Almost all people know what is Air dry nail polish, somebody calls Regular polish, some call lacquer, some just call color polish.

Air dry nail polish has been existed for really long time, it is the most popular beauty nail product when people starting to care on beauty.

Oily based nail polish was the first generation type of regular polish, later come with water based.

So what is the different of oily based and water based? Which is better?

Water-based and oil-based nail polish both have their advantages and disadvantages. But you can see the advantage and disadvantage according to your favor:

  1. Smell and safety:

Oily based polish is with strong smell, certain ingredient could cause allergic reaction if someone is sensitive on it and damage skin. It is harmful for kids and pregnant.

Water based polish is no odor, it don’t contain these harmful substances, such as formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, so they’re less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.

Not only for adults, it is also safe for kids and pregnant to use.

It do more gentle on people’s  skin and nails.

  • Drying time:

Oily based polish is super fast drying time, it can dry within 1-3 minutes even in winter.

Water based polish is taking longer time to dry, about 3-10 minutes/ coat in Summer, 5-20 minutes/ coat in Winter.

So you may have to wait longer before applying the next coat of polish if it has not yet dried completely.

This might be an issue if you need super fast drying in salon.

  • Easy to remove:

Relatively speaking, water based polish is easier to remove, this would suit more on home user.

Oily based polish is harder to remove, and it will peel in small pieces by pieces, so after few days, once it start to peel, it would looks ugly if you can not remove them.

Water-based nail polish tends to be better for people who want easy application and healthy, but oil-based ones might be more suited if you’re looking for something more durable, faster drying time. After that, it’s up to your personal preference!