"Green" UV-LED gel nail polishes from bio-based materials

Gel nail polishes represent an advanced class of nail polishes, with the ability to cure under ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and consequently demonstrate improved properties and greater durability compared to conventional nail polishes. Most gel nail polishes available today are based on petrochemical resources, making them unsustainable. Bio-based materials are excellent renewable resources, with high potential for meeting final-product performance, cost, and environmental needs. In addition, bio-based materials can be modified to make them amenable to being cured by advanced Light Emitting Diode (LED) resources that consume low energy and are safer for human exposure compared to conventional UV-mercury lamps. Consumer preference for use of products made from bio-based sources has been clearly growing. On the other hand, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) technology roadmap, a considerable amount of basic chemical building blocks should be derived from plant-based renewable materials in near future. However, to the best of our knowledge, bio-based nail products have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, to keep pace with environmental regulations and consumer preference, there is an unmet opportunity to develop novel, sustainable nail gel polishes with considerable bio-renewable content. In this study, two sustainable UV-LED curable gel nail polish prototypes-one high-solids zero-volatile organic content (VOC) and the other waterborne, both with considerable bio-renewable content, were designed.

Both formulations were cured under both UV-mercury and UV-LED radiation sources in order to evaluate their curing efficiency under a UV-LED source. Also, their performance was compared with a commercial petro-based benchmark.

The high-solids formulation demonstrated promising performance, exceeding that of the benchmark in opacity, chemical properties, gloss, and pendulum hardness, while the waterborne formulation met most of the desirable requirements with some significant technical benefits, including low odour and higher renewable raw material content.

These novel gel nail polishes are greener alternatives to the current products in the market with high potential for promising consumer acceptance.