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How to measure and analyse the texture of food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and adhesives.

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Texture Analysis in the Nailcare Industry: 3: Mechanical properties of dry polish

A manicure is subject to a lot of abuse as the wearer goes about their daily life (opening jars, cooking, typing on a keyboard). 

For repeat purchase of a nail polish, it must be able to stand up to this type of use. As well as the adhesion properties mentioned above, the stiffness and toughness of a polish are all extremely important. 


An overly stiff, brittle polish would be undesirable as it would break when a nail is bent when opening a soda can, for example. The low stiffness is important for the polish to follow the nail as it bends. A high strain to failure is also crucial, or the polish film would break under the slightest deformation.