Mar 30, 2016

Watch This Horrifying Video of Nail Polish Remover Melting a Cup – GoodHousekeeping.com

If you’re a diehard nail art lover, you may be accustomed to using acetone to clear off your designs in between manis. But a new video that’s going totally viral may make you think twice about using certain varnish removers.

The video, uploaded by YouTube channel Let’s Melt This, shows acetone — commonly used as nail polish remover — dissolving a Styrofoam cup on a plate. Once pushed down into the acetone, the cup “melts” into a puddle of unrecognizable white goo. And it looks just as gross as you can imagine it would.

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So, why the goopy-ness? “Acetone is a strong, polar, organic solvent that is relatively acidic, capable of dissolving paints, fats, oils, glue, and plastics, hence its use as a nail polish remover” explains Dr. Birnur Aral, Director of the Beauty Lab at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. She adds that nail polish, when dry, is nothing but a polymeric coating packed with a lot of pigments. “In this video, acetone is dissolving the polystyrene, the polymer used to make Styrofoam.” The process appears dramatic as the Styrofoam is mostly made of air, so just a small amount of acetone can dissolve quite a bit of it. See? Science is fun!

As for putting acetone on your nails, perhaps opt for a less harsh option. “Acetone-free nail polish remover is gentler, as it doesn’t dry out your nails so much,” advises Dr. Marina Peredo, a New York City dermatologist.

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