Do you protect your nails from yellowing with a base coat?

You don't have to go to a professional nail salon and spend tons of money to achieve the perfect manicure or pedicure. By following a few simple steps everyone can create a well-groomed, "polished" appearance. These steps begin with a clear base coat, which helps the polish stick to your nail more easily. A base coat also creates a barrier that helps protect your nails from the damaging effects of nail polish. It prevents staining and peeling, and it will give your polished nails a more even texture.

Base coats come in plain and ridge-filler varieties. Ridge-filling base coats are thicker than regular base coats. They fill in any lines, ridges and grooves to give the nails a smoother looking appearance. Many base coats are fortified with substances such as protein, vitamin E or calcium. However, it must be stated at this point that "Anything that dries on your nails will dry them out!", so even with such ingredients and advertising promises to prevent your nails from the certain issues you will experience peeling, splitting and dried out nails with prolonged use of polish.

After the base coat dries (in the case of ASK Nailwear Base Coat - it is designed to remain slightly sticky in order to offer better adhesion of the polish and top coat), apply two - three coats of colored nail polish rather than one, to give the nails a richer look. If you want to skip the colored polish altogether, you can use a base coat on its own to make the nails look shiny, yet natural. Having mentioned applying 2 - 3 coats of polish to achieve a more intense colour, the trend seems to be heading in the direction of slightly thicker, one-coat polishes.

Finish off the manicure or pedicure with a top coat to seal in the polish, make the nails shine and prevent chipping. Some products combine a base and top coat, but they may not work as well as the individual top and base coats. One other tip - every two days re-apply a layer of top coat to refresh your mani or pedi and extend the wear. Anyone with a sensitivity to nail polish should use caution -- base coats have a higher resin content than regular nail polish, and are the cause of many nail polish allergies. Although it may seem like a hassle at the time, base coats will extend the life of your manicure and help you avoid yellowed nails.

Curiosity about differences in base coats got the better of me one day, so I decided to compare the ASK Cosmetics' Nailwear Base Coat to Essie's Fill the Gap!, Ridge Smoothing Base Coat. Here's what I found..... Essie's Fill the Gap - contains 15 ml, applies easily, dries fairly quickly, is not clear, can be used on its own but is rather matte. Upon applying polish, it took a few extra strokes to even it out. Whereas the ASK Base Coat seemed to "grab" the colour (due to its adhesive nature) and even it out more. ASK Nailwear Base Coat - contains 15 ml, applies smoothly, is runny, but still goes on with ease, does not dry quickly and remains sticky to the touch. However, that is exactly the way it was designed. It may not dry as fast as others, but it provides improved adherence of the polish and seems to smooth out the polish as it is applied. Quite unique!