Nail disorder is a condition caused injury to the nail or disease or imbalance in the body.
There are several disorder of nail:
1. Leukonychia: This is a white line or spot on the nail plate which may be caused by air, which attract in the nail layer and this condition may be heredity. In this condition, no treatment is required as the spot will grow with nail plate.
2. Kaolonychia: This is a spoon shaped nail as nails are dispersed in the center and raised at the edge of nail like a spoon. Advice: Consult physician.
3. Effect of systematic disease: Sometimes occurrence of specific mark on nails such a transverse furrowing of the nails, a single furrow running across the nail, which indicates the occurring of specific disease. Different specific diseases have specific mark.
4. Brittleness: This is characterized by vertical splitting or separation of nail plate, layers of free edge of nail plate. In most cases nail splitting and vertical ridge are characteristics of natural ageing process. This is due to over exposure in water, chemical solvent such as household cleaning solution.
5. Disorder of fungal or bacterial origin: The fungal and bacterial infection on nail causes diseases like paronychia, nail ringworm and nail lesion produced by syphilis. Paronychia is causes by yeast like fungi in which nail folds becomes red and swollen and mostly occur in women whose hands are constantly in contact with soap, water and detergent. Infection of fungus under free edges of nail and affecting nail bed and nail subsequently leads to ringworm of nail and affected nail becomes rough opaque and brittle.
6. Nail nutrition: Deficiency of Vitamin A, B, D and other substances like aminoacid protein does not cause any abnormalities and other fat substances are also required for a healthy nails.
Nail care preparation:
There is various nail care preparation:
- Nail lacquer
- Cuticle remover
- Nail bleach
- Nail whitener
- Nail cream
1. Nail lacquer:
Nail lacquer is also called nail enamel or nail polish or nail varnish. Composition of nail lacquer:
a. Film former: The most common film former are nitrocellulose nitrate and other film former are cellulose butyrate, ethyl cellulose, methyl acrylate. The best one is nitrocellulose film former because it is resistant in abrasion, low solvent retention, retention capacity, stable, water proof and prevents the discoloration of nail.
b. Resin: They are incorporated in nail lacquers to depth adhesion. It also helps dispersing insoluble pigment. Natural and artificial resin are used. Natural resin are gum damar, benzoic resin, gum elemi and shellac. Most common and widely used natural resin are sulphonamide formaldehyde, paratoulene sulphoaimde. They are mixed in equimolecular proportion of polymer. They give excellent gloss, depth adhesion and resistance to water.
c. Solvent: Solvent used are normally volatile that combine with all the ingredient to make a homogenous viscous substance.
d. Diluent: They are not solvent but are organic solvent. They are miscible with nitrocellulose solvent. They are incorporated for multiple purpose like stablilize the viscosity of lacquer, solubilisation of incorporated resin and to lower the overall cost of the product. Solvent used as alcohol: ethyl alcholo or butyl alcohol. Diluent should evaporate faster than solvent mixture. It prevents precipitation of nitrocellulose. It avoids rough, cloudy film and produce smooth, clear, continuous film. A high boiling point diluent will make a bright film.
e. Plasticizer: They are normally used as 5% of total mixture, 25-30% film former. Dibutylphthalate, n-butyl stearate, triethylcitrate, camphor, castor oil and urate derivatives are some examples of plasticizer. Incorporation of acetyl-monoglyceride with plasticizer includes the flexibility for long lasting. Nitrocellulose and other film former normally make a dull, brittle film which can easily flake off the nail. Incorporation of plasticizer imparts the required flexibility, gloss, adhesion of the nail and reduces tendency to shrink and effect on viscosity, volatility and rate of dring. Plasticizer should be non-volatile, miscible with film former, solvent and other constituent.
f. Color: Soluble dyes can not impart sufficient depth of color or intensity so insoluble pigments or lak are incorporated. Laks should be resistant to light or action of organic solvent, non- toxic and non-irritating. Laks should not be separated by organic solvents. About 5% of titanium dioxide or lithopane is incorporated along with laks to achieve opacity, creaminess and to produce pastel shades however, to obtain brown or tan shades, iron oxides are commonly used. But to obtain brilliant brown color pigment derived from dinitrobenzene are preferred. Pigment must be milled well for better product and incorporated about 3-5%.
g. Perfume: Perfume may be added to make the odor of ingredient. Generally synthetic perfume is preferred or used but it is not suitable for color a pigment.
2. Cuticle remover:
It is also called cuticle softener. Cuticle is thin fold of skin that extend over lununa at the base of nail. Cuticle is formed by extension of portion of stratum corneum at the nail root. The cuticle looks unpleasant and irregular growth and these preparation improves its appearances. However, this can be removed by cutting but this process is not a proper way and satisfactory. Some preparation are available to cure cuticle. They can have softened and remove the cuticle which is cuticle remover. Cuticle remover appears on alkaline material which is in the form of liquid or cream. Potassium hydroxide is cheap and easily available 2-5 % KOH is used. 10-20% humectant such as glycerine, propylene glycol. Instead of KOH, trisodium phosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, triethanolamine, sodium lauryl sulphate are used.
3. Cuticle softener:
They are in the form of cream. In this type of preparation quaternary ammonium compound are prominent. Eg. Stearyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, cetyl pyridinium chloride. These compound exerts as bacterial action. In this preparation urea is added to promote swelling of keratin and enhance the cuticle softening. Lanolin or isopropyl myristate provides emmoliency and non-ionic thickening agent such as methyl cellulose or hydroethyl cellulose are used to increase viscosity.
4. Nail bleach:
They are solution or cream based product used for removing ink, tobacco stain, vegetable stain from nail. Depending on type of skin they can be removed by oxidation or reduction. Oxidation is done by hydrogen peroxide and it can also be done by sodium hypochloride, sodium perborate and zinc peroxide. They are decomposed when they are used in form of aqueous solution. While by reduction, used of sulphides with dilute acids which is the easiest method in such type of preparation.
5. Nail cream:
The continuous and frequent application of nail lacquer and ordinary remover may make the nail brittle. This can occur due to strong degreasing effect of the solvent of lacquer and remover. Due to excessive removal of fatty substances from nail surface, the appearance of nail becomes dull. To overcome this problem, or to maintain normal health of nail apply olive oil after washing the nail with warm water. Normally, it takes few weeks to obtain intended effect. Alternately, an emollient can be used to supplement the oil or to retain the moisture content. Nail cream contains lanolin, and its derivatives or any other oily substances along with humectant.
6. Nail whitener:
These products are not used much nowadays. Nail whitener are used on the outer edge of nail to produce white edging. They are used as thick paste containing zinc oxide or titanium oxide in the base of glycerine tragacanth jelly or petroleum jelly and beewax mixture. Other substances like kaolin, talc, colloidal silica can also be used. Nowadays, pencils are available which are made from waxy material containing titanium dioxide.
7. Nail strengthener:
Dry finger nails tend to split and break off easily. This spoils their appearance and makes manicure difficult and painful. And this has led to the development of various preparation for increasing the strength of brittle nails or for eliminating brittleness or dryness. Nail strengthener normally contains astringent salts like aluminum, zirconium and strontium. Potassium, sodium, ammonium is also used. Astringent salts are used 1-5% along with glycerin or propylene glycol which are reported for nail strengthening purpose. It is applied after washing and drying nail, by the use of cotton bud or brush.
Application technique is important for good effect. Present day products are applied directly several times to get good, even film coat. But sometimes to get attractive appearance, the whole application is done stepwise.
a. Base coat is applied first. This is clear concentrated lacquer base which forms an even surface and held distribution of subsequent application.
b. Then, color lacquer coat is applied.
c. Then, finally topcoat is applied and
d. Hardener is applied to colored enamel. This is basically a clear lacquer base with less plasticizer but more resin.
Some for quick drying, aerosol spray is applied which evaporates the solvent faster.
Article By: Nisha Joshi