initiator that decays when it is in

the light. The light produces a little warm temperature to set the gel nail polish. A few nail

polishes can be dried by incandescent light bulbs but those don’t work for gel polish. The
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dissolved molecules have an unpaired valence electron that starts the curing process which is

helped by the light. A trick is, after you paint your nails the next time, stick them in the freezer to

dry faster (More).

Why Do Some Nail Polishes Dry Quicker Than Others?

There is a such thing as quick dry nail polish. It has more solvets than regular nail

polish.The quick dry nail polish makes the coat weaker. There are specific fast drying brands

such as Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. You can also add a drying agent to regular nail polish to make it

dry faster. Copolymer is added to nail polish to make a coat dry faster. Additionally glitter or

sparkle polish dries faster (Helmenstine) (Which).

How Do You Measure the Speed Nail Polish Dries?

It can take nail polish up to two hours to fully dry. To see if your nail polish is dry tap

you pinkies together. ​If your nails are wet when you test them, the nail polish will dent.​ ​Use a

small fan to help dry nail polish quicker. If the paint looks dull, it's dry.​ Usually after fifteen

minutes your nail polish has dried and you can get back to doing normal things (Miley) (Strong)

(How).

Does Smelling Nail Polish Kill Brain Cells?

Nail polish contains the chemicals of organic solvents and methacrylates​.​ ​In a study

comparing nail technicians to a control group, “people who were not exposed to nail polish”, the

technicians were found to have worse attention and brain processing speed. The nail technicians

sense of smell was much worse than the control group. Nail polish fumes can make your brain

work more slowly and your thoughts not as clear. Avoid smelling fumes on purpose.The

negative effects of nail polish fumes may be temporary; we don't know (Brains).
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How Does Nail Polish Affect Your Nails?

The solvents in polish remover can really dry out your nails and cuticles. Red nail

polishes cause the most yellow coloring on your nails. When nail polish stays on for too

long on your nails it causes white patches called keratin granulation. Gel manicures cause

nail thinning. If you use nail remover frequently it can make an uneven surface on your

nails and cause breaking. Formulas have been created with resins. This is now a more

healthier alternative for nail polish (Takken).

Conclusion

I thought that if nail polish is applied in a cold room and a hot room, then it will dry

​ n average it took
faster in the cold room, and I found out that the environment did not matter. O

10.8 minutes for the nail polish to dry in both the sauna and the cold room. This surprises me

because while I was doing the experiment I thought the sauna dried my nails faster. Before my

experiment though I thought that the cold room would cool it in a faster speed. The math proves

that the surrounding air temperature does not affect the nail polish.
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Works Cited

Brains, The Beauty. “Is It Bad to Inhale Nail Polish Fumes?” ​Test Two Header Image​,

thebeautybrains.com/2007/03/is-it-bad-to-inhale-nail-polish-fumes/.

Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “How Quick-Dry Nail Polish Works.” ​ThoughtCo​, ThoughtCo, 3

Sept. 2019, ​www.thoughtco.com/how-quick-dry-nail-polish-works-607708​.

“How to Know When Nail Polish is Dry.” ​o.e.l Our Everyday Life,​ 28 September 2017,

https://oureverydaylife.com/how-to-know-when-nail-polish-is-dry-12111635.html​.

Miley, Michelle. “How to Check to See If Nail Polish Is Dry.” ​Synonym,​ 31 Mar. 2017,

classroom.synonym.com/check-see-nail-polish-dry-11201.html.ck-if-your-nail-polish-is-

dry.

More Interesting than Watching Nail Polish Dry.” ​More Interesting than Watching Nail Polish

Dry​, American Physical Society, 1 July 2014,

physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2014/07/more-interesting-than-watching-nail.html.

“Statista Research Department. “U.S.: Usage of Nail Polish and Nail Care Products 2019.”

Statista,​ 20 Aug. 2019,

www.statista.com/statistics/276463/us-households-usage-of-nail-polish-and-nail-care-pro

ducts/​.

Strong, Rebbeca. “Easy Way to Check if Your Nail Polish is Dry.” ​The Beauty Bridge

Connoisseur, ​29 October 2010,

https://blog.beautybridge.com/beauty/easy-way-to-check-if-your-nail-polish-is-dry​.

Takken, Amy.’ 15 Steps to Beautiful, Healthy Nails!” Masterpiece Skin Restoration, 21 January
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2020, https//masterpieceskinrestoration.com/blog/nail-polish-affects-nails/.

“Which Nail Polish Dries The Fastest?” ​Into The Gloss,​ 12 Feb. 2016,

intothegloss.com/beauty-advice/which-nail-polish-dries-the-fastest/.