Polish Pro’s: Best base coat to prevent staining?

[Ally T]

I love to have polished nails. Always have. But as i have reached a ‘certain age’ & my entire body is drying up, every single colour that’s not nude or clear leaves my nails with a yellow tinge, like nicotine

I have tried many base coats & always seem to come back to Essie First Base, which whilst it doesn’t seem to prevent staining, it does adhere my polish for longer than about a day, which is all the other brands seem to offer me before chipping. I am hard on my hands, though do wear Marigolds for all cleaning & washing up.

Any suggestions for an industrial strength base coat that holds polish to the nails well AND prevents any staining? I am currently having to use a nail buffer once a month to remove stain residue & get my nails natural & bright again & whilst it also deals with dry ridges, I don’t think this is a long term solution.

 

[yssie]

Ally samesies!! Okay so I’m FAR from pro with anything nail. But. My nails leech every iota of yellow and red out of every single polish I try.

I keep coming back to CND Stickey. I know it’s a cheap drugstore brand. I know. But I’ve tried any number of fancier fewer-ingredient base coats. None last as long or stop the bleed through as well.

I’m in a no-polish phase right now. My nails still seem brittle as ginger snaps, but I think it might be better than it was?

Edit - I did like the Londontown kur ridge filler a lot. It legit filled ridges. But nope on the lasting and the stain-prevention, sigh.

Edit - The Hermes enamel base coat… I’m trying to find a nice word for “crap”. Their polishes too, either gloopy or too thin, and so streaky. I had high expectations and was super disappointed. (My humble opinion).

 

[Ally T]

Exactly this. How do people go from Rouge Noir to clear or nude without grubby looking nails??

I am currently sat painting them & am trying Chanel La Base, which is a new one for me, so I shall report back.

Every review for every base says amazing, stain proofing, polish holding.... All fibs. So I'm after boots on the ground reviews.

 

[Tonks]

I’ve had good luck with Seche Vite base. No staining….i think…but I do try to be careful with darker polishes as far as taking them off a bit sooner. Lighter polishes I will let go a bit longer because they are more forgiving as far as a chip goes. However, I do have an issue that my nails inevitably peel after wearing polish. I think that may be more to do with the long wearing gel polish than the base coat, though, and perhaps I just need to remove it earlier.

So…ymmv. If there’s a perfect solution out there I have yet to find it. Will keep an eye on this thread for recs, though!

 

[Slickk]

Exactly this. How do people go from Rouge Noir to clear or nude without grubby looking nails??

This may sound cray but…when I want to go nude nails after a color I will use an Ajax (bleaching powder) and make a paste with water. Scrub the nails with paste and a baby toothbrush and let sit a few minutes. Rinse. Works for me! Good luck!

 

[Ally T]

This may sound cray but…when I want to go nude nails after a color I will use an Ajax (bleaching powder) and make a paste with water. Scrub the nails with paste and a baby toothbrush and let sit a few minutes. Rinse. Works for me! Good luck!

What a fabulous (but completely bonkers & crazy cray) tip!

 

[Lookinagain]

I've read that you can use whitening toothpaste in a way similar to what @Slickk describes. I've never tried it though.

 

[Ally T]

I've read that you can use whitening toothpaste in a way similar to what @Slickk describes. I've never tried it though.

Will try this tip also. Thank you!

 

[monarch64]

I’ve had good luck with Seche Vite base. No staining….i think…but I do try to be careful with darker polishes as far as taking them off a bit sooner. Lighter polishes I will let go a bit longer because they are more forgiving as far as a chip goes. However, I do have an issue that my nails inevitably peel after wearing polish. I think that may be more to do with the long wearing gel polish than the base coat, though, and perhaps I just need to remove it earlier.

So…ymmv. If there’s a perfect solution out there I have yet to find it. Will keep an eye on this thread for recs, though!

Seche Vite base and the gel effect top coat are my besties. I am just a casual self-nail-painter and don't ALWAYS have my nails polished. I take care of my cuticles and keep things neat in between when I have time to apply polish, and I don't notice yellowing like I did when I worked jobs where I needed to always have my nails done. You gotta give your nails a break pretty frequently. Use a clear strengthening polish between painting if you really really need something on your nails, or get a mani and have them buffed. But omg be careful with the buffing; sometimes they get a little overzealous and shine the top of your nail bed right off. And it hurts the next 3 days!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

When I glimpsed at the thread title, I totally read this as Polish as in someone from Poland

I am really losing it!

 

[lulu_ma]

@Ally T I just use the top coat of Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel as a base coat and I don't seem to have an issues. Btw, I love SH Miracle Gel it dries fast and is long lasting. Plus, I have two different top coats so I every color I have does double duty.

 

[Ally T]

@Ally T I just use the top coat of Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel as a base coat and I don't seem to have an issues. Btw, I love SH Miracle Gel it dries fast and is long lasting. Plus, I have two different top coats so I every color I have does double duty.

This is an interesting idea!

 

[lulu_ma]

This is an interesting idea!

The one on the left is for a standard finish. The one on the right makes any color sparkly. There’s also a matte top coat, but I haven’t tried it.

 

[Lookinagain]

When I glimpsed at the thread title, I totally read this as Polish as in someone from Poland

I am really losing it!

I did too!

 

[Star gazer]

I love to have polished nails. Always have. But as i have reached a ‘certain age’ & my entire body is drying up, every single colour that’s not nude or clear leaves my nails with a yellow tinge, like nicotine

I have tried many base coats & always seem to come back to Essie First Base, which whilst it doesn’t seem to prevent staining, it does adhere my polish for longer than about a day, which is all the other brands seem to offer me before chipping. I am hard on my hands, though do wear Marigolds for all cleaning & washing up.

Any suggestions for an industrial strength base coat that holds polish to the nails well AND prevents any staining? I am currently having to use a nail buffer once a month to remove stain residue & get my nails natural & bright again & whilst it also deals with dry ridges, I don’t think this is a long term solution.

I really like using this as a base coat under polish.. plus makes my nails really strong!!

 

[Garnetgirl]

When I glimpsed at the thread title, I totally read this as Polish as in someone from Poland

I am really losing it!

So did I, more than once!

 

[Sparkledrops]

I really like using this as a base coat under polish.. plus makes my nails really strong!!

I use SH top coat as a base coat as well.

 

[Ally T]

I would like to update on the Chanel La Base.

My nails didn’t stain at all (I was wearing Rouge Noir) however my polish slightly chipped on 3 fingers after only 2 days, so I took it off. This reduced time on the nail might have reduced the staining, but i have actually had stained nails in the past from only one night out wearing Rouge Noir or a very dark chocolate brown, so i actually think it might have helped?