Non-toxic, non-cured, vegan polish, Dazzle Dry launches into Australia. Professional Beauty talks to US-based creator and bio-organic chemist, Vivian Valenty, about this exciting polish range, which was 23 years in the making. (It’s time to get excited.)
US nail polish brand, Dazzle Dry has just been released worldwide. Created by US-based bio-organic chemist, Vivian Valenty and distributed by Karen Cox in Australia and New Zealand, this non-toxic, vegan-friendly polish range has been launched after 23 years on the drawing board.
What’s so exciting about Dazzle Dry, is not just the amazing colour palette on offer (there are 190 striking FDC and DC certified shades) but the fact that this polish range contains no nitrocellulose, nor any other reactive ingredients, yet sets solid in five minutes – and the staying power is impressive.
“Dazzle Dry is the only nail polish system that air dries rock hard in 5 minutes,” says Valenty. “Dazzle Dry [also] does not turn nails yellow because it does not contain nitrocellulose.”
Dazzle Dry’s formulation has omitted reactive monomers and photoinitiators, the ingredients added to gel and hybrid polishes to cause a reaction called “polymerization” when exposed to by UV light – be that via lamp, LED or the sun. “These reactive substances [may] cause skin sensitization or allergies with repeated or prolonged contact with the skin,” says Valenty.
Valenty created the first UV curing top coat in 1989 to dry polish quickly but when UV light came under question in the 90s, she turned her attention to creating a non-UV cured polish. “I thought that theoretically, one photon or particle of light is sufficient to damage DNA,” Valentry says. “This revelation prompted me to cease further development of cosmetic products requiring the use of UV light and started working on a product that is non-UV cured.”
An ex beauty therapist, Karen Cox decided to take on the brand after showing it to beauty professionals here in Australia who “came back the next day and said its genius and why doesn’t anyone know about it…?” says Cox who wasted no time in snapping up the distribution rights for Australia and New Zealand. “I work directly with Vivian the owner of Dazzle Dry in the USA,” says Cox.
Dazzle Dry launches this year after over two decades in production, and what’s making waves throughout the professional industry is the brand’s next gen formulation – particularly the rubbery textured base coat, which is able to stretch and move with the nail plate.
“When nail polish dries, it shrinks and imparts stress to the system,” says Valenty. “The swelling of the nail plate when wet due to the absorption of water, aggravates the stress and the polish chips off to relieve the stress. With Dazzle Dry, the Base Coat is rubbery and stretches with the nail plate when the nail plate expands. The Base Coat retracts with the nail plate when the nail plate dries maintaining the adhesion of the nail lacquer and polish does not chip.”
Another point of difference is Dazzle Dry’s ability to be thinned. “When curable products get thick, you have to discard them,” says Valenty. “When Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquers and Top Coat become thick, it is due to solvent evaporation and they can be restored to desired consistency by adding a few drops of the Dazzle Dry Thinner.”
So far, feedback from professional manicurists has been very positive, says Valenty. The polishes work a charm for freehand nail artistry but perhaps the big positive for the professional, is Dazzle Dry’s ability to speed up appointment times. A professional Dazzle Dry manicure reportedly can be completed within 30 minutes, including drying time – meaning you can fit more clients in per day, and your clients are able to get in and out with still time left over to grab a salad at lunchtime. Win, win.
Have your say: What do you think of Dazzle Dry nail polish?