Indulgent Intermission: (Mis)Adventures in Stain Removal and OrigiNails Bubble White

Since it's a rare day that you'll find my nails unpolished, I've never really bothered much with the staining that frequent polishing leaves behind. Sure, I faithfully use base coat. I even double up for colors that I know for certain will leave unwanted traces behind. But I've learned the hard way that not all base coats are created equal. My favorite still remains the Nail Tek Foundation II Ridge Filling base coat. I've gotten absolutely no staining at all when I was using it. The only problem is that it's not exactly cheap, nor is it readily available (as of this writing, you can only get it from the Shopping Channel or, with a lot of luck, at Winners). In a bid to find cheaper and easily sourced alternatives, I turned to Orly Bonder. Let's just say that didn't quite go well. Heck, I got massive staining after using it under another Orly - Orly Sweet Tart, to be exact! My nails have never been quite the same since. If you really think about it, it has become a vicious, seemingly never-ending cycle: use nail polish - get stained nails - use nail polish to cover stained nails. So in an effort to end said cycle and proudly sport my nekkid nails, I picked up this packet when I last hit up my local Sally Beauty at Carolina's suggestion.

As I was trying it for the first time, I went for the smaller 11g packet.

Ingredient list and directions for use. (Feel free to click to enlarge)

I'd like to point out that this does come in a larger size (I forget exactly how big, but I do think that if you'll end up using this often, the bigger size is definitely the more economical option). Because I wasn't quite sure how I'd fare with it, I went with the smaller, one use only packet. On hindsight, I probably should've gotten the bigger size as I might have underestimated my staining woes. Here's how bad it is (I swear, I'm not exaggerating):

*cringes* Quick, scroll down to see how I dealt with this!

What you'll need:

A 1/3 cup measuring cup, a small bowl and your packet of Bubble White.

(Not pictured: a timer to keep track of your progress and scissors)

Step 1: Place 1/3 cup of warm (not hot!) water into your bowl.

Step 2: Cut or tear the top part of the packet and slowly pour the powder into the bowl.

This is the bubbly solution you're left with once the powder mixes with the water.

Step 3: Immediately dunk your fingers into the bowl. Make sure that all the nails are completely submerged. Start the timer for five minutes. ***You'll notice the bubbles starting to subside over time and that's perfectly fine. The solution still works even without the bubbling action.

Step 4: At the five minute mark, remove your hand from the bowl and rinse with clean water. Use a nail brush to buff off any impurities, if needed. Wipe to dry and you're all done! Well, halfway done. Repeat the process from step 3-4 using the remaining solution with the other hand.

It isn't, by any means, a miracle product. But it works. I really think it does. Now, I didn't get to quite the level of unstained that I would have liked but I did notice a significant difference. This is the part where I'll be honest and say I was initially disappointed to see that I didn't end up with clear, white nails after one treatment. I didn't even really notice much of a difference until I saw the before and after photos I took during the process. Forget feeling disappointed, I'm now looking forward to using Bubble White more to (hopefully) reach an unstained state!

Same exact light set up and camera settings, just some 15 minutes in between.

Obviously not the best results, but any positive result is better than what I started with! I'm hoping that with more uses, I can finally kick staining to the curb. It'll also help if I can find a budget friendly base coat that works as well as my beloved Nail Tek. What's your favorite base coat? How do you deal with staining? I'd love to hear your recommendations in the comments! And here's one that Hammie insists I ask: what's the most staining nail polish you've ever had the misfortune of using?