According to the company, the new method will allow manufacturers to develop products that meet consumer demand for smudge-free, fast drying nail polish.
“Many brands claim fast drying times yet manicure smudging is still a common complaint from consumers, and the drying time of nail polishes containing fewer volatile solvents can be difficult to accelerate,” the company explains.
“The rig offers manufacturers the opportunity to use objective, reliable data to both inform product development and confidently back up fast drying claims.”
What’s the industry impact?
The innovation comes at a time when the nail care segment is looking to court consumers with increasingly diverse product claims.
According to Mintel, along with staple demands like smudge free application, elements such as anti-pollution, anti-ageing and sun protection are now being demanded by consumers. Being able to offer high functioning products alongside diverse claims is likely to become crucial.
Katie Plummer, applications specialist at Stable Micro Systems, says: “The nail industry is a rapidly changing and growing market, meaning manufacturers need reliable ways of quantifying the properties of new products to ensure maximum consumer appeal.
“We have developed the Nail Polish Adhesion Rig to assist manufacturers in delivering the perfect products to their customers.”
How does it work?
Here’s how the company explains the process:
- During the nail polish drying time test, a 20cm channel is filled with polish to a depth of 0.5mm, representative of a typical coat of nail polish on a fingernail, and wiped level using a glass rod.
- The channel is seated on top of the Adhesive Indexing System that has ten indents, meaning ten test sites are available.
- A one-inch ball probe is used to perform an adhesive test, applying a specific force for five seconds to allow a bond to form.
- The probe is then quickly withdrawn, breaking the bond, and the force needed is measured.
- The test is then repeated nine more times with pre-set time delays across the whole drying period of the polish.
- The unique ball probe, a Community Registered design, has been designed to be rotated, whilst mounted, to the next available clean test surface providing efficiency and repeatability by avoiding the need to clean and dry between the ten tests.
The adhesion tests series is automated by a unique test sequence developed in Exponent software, Stable Micro Systems says.
The user is able to customise parameters, such as the delay between tests, the number of repeats, applied force or holding time, to suit individual needs. By measuring the force needed to withdraw the probe, the adhesiveness of the polish can be determined.
As well as testing nail polish, the rig can be used to assess the curing of liquid adhesives, such as false nail glue, or alternative liquids which undergo curing.