{"id":2886,"date":"2013-06-22T18:50:48","date_gmt":"2013-06-23T01:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nailcarehq.com\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2017-03-23T20:34:09","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T03:34:09","slug":"essie-base-coat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/essie-base-coat\/","title":{"rendered":"Essie Base Coat – Are the Claims True?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"www.nailcareheadquarters.com<\/a>Will the Essie base coat ‘Fill the Gap’ really hydrate nails?<\/p>\n

ASK ANA<\/h2>\n
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“Ana what is your take on the Essie base coat ‘Fill the Gap’? It says it’s a treatment, like it’s gunna fix problem nails? Is this true?” ~Sara<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

ANSWER<\/h2>\n

Quick answer?<\/strong> Essie’s ‘Fill the Gap’ is a ridge filling base coat. Here’s Essie’s description…<\/p>\n

Marketing<\/h2>\n

“Fill the Gap! Ridge Smoothing Base Coat by Essie hydrates aging nails and smoothes unsightly deep ridges while preventing brittleness and breakage. Replenishes and levels the nail plate with a special blend of strengtheners, conditioners, micro-fibers and natural fillers. Mica boasts natural reflective properties that help fill in extremely deep ridges and conceal imperfections. Yucca, the natural plant extract helps moisturize and reduce inflammation. Creates an ultra-smooth base allowing for maximum adhesion of nail polish.” ~Essie<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Long answer?<\/strong> Let’s look at the words chosen to describe this product, especially with the knowledge that healthy, moisturized nails<\/strong> are a perfect blend of 18% water and 5% sebum<\/a> (body oil).<\/p>\n

HYDRATES AGING NAILS: Nope. It’s not water or sebum.<\/p>\n

SMOOTHS DEEP RIDGES: I guarantee that this product will probably do a darn fine job!<\/p>\n

PREVENTING BRITTLENESS AND BREAKAGE: Only by adding temporary strength<\/strong> like any other brand<\/strong> of base coat. But nails will dry out as soon as you use acetone to remove it. You’ll want to rehydrate<\/strong> them with a tiny bit of water and a jojoba wax ester based nail oil.<\/a>\u00a0I have hydration instructions here.<\/a><\/p>\n

REPLENISHES: Nope<\/p>\n

LEVELS THE NAIL PLATE: Yep.<\/p>\n

SPECIAL BLEND OF STRENGTHENERS, CONDITIONERS, MICRO-FIBERS AND NATURAL FILLERS: Yep, those are all properties of the polish, not your nails. They’re all necessary to fill in the ridges.<\/p>\n

MICA BOASTS NATURAL REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES: It fills space in the low areas of the nail plate and might have a shimmer so your nails look nice with just the base coat.<\/p>\n

CONCEAL IMPERFECTIONS: Yep. It will do this very well, like other quality ridge filling base coats.<\/p>\n

YUCCA…HELPS MOISTURIZE AND REDUCE INFLAMMATION: Huhhhhh??????<\/p>\n

It can’t moisturize your nails. …And reduce inflammation of what? Your nail plates?<\/strong> In all my research, I’ve actually never heard of this. It’s certainly not going to reduce inflammation of your skin since you won’t be applying it on your skin. Right?<\/p>\n

ULTRA SMOOTH BASE: Yep, it will do this very well.<\/p>\n

MAXIMUM ADHESION OF NAIL POLISH: Yep, all good base coats are formulated to bond to the natural nail plate. Color polishes are formulated to bond to base coat, NOT the natural nail.<\/p>\n

The Perfect Mix<\/h2>\n

What are all those big words in the ingredient list and what do they do?<\/p>\n

Polish manufacturers work very hard to combine the perfect ingredients to create the product they want. I’ve often found that the ingredient list doesn’t jive with the marketing claims.<\/p>\n

Polish performance has nothing to do with what the product is called; varnish, polish, lacquer, or enamel. The formulation determines the performance, not the name.<\/p>\n

For example, formulations with too little plasticizer or too much nitrocellulose will be brittle. Poor coverage usually means the formulation contains too much solvent or doesn’t contain enough titanium dioxide or pigment.<\/p>\n

Polish that bubbles easily or has an uneven surface after drying usually contains solvents that evaporate too quickly. Usually bubbling issues are magnified during periods of high temperatures and humidity.<\/p>\n

If the polish seems to quickly thicken in the bottle before it is half used, then the formula contains too little solvent. ~Doug Schoon, Nail Structure and Product Chemistry<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Essie Base Coat Ingredients\"www.NailCareHQ.com<\/a><\/h2>\n

Ethyl Acetate<\/strong>\u00a0= a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow
\nButyl Acetate\u00a0<\/strong>= a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow
\nNitrocellulose<\/strong>\u00a0= a film former to make the product hard and shiny when it dries
\nAcetyl Tributyl Citrate<\/strong> =\u00a0a biodegradable\u00a0plasticizer\u00a0of low toxicity, found in nail polish and other cosmetics.<\/p>\n

Phthalic Anhydride\/Trimellitic Anhydride\/Glycols Copolymer<\/strong> =\u00a0Film Former; Viscosity Increasing Agent (ewg.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Isopropyl Alcohol<\/strong> =\u00a0a solvent, used to improve application and smooth product flow<\/span><\/p>\n

Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer <\/strong>= a film former, increases viscosity\u00a0(TruthInAging.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Stearalkonium<\/strong> Hectorite\u00a0= suspension agent, makes the product easier to use. Keeps the product thick in the bottle but thinner when brushed on.<\/p>\n

Adipic Acid\/Fumaric Acid\/Phthalic Acid\/Tricyclodecane Dimethanol Copolymer\u00a0<\/strong>= blend of resins and\u00a0plasticizers<\/p>\n

Mica<\/strong> = mineral that when combined with titanium dioxide or other colorants create beautiful\u00a0iridescent\u00a0shades<\/p>\n

Polyethylene\u00a0<\/strong>= a plasticizer to prevent chips and cracks and increase the flexibility of the polish<\/p>\n

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil<\/strong> = Sunflower Seed Oil<\/p>\n

CI 77891 \/\u00a0Titanium Dioxide<\/strong> = pigment to make the product whiter to improve coverage or produce pastel colors<\/p>\n

Synthetic Wax<\/strong> = usually used in car wax products<\/p>\n

Polytetrafluoroethylene<\/strong> (PTFE<\/b>) = \u00a0a thermoplastic polymer\u00a0that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE is\u00a0Teflon<\/b>\u00a0byDuPont\u00a0Co. (Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Citric Acid<\/strong> =\u00a0The dominant use of citric acid is as a flavoring and preservative in food and beverages, especially soft drinks.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0buffering\u00a0properties of citrates are used to control\u00a0pH\u00a0in household cleaners and\u00a0pharmaceuticals.\u00a0(Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Yucca Filamentosa \/ Yucca Filamentosa Extract<\/strong> = an ornamental flowering plant<\/p>\n

CI 77491 \/\u00a0Iron Oxides<\/strong> =\u00a0cosmetic colorant \u00a0(Ewg.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract \/ Rosemary Leaf Extract<\/strong> = a decorative plant in gardens and has many culinary and medical uses.<\/p>\n

CI 19140 \/ Yellow 5 Lake<\/strong> = cosmetic colorant<\/p>\n

Talc<\/strong> = Causes matte finish<\/p>\n

Styrene\/Acrylates Copolymer (D47300\/1)<\/strong> = film former<\/p>\n

Polyester Resin<\/strong> =\u00a0a resin, to make the polish tough and resilient<\/p>\n

Hydrated Silica<\/strong> = used to increase the viscosity, or thickness. Usually included in toothpaste formulations. Most likely used to help fill in ridges.<\/p>\n

Camphor<\/strong>\u00a0= a plasticizer to prevent chips and cracks and increase the flexibility of the polish<\/p>\n

Stearalkonium<\/strong> = suspension agent, helps reduce product separation<\/p>\n

Hectorite<\/strong> = suspension agent, makes the product easier to use. Keeps the product thick in the bottle but thinner when brushed on.<\/p>\n

Benzophenone<\/strong>\u00a0= a UV stabilizer, used to prevent color fading<\/p>\n

Titanium Dioxide<\/strong> = pigment to make the product whiter to improve coverage or produce pastel colors<\/p>\n

Hydrolyzed Collegen<\/strong> = the fancy word for gelatin. It’s typically used in topical creams, acting as a product texture conditioner, and moisturizer.<\/p>\n

In Conclusion<\/h2>\n

I couldn’t find any reason to use Yucca\u2014especially if it’s supposed to moisturize and reduce\u00a0inflammation\u00a0of the nail plate. LOL!!!<\/p>\n

Several reviewers like this Essie base coat. One reviewer even said the product smelled good after it was dry!<\/p>\n

I’m sure the Essie ‘Fill the Gap’ is an excellent ridge filling base coat, just like many other high quality ridge filling base coats.\u00a0Just don’t fall for the other marketing lingo. If you’re ever unsure and have a question\u2014just feel free to ask me.<\/p>\n

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If you liked this article . . . please share!<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Will the Essie base coat ‘Fill the Gap’ really hydrate nails? ASK ANA “Ana what is your take on the Essie base coat ‘Fill the Gap’? It says it’s a treatment, like it’s gunna fix problem nails? Is this true?” ~Sara ANSWER Quick answer? Essie’s ‘Fill the Gap’ is a ridge filling base coat. Here’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,18,3,218,217],"tags":[149,148,76,219,220,9,78,77,34,221,222],"class_list":["post-2886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-ana","category-nail-care-2","category-nail-problems","category-product-review","category-ridges","tag-base-coat","tag-basecoat","tag-care-for-nails","tag-essie","tag-fill-the-gap","tag-nail-care","tag-nail-care-headquarters","tag-nailcarehq","tag-pure-nail-and-cuticle-oil","tag-ridge-filling","tag-simply-smooth"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nailcareheadquarters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}