If the pandemic boosted the demand for nail polish, it also sped up pre-existing trends, including for this category: naturalness, removal of controversial ingredients, search for performance…
“Over the past ten years, there has been an unprecedented technological mutation in the nail polish sector,” explains Pierre Miasnik, CEO of Fiabila, one of the industry’s leaders. And the French company has largely contributed to it! As monomer-based gel formulas are being marketed, although their use is not completely safe, Fiabila has chosen to innovate by offering alternative solutions adapted to consumer expectations.
A large panel of technological solutions
“We are working on several technologies adapted to the different market segments. But, whatever the technical choice, we always offer high-quality, 100% vegan formulas produced in plants that comply with the strictest quality and environmental protection norms,” adds the CEO, “to offer ever-more natural, safe, and efficient products.”
All these technologies and innovations will be showcased in Bologna, Italy, at the next Cosmopack show, where Fiabila will display a collection of conventional nail polish, i.e. all nail polish products based on the formation of a film by solvent evaporation. Today, these products are divided into two large categories: traditional petro-sourced formulas, and biosourced formulas, which are increasingly popular among brands and consumers.
“Today, we can reach levels as high as 90% of biosourced raw materials with highly satisfactory quality. All our formulas are tested on panels and their levels of performance (lasting results, drying, shininess, etc.) are perfectly calibrated,” adds Pierre Miasnik.
Beyond that, more recently, Fiabila re-deployed the technology of reactive or hybrid formulas, which consists in adapting conventional formulas for a hybrid use of nail polish – hence its name. Such formulas contain an oligomer which provides them with additional properties. The application is the same as with conventional nail polish: the film forms after the evaporation of solvents and when the oligomer physically dries. Then, an overlayer is applied to make the film polymerize: in the presence of UV rays (natural light or LED lamp), the nail polish hardens and become even shinier. “The result is truly exceptional, the nail polish is shiny and lasts eight days,” emphasizes Pierre Miasnik. Fiabila has patented two oligomers for these hybrid formulas.
As a complement, the Salon Prodigy technology is composed of formulas reactive under LED lamps designed to compete with gel formulas containing monomers. The use of oligomers instead of monomers prevents the formation of an occlusive film particularly difficult to remove. If it lasts a bit less long, the product is much healthier for nails!
Besides these two large families, Fiabila offers solvent-free water-based nail polish. There is a range for children, which can be removed with water and soap, and a range for adults, which is removed with a nail polish remover.
Lastly, Fiabila boasts two recent innovations: the Do Not Disturb technology, which offers almost odourless formulas much praised in Asia, and a range of ecodesigned nail polish with recycled solvents retrieved during the company’s manufacturing process, so that purity levels can be guaranteed.
All these solutions help meet market expectations related to naturalness and performance! And since, on all segments, safety remains the main concern, Fiabila developed several methods to limit the eventual formation of nitrosamines in formulas. This has become a hot topic, in particular in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, where rules have been tightened as regards this issue. According to the company, by removing particular clay types, bentonites, and using inhibitors, under certain conditions, the presence of these substances can be divided by ten. A patent was registered for this technology.
A booming market
From an industrial standpoint, Fiabila has kept investing, so the company now boasts sufficient capacities to keep up with a global market boom.
As an example, the group has just opened a new filling site in Poland. The 8,000-m2 plant has been operational since early April: it is equipped with automated lines, cutting-edge equipment identical to that of the group’s other units, and technicians trained in France for three years.
Always seeking optimum quality, Fiabila has also just finished restoring the pigment crushing unit of its plant located in Maintenon, in the south-west of Paris. The new technology implemented significantly minimizes the risk of pigment air contamination. As a matter of fact, for the second year in a row, the site has obtained the EcoVadis Platinum certification for CSR. Fiabila is working to have this level of performance recognized for all its units around the world with more global labels.
