Nail Polish & Smokeless Gunpowder Ingredients - PDF

# Does nail polish have the same active ingredient as smokeless gunpowder? The ingredient responsible for the formation of the film that coats nails is nitrocellulose. Nitrocellulose is the same substance used to make smokeless gunpowder and various explosives. It is made by reacting cellulose from...

# Does nail polish have the same active ingredient as smokeless gunpowder? The ingredient responsible for the formation of the film that coats nails is nitrocellulose. Nitrocellulose is the same substance used to make smokeless gunpowder and various explosives. It is made by reacting cellulose from wood or cotton with a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids. When nitrocellulose is dissolved in a solvent, and the solvent is allowed to evaporate, a clear film remains. Since nails grow every day, the film has to be flexible. To achieve this, various substances known as plasticizers are added. Camphor has plasticizing properties, but the most common plasticizers used have been dibutyl phthalate, di­o­ct­yl adipate and acetyl tri­et­h­yl ci­tr­ate. Phthalates are, however, being phased out because some have been linked with developmental problems in animals. Various pigments can of course be incorporated, as well as compounds such as guanine, which is derived from fish scales, to yield an appropriate lustre. Commercially this is known as natural pearl essence. A cheaper way to produce lustre is to add bismuth oxychloride or mica, a mineral product. The pigments are finely dispersed powders that