Ritz Nails is a nail salon that offers exclusive nail care services customized to the customers needs. There is no information available on specific Ritz Nails products, including their ingredients or materials.
However, Faina Ritz, a chemist, provides information on nail strengtheners in an article on NAILS Magazine. According to Ritz, nail strengtheners are developed for weak, flimsy nails and are the perfect treatment for weak, soft, fragile nails that are lacking in protein. The chemical composition of nail strengtheners is most important, as it determines the ability of all of the ingredient molecules to actually penetrate the nail bed and work. Most nail strengthener formulations include solvents and plasticizers like ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, and tosylamide formaldehyde resin. If not formulated correctly, these hardening ingredients can make the nail so hard that it becomes brittle and unable to bend. If this happens, the nail will break more easily. Also, many of the ingredients used to reinforce nails wear off quickly and need to be reapplied.
The European Commissions Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has also evaluated the safety of cosmetic ingredients HEMA and Di-HEMA Trimethylhexyl Dicarbamate, which are used as film-forming ingredients in nail products. The methacrylate ester monomers HEMA and Di-HEMA Trimethylhexyl Dicarbamate are used in nail products, where they are consumed within a few seconds to minutes during the polymerization induced by the UV-curing process. The available evidence suggests that normal nail plate acts as a good barrier to penetration of chemical substances in general, and that both methacrylate monomers (HEMA and di-HEMA Trimethylhexyl Dicarbamate) are safe at concentrations of up to 35% and 99%, respectively, when used in topically applied UV-cured artificial nail modeling systems. However, the potential for sensitization to the methacrylate monomers is likely to be higher among professionals who carry out routine applications of artificial nail modeling systems without appropriate protective measures.
Finally, nail polishes or enamels are made with film formers, solvents, resins, and plasticizers. Colored nail enamels can also contain pigments and pearlescent materials as well as suspension agents to help stop the pigments from settling out. Other ingredients such as U.V. filters and proteins were added later.
