Trind Nail Balsam

A while ago, I was given a bottle of Trind Nail Balsam to review.  Before I go into that, I'd like to say a few words about the company.  I first heard of Trind from one of my readers about 8 months ago, which prompted some late night searching for nail care stuff and beyond.  I must say after many months of communication with the company and the president (US Chapter, Trind Nail & Hand Corp), I have nothing but utter respect and admiration for their products and philosophies on nail care.  I have had amazing conversations with the president and find myself totally smitten with his knowledge, commitment and passion.  I have so much love for nail care that meeting someone with the same passion is enthralling.

I first became interested in the Trind Nail Balsam after reading that it was a moisturizing product you could apply right before nail polish.  This is a bit surprising because normally we aim to remove dirt, oil and other grime from the nail surface before polish application to get the best polish wear.  I was a bit skeptical, yet not totally enraged because after all I put glycerin in my acetone and don't have much problem with polish wear. 

~$13-19 for 0.3oz/9mL

The consumer website can be found here.
















How I use it:

The product comes with a brush.  The Balsam smells flowery and fresh; it has hints of the perfume Sun Moon Stars ... to me.  At first I noticed the scent a lot, then I guess I got immune.

I shake the product well, then apply a thin layer to each nail.

I have gotten quite good at taking pictures with my chest and chin no?

Allow the product to soak in for about 2 minutes.  It will look wet.  Sorry my nails are a bit yellow; that situation was remedied here.

I massage any excess into the nail and cuticle.  The product penetrates really well and leaves the nail and skin nicely hydrated.

The nail surface does not feel sticky or dirty, just hydrated.

Now I am all ready for base coat and polish without having to further prep the nail with alcohol or acetone!

In terms of polish wear ...
I don't remember ever having any problems with polish wear.  As an example, I remember wearing

China Glaze - Stella

for about a week while I was at a conference and it looked flawless.



This product does not contain oil which probably helps with proper polish adhesion. 


So what makes this stuff so special?  A few key ingredients:

Liposomes!
I don't know about you, but I first heard of liposomes when I discovered Prostrong.  They had a moisturizing product they included with the accelerator that was pretty great.  Later they made it pink (using Red 33) which I have an allergy to and our relationship ended real fast.

Liposomes are really neat little things you can read about here.  Simply speaking they are fatty sacks filled with, well with whatever you want to fill them.  They can vary in size. 

What is most important is not that this product contains liposomes, because many do, but about the quality and quantity of  the liposomes.  You can be sure you are getting high quality liposomes that allow moisturizing ingredients to penetrate the nails and provide real moisture.

Biotin:
Normally we are accustomed to hearing about biotin as a vitamin/supplement taken internally.  It is metabolized by the body and delivered ... well everywhere.  However, in this product the chemists have specifically formulated it to stay on the nail.  An exact amount is stabilized and its delivery is controlled on the nail bed.  Does that mean no pimples?!?  That could be a plus.

Allantoin:
I love this stuff as I have mentioned in this post.  It has the capacity to increase the hydration levels in the skin and has exfoliating properties.  Read this if you want more info.

Panthenol:
Simply speaking, this is a moisturizer.  More fancy ... this is a provitamin of B₅.  It can absorb water from the air and is an emollient. 

Phytantriol:
Helps retain the moisture in the nail bed.


Overall thoughts: 
What a great little product!!  The winter months bring me a lot of trouble with dry skin and nails.  I need all the help I can get in the cold weather.  You can be sure I will continue to grease up my cuticles extra hard with oils and balms while I'm wearing polish and apply this Balsam under new manicures.  *Don't forget to wear gloves when it gets cold outside to protect your nails from the lower temperatures and wind!*

Trind has many other fantastic high quality products from nail hardeners to nail colors.  Solveig from Nailin' It! has had fantastic results with Trind Nail Repair.  Have you tried any of the Trind products? Thoughts?

*This product was provided by the company for review*

Nutrition....check

Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier, but to me it was sort of a default.  I realize however, this needs to be mentioned because everyone's diet is directly related to nail health, just like skin and hair.

Simple Rules ... (at least simple enough ... I admit I myself am a work in progress)

1. Stay hydrated.

You know that rule.... 8 glasses of water blah blah....eeehhh what a chore.  The good news (by way of Dr. Nancy Snyderman from the Today show), is that apparently those 8 glasses can be included in the food you eat.    All food has moisture in it.  Some has more than others, think watermelon vs. cereal.  Therefore, if for example you have tea or milk during the day this can be counted as your "moisture" and part of the 8 glass minimum.  Yeahy!  My only problem with this rational is, coffee and tea drinks contain caffeine, which is a known diuretic.  So, it seems all you are doing is quickly peeing out your moisture.  This is counter intuitive.  Does that mean you have to drink even more to make up for the loss or are your kidney's just happy enough they got something?  My mind is going in circles thinking about this, and biology is not my friend.    




2. Balance your fats, carbs and proteins.
I love all of the above.  BUT like nail buffing, all things are good in moderation.

3. Vitamins
Maybe this is a personal preference, but I think the best vitamins come from actual food.  I was raised in Russia and back in the day if I told my mom I yearned for an apple, she would say "sorry they are not in season and we can't afford them."  Then we would go stand in line for bread, or whatever they were selling in "the line" that day.

4. To Biotin or not to Biotin
If you decide to take biotin, the rule of thumb, from my research, has been 5 milligrams (mg) (or 5000 micrograms (mcg)) a day.  This is a favorite among both nail and hair forums.  However, a few words of caution on the side effects:

a. strong healthy hair growth (awesome!)
b. strong healthy nail growth (double awesome!!)
c. strong healthy mustache growth (what the .... eeehhhh, maybe I'll pass and stick to moisturizer.)

Others have also reported some skin problems, while others swear by it.
Everyone is different and individual results will very *insert 30 min infomercial here*.

Has anyone tried Biotin?  For how long, how long before seeing results?  Any side effects, good or bad?