Nail Factoid: Nitrocellulose

Polish. We all use it. We all love it. But what exactly is it made of? From tosylamide/formaldehyde resin to stearalkonium bentonite, ingredient names can sound more like a top secret formula for NASA rather than a recipe for regular old nail polish. Each of these ingredients, however, has a purpose and plays a part in the overall performance of the polish.

Polymers make up the backbone of the polish, and they consist of two main chemicals, Tosylamide/Formaldehyde Resin (TSF Resin) and Nitrocellulose. These two work together to produce the characteristic hard shiny surface and strong adhesion that is typical in all polishes.

So taking one at a time, what is nitrocellulose?

Nitrocellulose — a primary film former; it creates the hard shiny surface of polish but is brittle when used on its own; the polymer comes from cotton or wood chips by way of a chemical reaction of nitric and sulfuric acids.

Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable chemical, made when nitric acid is introduced to the organic cellulose compound. Nitrocellulose has been used for a variety of things in human history, from gunpowder to early photography films, but its use in lacquers date back to the 1920s.

Nitrocellulose lacquers dried much faster than previous lacquers, and thus revolutionized industries like car manufacturing. Spray guns came along because of how fast nitrocellulose lacquers could dry, and furniture manufacturers used the lacquers to decorate their wood products.

—Tim

Do you have a Nail Factoid you’d like us to share in a future column? Or is there something you’d like us to investigate relating to the nail industry? Leave it as a comment below or e-mail it to senior editor Tim at Tim.Crowley[at]bobit.com.