Water-based polish is a nail lacquer that uses an acrylic polymer dispersed in water as its film former, so it dries as the water evaporates and the particles fuse, with low odour and no flammable solvents.
Also known as: water based nail polish, peel-off polish, acrylic emulsion polish, nagellak op waterbasis
A water-based polish swaps the nitrocellulose-in-solvent system for an acrylic emulsion. Tiny polymer particles are suspended in water with permanent plasticisers and fugitive coalescents, solvents that soften the particles so they fuse into a film and then evaporate. The film forms from the top down, the opposite of a solvent polish (Personal Care Magazine).
The advantages are practical. There are no flammable solvents and almost no smell, which suits children, pregnant users who want to avoid fumes, and anyone who finds the acetate smell of regular polish unpleasant. Production is safer and the base is compatible with water-soluble actives (Personal Care Magazine).
The drawbacks are why the category stays small. Drying is slower: a test formula with 92 percent acrylic dried about twice as fast as other water-based products and was still slower than solvent polish. Some water is absorbed into the nail while the coat dries. Wear has historically been weaker, and removal is harder because the film has to be peeled or taken off with an alcohol-based remover.
Water-based is often confused with plant-based or bio-sourced polish. Plant-based lacquers such as Manucurist Green or Kure Bazaar keep the nitrocellulose system and replace the petrochemical solvents with solvents made from corn, cotton or cassava; they still dry by evaporation and come off with ordinary remover. The ingredient list settles it: aqua near the top means water-based.