Ever wonder how nail products ‘dry’ so quickly?! Polymerisation, baby!

It’s a bit like baking a cake! Just as baking powder helps batter rise, acrylates need a special helper called an initiator to work their magic 🧁

In baking, heat activates the baking powder, making the cake fluffy. Similarly, acrylate initiators need energy to get going. Some do absorb heat, like in baking, but others get their energy from UV light 🌞

Once the initiator is energized, it touches a monomer (a single building block of the nail product) and gives it a boost of energy. Now, monomers are pretty chill and don’t like too much excitement, so they quickly try to pass that energy on. This kicks off a chain reaction where monomers start linking together like a game of ‘tag,’ forming long, knotted strings called polymer chains 🔗

These polymer chains grow and grow until there are no more monomers left to link up with, creating a solid, strong surface. That’s when your nail enhancement starts to harden and becomes ready for shaping and filing.

Understanding this process helps nail techs troubleshoot issues – because ratios, lamps, and even the weather can improve or ruin the polymerisation process.

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