{"id":1450,"date":"2013-03-12T10:18:45","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T17:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nailcarehq.com\/?p=1450"},"modified":"2018-04-16T15:47:22","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T22:47:22","slug":"yellow-nails-how-to-prevent-staining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/yellow-nails-how-to-prevent-staining\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow Nails – Is There a Basecoat that Prevents Staining?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"www.NailCareHQ.com<\/a>It’s horrifying to remove a dark polish and discover yellow nails.<\/p>\n

Even worse is removing green and having green nails (true story).<\/p>\n

By the end of this article you’ll understand<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The causes of yellow nails and color staining.<\/li>\n
  2. What you can do to remove the staining as well, although in most cases I don’t recommend it<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. What the best ways to reduce the staining are in the first place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    ASK ANA<\/h1>\n
    \n

    What is the best basecoat that prevents staining from dark polishes and yellowing from wearing polish all the time? ~Nicole<\/h4>\n

     <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    ANSWER<\/h1>\n

    There are several different causes contributing to yellow nails and staining.<\/p>\n

    The most common is using dark pigmented nail polishes. But it can also be because of other unhealthy causes. Let’s take a look.<\/p>\n

    Causes of Yellow Nails<\/h2>\n

    Health<\/h3>\n

    If you have yellow nails and don’t wear dark nail polishes, then the yellowing can be caused by a serious condition.<\/p>\n

    In rare cases, yellow nails can indicate a more serious health issue such as diabetes,\u00a0severe thyroid disease, lung disease or psoriasis.\u00a0You will want to notify your doctor as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

    Fungus<\/h3>\n

    Nail fungus occurs more frequently in toenails but can appear in fingernails as well. It starts as yellowing and leads to the nail plate separating from the nail bed. Often times it’s not bothersome, but it can also be quite painful.<\/p>\n

    When nail fungus has been present for a long time and left untreated, the nail begins to get thicker, peels or crumbles, and there is a foul odor.<\/p>\n

    Smoking<\/h3>\n

    Smoking can cause yellow nails as well. Nicotine and tar are sticky\u00a0substances\u00a0that grab on to the smoker’s hands while holding a cigarette. Often tar is responsible for the brown stains and nicotine for the yellow nails.<\/p>\n

    The most ideal solution is to quit smoking. But since it is difficult to quit, smokers will see the stains continue to build up as the years pass.<\/p>\n

    Nail Polish<\/h3>\n

    “Certain\u00a0dyes<\/strong>\u00a0can deeply stain the nail plate. Early nail color formulations used high concentrations of staining dyes. Today, high-quality, professional nail polishes use low levels of dye and use only those that don’t permanently stain the nail plate. However, some\u00a0inexpensive brands cut corners<\/strong>\u00a0and use large amounts of dyes to reduce the cost, making them more likely to discolor the plate.<\/p>\n

    In general, nail discoloration is caused by dyes, damage, drugs, disease, injury, or illness. Some topcoats can cause yellow or light brown stains when applied directly to the bare natural nail.\u00a0Base coats<\/strong>\u00a0do more than improve nail polish adhesion\u2014they help seal and protect the plate from staining.” ~Doug Schoon, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Solutions to Yellow Nails<\/h2>\n

    Why Do You Want the Stains Gone?<\/h3>\n

    My first question to you before I get into the solutions is,\u00a0“Why do you want your nails unstained?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you need to do a photo shoot of your bare nails or a French Manicure, then it’s a great idea. But if you’re just going to turn around and do another colored manicure, then you’ll be covering the stains.<\/p>\n

    Removing the stains will just\u00a0waste your time<\/strong>. It will\u00a0weaken<\/strong>\u00a0your nails by leaving them\u00a0more dried out<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0than when you started.<\/p>\n

    \"Yellow<\/a>Prevention is Key<\/h3>\n

    Base coats are formulated with certain ingredients to\u00a0improve the bond<\/strong>\u00a0to the bare nail.<\/p>\n

    Nail polish is formulated to bond to base coats\u2014not the bare nail. Base coats help\u00a0extend<\/strong>\u00a0nail polish wear. They also\u00a0protect<\/strong>\u00a0the nail from the staining dyes in nail polishes.<\/p>\n

    I did a quick search online to see if there were good basecoat\u00a0comparison<\/strong>\u00a0articles that prevents yellow nails.<\/p>\n

    What I discovered is that there is\u00a0no\u00a0outstanding winner<\/strong>. Everyone has their favorite base coat\u00a0based on their personal chemistry and lifestyle.<\/p>\n

    My suggestion would be to use\u00a0two coats of your favorite basecoat<\/strong>\u00a0if using a dark colored or inexpensive polish\u2014otherwise 1 coat should be enough.<\/p>\n

    A\u00a0great example<\/strong>\u00a0of the power of using a basecoat to prevent staining can be seen at Kae’s website,\u00a0www.TheHungryAsian.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0She shows what her nails looked like stained yellow and then\u00a0how they look after 3 months<\/a>\u00a0of using basecoat with her manicures. It’s startling!<\/p>\n

    Nail Whitening Techniques<\/h2>\n

    Realize that soaking your nails in any liquid solution for 15 minutes dries out and weakens your nails.<\/p>\n

    You will need to rehydrate your nails with a high quality, jojoba based nail oil <\/a>over several hours.<\/p>\n

    I DO NOT recommend any of these nail whitening techniques for long-term staining unless you are going to photograph a French Manicure.<\/p>\n

    These are the suggested solutions I found on the internet. Some look like they may be successful<\/strong>, one is very dangerous<\/strong> and the other is a lie<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Peroxide\/Baking Soda<\/b><\/h3>\n

    \"Yellow<\/p>\n

    Several tricks can be used to remove the yellow stains from nails. The author of\u00a0Beautiful Hands and Nails Naturally<\/em>, nail expert Fran Manos recommends bleaching nails in a solution of 1 tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with 2 1\/2 tablespoons of baking soda in a small plastic bowl.<\/p>\n

    Use a cotton swab to press some of the mixture, with a paste-like consistency, firmly under the tip of each nail as well as over the top of the nail. Cover all the nails on one hand. Wait about three minutes before rinsing with warm water. Repeat on the other hand. Fran suggests trying this treatment every six to eight weeks.<\/p>\n

    \"www.NailCareHQ.com<\/p>\n

    Lemon Juice<\/h3>\n

    Many people swear by lemon juice and there are several techniques. You can soak your nails for 15 minutes in fresh or reconstituted lemon juice. Some people just rub the lemon juice into their nails and hands and let it dry<\/p>\n

    Marina at\u00a0www.ForeverTheUglyDuckling.com<\/a>\u00a0has graciously allowed me to show her before and after photos using lemon juice combined with a commercial whitening product. You can see by the photos to the right, she had great results, but at what cost?<\/p>\n

    Denture Tablets<\/h3>\n

    Several people have had great results with soaking your fingers in warm water with 4 denture tablets, for 15 minutes. Diana of www.PaintedLadyFingers.com<\/a> gives a detailed review of her process and experience.<\/p>\n

    Whitening Toothpaste\"Yellow<\/a><\/h3>\n

    Some people have results with scrubbing your nails for two minutes with a whitening toothpaste and a nail brush. According to Anutka at WackyLaki.blogspot.com<\/a>, this is her favorite technique\u00a0for immediate staining<\/a>. As in, you remove red polish and your nails are pink. \u00a0She says it won’t work on long-term staining.<\/p>\n

    Hector at GrilledNail.blogspot.com<\/a> has an interesting case study. He’s a talented young nail artist who prefers to create art on his left hand. As you can see in the photos to the right, his right hand tends to remain unpolished.<\/p>\n

    \"Yellow<\/p>\n

    Hector attempted to use the whitening toothpaste on deeper stains and found it to be minimally effective. His results<\/a> are in alignment with Anutka’s opinion from WackyLaki.<\/p>\n

    Light Buffing<\/h3>\n

    This is a\u00a0bad solution<\/strong>.\u00a0I DO NOT<\/span>\u00a0recommend<\/strong>\u00a0this technique.<\/p>\n

    Yes, it will work because it’s probably only the top few layers of keratin that are stained.<\/p>\n

    The problem is that most of us only have about 50 layers of keratin.<\/p>\n

    If you sand a few off each time your nails are stained, over time your nails will become very\u00a0weak and brittle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Letting Your Nails Breathe<\/h3>\n

    This is an old wives tale<\/strong> that just won’t die!<\/p>\n

    I explain how<\/strong> it came about in a previous Ask Ana article: Do Nails Breathe<\/a><\/p>\n

    Better Removal Techniques!<\/h2>\n

    Soak & Swipe<\/h3>\n

    The best way to remove polish while reducing staining is to use my Soak & Swipe\u2122 technique. <\/strong><\/p>\n

    It’s the quickest way to remove polish with no scrubbing required!<\/strong>\u00a0This way you are not grinding the pigments into the top surface of the nail plate.<\/p>\n

    I used to hate removing my polish and now it’s actually a pleasant experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    More detailed information can be found in this video and in my Nail Polish Remover Tips article.<\/a><\/p>\n