Sally Hansen Hard as Nails

...picked up a bottle of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails. Having heard a lot of praise about other Sally Hansen products, this was the main reason for choosing this particular product. I had never personally used anything from this range myself, so I was still a bit dubious, but because the product name was Hard as Nails, this was enough to convince me that it might actually work, so in my basket it went. I longed to be able to have a soak in the bath, ...
...one pictured on Ciao. Sally Hansen products must’ve had a face-lift, as the bottle I have on my dressing table is the same as other varnishes in the Sally Hansen range, my daughter says it’s a sort of half moon shape with a slender grey cap if that helps.

Although a varnish of sorts, Hard as Nails has a slightly thinner consistency to that of nail varnish, so it is very easy to apply and doesn’t go all gloopy at the end of the brush. ... more

You can tell quite a lot from a person’s hands; from the type of work they do to how old they are. People are always telling me I look young for my age, and this is something I get from my mother, but not wanting to take this for granted I still look after my skin, but my hands and nails have taken a bit of a battering of late, so a few weeks back I decided to take some action and give them a bit of long awaited TLC.

Tasks such as washing up, cleaning the house with harsh cleaning chemicals, and wallowing in the bath for hours on end have sadly taken their toll on my poor nails. What used to nicely shaped nails have now been replaced by weak, dry nails that break off as soon as a splash of water dares to go near them. I had tried various moisturisers and potions designed to improve the condition of hands and nails, but nothing worked, so I decided to see if there were any brush on treatments that could help alleviate this problem. In other words, a miracle.

While I was in town a couple of weeks ago I ventured into my local Boots store and made a beeline for their nailcare department. Faced with a barrage of products all promising to give me long, shiny nails it was a few minutes before I finally picked up a bottle of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails. Having heard a lot of praise about other Sally Hansen products, this was the main reason for choosing this particular product. I had never personally used anything from this range myself, so I was still a bit dubious, but because the product name was Hard as Nails, this was enough to convince me that it might actually work, so in my basket it went. I longed to be able to have a soak in the bath, or even hand wash a delicate item of clothing without the threat of my nails beginning to peel afterwards, so I was keeping my fingers crossed quite literally in the hope that this problem would disappear.

Once home I quickly read through the instructions which, incidentally were very easy to follow, even for me as I don’t have the patience for reading long confusing manuals before using something.

Hard as Nails is basically a brush on varnish type nail treatment that is very similar to nail varnish. It comes in two colours, either ‘clear’ which as the name suggests is transparent allowing your own nail colour to show through, or ‘natural’ which looks a garish pink in the actual bottle, but once applied it blends in with your natural nail colour and gives them a rose/pink tinge. The ‘clear’ varnish is ideal if you like to wear coloured nail varnish, you can apply it over the top and it doesn’t interfere with the colour in any way. I opted for the natural as I rarely wear coloured nail varnish.

I will add at this point that the bottle I bought is different from the one pictured on Ciao. Sally Hansen products must’ve had a face-lift, as the bottle I have on my dressing table is the same as other varnishes in the Sally Hansen range, my daughter says it’s a sort of half moon shape with a slender grey cap if that helps.

Although a varnish of sorts, Hard as Nails has a slightly thinner consistency to that of nail varnish, so it is very easy to apply and doesn’t go all gloopy at the end of the brush. It is a dream to brush on, and you only need to brush on a very thin layer. Once applied it takes seconds to apply so you don’t have to walk around the house like a mummy with outstretched hands. The smell is quite strong, again like nail varnish but I was only aware of the stench on opening the bottle not dissimilar to chemically enhanced almond essence. The smell is probably down to one of the unpronounceable ingredients present; either Ethyl acetate or butyl acetate. As well as these, Hard as Nails contains Nylon which has been added to provide protection against detergents, water as well as general knocks and bangs.

Once the varnish was dried there was no smell present.
The instructions suggest that you apply 2 to 3 layers of this varnish on to ensure that your nails are well protected. Make sure that each layer has fully dried before applying the next coat, otherwise the first layers won’t set and you will end up with crusty ridges over your nails. Not a pretty sight and you will end up having to repeat the whole process again.

Once you have applied Hard as Nails, you can leave your nails as they are, or you can brush on a coloured nail varnish of your choice. Hard as Nails makes a brilliant base coat as it protects your nails as well as preventing staining from the dyes in the varnish. Removing this product is easy, simply use varnish remover pads, or a cotton pad dipped in liquid remover. A couple of wipes and it’s gone.

I normally wear Hard as Nails for about 3 to 4 days before removing it to apply a couple of fresh coats. Just 3 weeks after my first application I am amazed at the results. There is a big improvement in the overall condition of my nails, of course this could be down to the fact that I have been paying attention to them, but I couldn’t have done it without Hard As Nails.

Hard as Nails leaves a lovely sheen to your nails, as soon as it is applied you can feel the difference, they look healthier almost straight away and one of the first things I noticed was how strong they felt. Before my nails were extremely soft and they would crumble at the first point of contact, now they were ready to take on whatever lift threw at them. But as the well-known saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so appearances weren’t enough to convince me yet that Hard As Nails worked.

I had a few items of clothing that needed to be hand washed so I decided to put Hard As Nails to the test. This would be the perfect opportunity to try it out, while water is enough to weaken my nails, the water softeners found in washing up powder plays havoc with them, and as I have an allergy to latex, I can’t wear rubber gloves so we would soon see how Hard as Nails lived up to its claims. Afterwards, I was surprised to find although my hands were very soft, my nails were still strong and there was no sign of weakness. I was very impressed, and as the week wore on they improved vastly. For once my nails grew past the ends of my fingers and didn’t peel away to nothing.

I paid just over £4 for a 13.3ml bottle from Boots, but it is available from a wide range of chemists and supermarkets. Prices vary, so it’s worth shopping around. With most well known branded nail varnishes costing around the same price, sometimes more, I feel this is a very reasonable price. In fact, I have been using this for 3 weeks now constantly, and the contents have hardly got a dent in them, so this product really goes a long way. There is no use-by date on the bottle, so my guess is that usual guidelines for storing makeup apply – discard after 2 years would be your best bet.

Hard as Nails is extremely flammable so make sure it never comes into contact with naked flames. Also because it’s potentially dangerous, keep out of reach from children.

Network Health and Beauty
Farnborough
GU14 7QU

Distributed by Del Laboratories Inc

www.sallyhansen.com
 

...less