What ingredients in lotions and soaps can cause lifting?
Debra Marr-Leisy: All lotions and some soaps can contain ingredients which may aggravate lifting. Lotions usually contain one or more of the following: vegetable or plant oils, mineral oil, silicone waxes, low-melting waxes, fatty acids (such as stearic acid), and lanolin. These types of ingredients give the lotion its rich feel and, because they coat the skin, leave the skin feeling soft and smooth. Soaps, particularly the non-drying ones, can also contain these waxy or oily ingredients.
Besides coating the skin, these ingredients can also coat the nail plate. This is why care should be taken to properly prepare the nail plate before any nail application. Oily, waxy residues that are invisible to the eye must be removed from the nail plate. For optimal adhesion, the nail plate should be dehydrated with a nail prep product, dried, and gently roughened with a file before any artificial nail application begins.