Daily Wear - Long Wearing - Extended Wear.......
In today's market place, there are endless options on almost everything, including nail polish. I recently attended a trade show, and again they had the latest and greatest new item.....a long wearing weekly polish. What's so new about this, I thought this was the goal from the beginning.
Polish, polish what do I choose?
Daily wear, weekly wear or extended wear? What is the difference and which should I choose?
1. Daily Wear.
Daily wear nail polish is widely available to the public at salons, local stores, such as discount stores, drugstores, dress shops and even catalog stores such as Avon, Beauticontrol, & Victoria Secrets. Daily wear is used at home for easy application and removal with either a non-acetone, or an acetone based polish remover. Daily wear polish is very economical and can be found as low as $ 1.00 per bottle, and upwards depending on the degree of nail conditioners and additives added to the formulation. Additives can range from ridgefillers, proteins, diamond dust, ceramic flecks, nylon fibers, silk, aromatherapy, and the list goes on and on. The sky is the limit on additives and prices depending on the degree of benefit derived from the ingredients.
Generally speaking the use of a base coat, prior to the polish application and a top coat after the color coat will help the polish to last longer.
Hint: Always seal the free edge of the nail with your polish coats, this will help your polish to wear better. Keep polish off of the cuticle area and the nail walls, this will help with lifting & chipping . (see diagram on parts of the nail)
Easy on and easy off, with little damage to the nail plate, with regular removal practices. Great for home use.
2. Weekly Wear or Extended Wear Polish.
Extended wear is just that, it is meant to be worn for a longer period of time without chipping and cracking. This polish has a few more additives in it to extend the wear of the polish. It is still meant to be removed easily at home with little or no damage to the nail plate. However, read directions carefully to see if there are any special application methods needed for this type of polish.
3. UV Cured Polish. Gel Nails. Durable Wear.
Extra Long Wearing. UV Cured Polish requires a special light to cure the nail polish. These nail polishes usually last on the nail, if properly applied for two to three weeks. These nails are actually in the artificial nail category as soft gels. They are meant to be long-lasting, durable, no peeling, no chipping and no dulling color. There are two different types on Gel Nails, soft gel and hard gels. Soft gels can usually be soaked off with a solvent such as acetone, but Hard Gels usually have to be buffed or filed off.
Extreme caution must be used during the removal practice, due to the damage that can occur with either the nail product solvent, or the mechanical damage that can occur with excessive filing or buffing. This type of Nail Polish application is recommended to be done in the salon by a professional that knows how to both apply and remove the product safely.
Speciality Products. 
There has been a flood of fun new nail polishes that have hit the market in the past few years. The days of 5 shades of Red are over and now there is a very wide range on polish and products that can range from matte to super shiny, heavy glitter to diamond dust, to glow in the dark, even products with mylar filaments, sand texture and dried flower petals, and the list is endless.
With all of these new texture products make sure you can remove them safely without damage to the nail plate, free edge or cuticle. If you damage your natural nail you may see permanent damage later that you cannot correct. 
The Choice is YOURS!
Isn't it great to have so many choices and products to choose from? We are really well blessed here in the United States, with so many options in everything we have to purchase and use. Sometimes all of the choices are overwhelming but, We are blessed with American made products, and we have national authorities that make sure our products are safe for use, not all countries can say this. Please always read your information on your products and see how they are tested, how to use them, what they should be used for and how to dispose of them. Use common sense with application and removal and enjoy the new products. Watch, listen and learn and I'm sure you will find the perfect product for YOU!
