Base Coats: Help Or Hype?

Base coats are an essential step in creating a long-lasting manicure. They act as a foundation for nail polish, providing a smooth and even surface for the colour to stick to. Base coats also act as a barrier between the nail and the coloured polish, preventing damage and staining while improving the health of your nails. Additionally, they can help to fill in cracks and ridges, creating a smoother appearance. While not strictly necessary, base coats play a crucial role in achieving a fantastic, long-wearing manicure.

Base coats make your manicure last longer

Base coats are essential for a long-lasting manicure. They act as a foundation for your nail polish, providing a smooth and even surface for the colour to stick to. This helps your manicure stay chip-free for longer.

Base coats contain an extra boost of cellulose chemicals, which give them a sticky texture. This texture allows the base coat to adhere to the nail and the nail polish to adhere to it, creating a flexible bond that moves with the natural bending of your nails. Without this sticky layer, your nail polish is more likely to chip.

Base coats also act as a protective barrier for your nails. They prevent nail polish from staining your nails, which can happen when the pigments in the polish react with the chemicals in your nail plate, leaving a yellow tinge. A base coat forms a clear protective layer that guards your nail plate from these chemicals.

Ridge-filling base coats are thicker and designed to fill in any lines, ridges, or grooves in your nails, creating a smoother surface for your nail polish. Many base coats are also fortified with substances like protein, vitamin E, or calcium, which improve nail health and prevent breakage, splitting, and peeling.

By applying a base coat, you not only improve the longevity of your manicure but also enhance the health and natural colour of your nails.

They prevent nail staining

Base coats act as a protective barrier between your nail and the coloured polish. This barrier prevents pigments from polish leaching into the nail plate and causing discolouration, especially if you're using a dark-coloured polish.

As Dr Heidi Waldorf, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, explains:

> [Base coats] stick to the nail below and the polish above to prolong the manicure, and allow for enough flexibility to move with the nail as it bends. Without this sticky, elastic surface for the pigment to adhere to, your manicure would chip a lot faster.

Base coats also help to prevent nail discolouration by evening out the nail's surface and filling in any ridges or imperfections.

If you're using a dark-coloured polish, it's especially important to use a base coat. As celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi, editorial manicurist and creator of JINsoon Nail Lacquer Line, explains:

> Neons aren't dark, but because of the fluorescent dyes, they stain more than regular nail polish.

If you're in a pinch and need to skip the base coat, avoid dark colours and go with natural shades, from sheers to pastels, that are less likely to stain your nails.

They can be nourishing and moisturising

Base coats can be nourishing and moisturising, and they can be a great treatment for your nails.

Base coats can be a great way to improve the health of your nails. They can be packed with ingredients to address a number of nail issues, such as dryness. If you have dry nails, opt for a moisturising base coat to keep your nails in tip-top shape.

Some base coats contain vitamins C and E, which help dehydrated nails. For example, the Deborah Lippmann CC Base Coat promises to hydrate, strengthen, and prime your nail beds.

Base coats can also help prevent nail breakage. For example, the Probelle Hydrating Base Coat for Dry and Brittle Nails contains three proteins to prevent breakage and improve the texture and flexibility of nails.

Base coats can also fill in any cracks on your nails, making them smoother and providing an even base for nail painting. Ridge-filling base coats are thicker than regular base coats and fill in any lines, ridges, and grooves to give your nails a smoother appearance.

Overall, base coats can be a great way to improve the health and appearance of your nails, providing nourishment and moisture to keep them looking and feeling their best.

They smooth out ridges and imperfections

Ridge-filling base coats are thicker than regular base coats and are designed to fill in any lines, ridges, and grooves to give your nails a smoother appearance. They are formulated to address a number of nail issues and are especially useful for those with uneven nail surfaces.

Base coats can conceal imperfections and reveal naturally beautiful-looking nails. They are also useful for older people whose nails have thickened and become ridged, as well as for those with dry, flaking nails. Base coats can also help prevent moisture loss and provide protection from the cold and dry winter months.

Some base coats contain ceramide, which hydrates and prevents moisture loss. Others may contain biotin, calcium, and vitamins B, C, and E to strengthen the nail.

Overall, ridge-filling base coats are an effective way to smooth out nail ridges and imperfections, providing a sleek and even surface for nail polish application.

They prevent chipping and peeling

Base coats are essential to preventing nail polish from chipping and peeling. They act as a protective layer, creating a barrier between the nail and the coloured polish. This barrier prevents damage and staining, while also ensuring better adhesion of the polish to the nail.

Base coats are formulated to adhere to the nail plate and hold on to the polish. They contain an extra boost of cellulose chemicals to give them "stick", as well as plasticizers to make them flexible. This flexibility allows the base coat to move with the nail as it bends, preventing chipping.

Ridge-filling base coats are thicker than regular base coats and fill in any lines, ridges, and grooves to create a smoother surface for the nail polish to adhere to. This helps to further prevent chipping and peeling.

Additionally, some base coats are fortified with substances such as protein, vitamin E, or calcium, which help to improve nail health and prevent breaking, splitting, and peeling.

Frequently asked questions