How Toxic Is Your Nail Polish?

I think every girl has a soft spot for pretty nails. From all kinds of shapes and colors, we can get seriously creative with our nail designs. There are literally hundreds of video tutorials dedicated to doing your nails like a pro.

photo from weheartit.com

Sad thing is, I've stopped painting my nails over a year ago and most of you will think I am crazy. I can't say I blame you but you'll see why I refuse to wear any nail polish. Let me start off by asking you this -- did you know that nail polishes contain toxic chemicals that are irritating and carcinogenic? A chemical that is most consistent in all nail polish brands is n-butyl acetate a chemical that is known to irritate the lungs, throat, and skin. These chemicals in large amounts can affect the environment which I don't understand why some brands claim their product to be vegan. So when they say it's vegan-friendly they're either saying it's free of animal products or that it's cruelty-free. I feel like this is misleading because when a consistent ingredient in nail polish such as n-butyl acetate is exposed to the environment it can contaminate soil and surface or ground water. This is considered toxic is aquatic organisms. The high vapor pressure and insolubility in water of n-butyl acetate accumulate in the air which can cause respiratory problems.   {   Click here for the source   }
Therefore, the exposure to the environment does not constitute it being cruelty-free. This gives a false sense of a safer or healthier product but obviously it's not.

A lot of companies have taken one, two, or all three of the MAJOR toxic chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic.

Formaldehyde     //      Toluene      //      DBP {aka Di-butyl Phthalate}

These are known as the toxic trio or the toxic three. I think they should call it the "dirty three."

Up until recently, most conventional nail polishes found on store shelves offered up a noxious ingredient list of substances including the "toxic trio," formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, or DBP. Formaldehyde, yes the same stuff used to preserve dead things, is a known human carcinogen and can also cause eye, throat, nose and skin irritation. DBP is a known reproductive and developmental toxin, while toluene is a possible reproductive and developmental toxin and can also cause headaches, dizziness and fatigue. All of these chemicals can be absorbed into the body through the nail bed. Feel like swiping on a coat of polish now? - Kirsten Hudson, huffingtonpost.com

No I don't!!!! O_O

Beware of various marketing:

NAIL POLISHES WITHOUT TOXIC THREE
Just because many companies have gone without these toxic chemicals doesn't mean they aren't just as harmful without it. Read your ingredients and do research on each one. You'll find all kinds of side effects. IT IS SCARY!

NAIL POLISHES WITHOUT TOXIC FIVE
Some companies have gone even further for example like ZOYA(and many others) to claim they don't have the toxic five chemicals:  formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, camphor, di-butyl phthalate free (vegan friendly nail color). I dislike the fact that they repeat the first one as if they are two different ones when they are the same. Formaldehyde resin is a derivative of formaldehyde.
























NAIL POLISHES 7-FREE
You didn't think they could go even further than 5. Well, they did. Avril French cosmetics line has nail polishes too and they claim 7-free of no parabens, no formeldehyde, no pthalate, no toluene (except parme), no xylene (except sabre dore nacre), and no rosin. Still contains harmful irritants listed below:

 BUTYL ACETATE, ETHYL ACETATE, NITROCELLULOSE, PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE / TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE / GLYCOLS COPOLYMER, ACETYL TRIBUTYL CITRATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, CI 77891, STEARALKONIUM HECTORITE, ADIPIC ACID / FUMARIC ACID / PHTHALIC ACID / TRICYCLODECANE DIMETHANOL COPOLYMER, CITRIC ACID.

Even if they go as far as 10 or 20 which I believe they will do or might already be doing doesn't validate the safety of any nail polish.

NAIL POLISHES WITH HERBAL INGREDIENTS

No Miss Vegan Nail Polish is free of the toxic-trio. I guess the only plus side on these is that they this brand contains natural herbal ingredients such as dill seeds, carageenan, coffee arabica seeds, ginseng root, rose canina fruit extract, cucumber fruit extract, hyemale plant extract. I've never heard of nail polishes going this route but the additional ingredients below are still harmful such as ethylacetate and n. butyl acetate. 

Just because they contain natural ingredients dosen't mean that they won't contain toxic chemicals:

Nitrocellulose-a fiber used for viscosity. Ethylacetate, N. Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol-solvents used to dissolve Nitrocellulose. also may contain: Mica, made from sand, cosmetic titanium dioxide, (white),cosmetic iron oxide blue, (indian paint pot grey/blue), iron oxides, earth born colors made from rocks, zinc oxide, from the earth, used to promote drying and to deflect harmful UV rays from the sun. --alternative outfitters.com  

We absorb everything

All around I'm glad that companies are changing their formulas to make it safer for the consumer. However, I'm still against wearing nail polish just because our nails, nail beds, and skin all absorb these  unnatural foreign chemicals. There is no such thing as a safer or non-toxic nail polish, folks. It's as easy as that. It doesn't take a scientist or a tree hugger to realize that nail polish is "not" natural. Remember that anything you apply to your skin will be absorbed into your body. From your cosmetics, nail polishes, and perfumes all irritate your lungs and skin.

So what's the solution??

You're probably not going to like this but the best thing to do it not wear nail polish. I know this is hard ladies and gents but it is worth your health and your life. Now, just because you can't use nail polish doesn't mean you can't have purrty hand and feet. Click on the link below for an au naturale pedicure.

 {   Click here for DIY 5 step Natural Pedicure  on Organic Authority   }