These days, it seems like nearly all nail brands claim that their formulas are vegan. But since nail products have never been made with animal-based ingredients, is this really a meaningful claim? On the other hand, plant-based nail polish formulations are rare. Most nail polish formulations, including vegan ones, include only ingredients that are derived from petrochemicals. So what makes a gel polish formula plant-based (not just vegan) and why should we care?
Gel polish formulas require ingredients that react with light to cure instead of drying like regular polish. The molecular groups that allow an ingredient react with light are called acrylates or methacrylates. Lilaque uses vegetable oils that include acrylates on the structure of the oil that enable it to cure with light. Why would we replace the petrochemical-based ingredients found in typical gel polishes with these plant-based alternatives?
Vegetable oil-based ingredients have low-to-no odor
The raw materials that make up the vegetable oil-based ingredients in Lilaque’s formulations have very low odor compared to their petrochemical-based counterparts. This means our formulations have very little odor, at most smelling faintly of vegetable oil, compared to traditional petrochemical-based gel polish formulations that can have a strong and offensive odor.
Oils in the formulation may help nourish the nail
In addition to acrylated vegetable oils, which react with light, Lilaque’s formulas contain other oils that may help nourish the nail. Oils like this help keep nails moisturized, keeping nails strong and healthy.
Plant-based ingredients come from renewable resources
Traditional ingredients found in nail products are synthesized from petrochemicals, which come from petroleum in the ground. Petroleum is not a renewable resource – once the earth’s stores are gone, they’re gone forever. Plant-based ingredients come from renewable resources like vegetable oils that will be available as long as farming of these plants is around.
Our founder spent almost 2 years developing formulas that replace the petrochemical-based ingredients found in typical gel polishes with plant-based alternatives. This was no easy task, since oils typically prevent polish adhesion to the nail. She used her creativity and deep knowledge and expertise in the field to overcome this technical challenge and create more sustainable, low-odor formulas that perform just as well as other petrochemical-based one-step gel polish products on the market.