Some of you may have noticed that I very rarely have nail polish on. Why? I recently became aware of just how toxic most nail polishes are for your health. For that reason, I rarely wear nail polish or I wear a safe nail polish. It probably doesn’t shock you that your nail polishes are full of chemicals. What does it smell like when you walk into a nail salon? Chemicals.
What’s so bad about my nail polish?
Nail polishes contain many harmful toxins, the worst of which are the “toxic trio” of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP. Formaldehyde causes chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing, and can also cause cancer. Toluene causes weakness, exhaustion, anxiety, and can cause liver and kidney damage. DBP is perhaps the worst of the three, causing endocrine disruption (affects hormones, reproductive organs, etc.) and causes birth defects as well as thyroid disruption.
Some nail polishes are now “3-free,” which means they are free of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP. Formaldehyde is what hardens the paint, toluene creates that smooth texture, and DBP is the main ingredient for a “chip-free” manicure. I love a gel manicure as much as the next girl, but not at the risk of having a newborn with birth defects. Are you with me?
It’s great that a lot of nail polish companies have gone “3-free” but there are still so many dangerous chemicals in our nail polishes. The most concerning ingredient to me are parabens. The most commonly used parabens are methylparaben, butylparaben, and propylparaben. What’s so wrong with parabens? First, parabens have been linked to cancer. Second, parabens mimic estrogen and thus mess with your hormones.
What’s a safe nail polish I can use?
I started using Pacifica nail polish recently, which is “7-free,” which means it is free from formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, camphor, xylene, and parabens. It is sold at Target and is the same price as the other popular brands.
I was the girl constantly getting gel manicures at a nail salon, but now I do it myself at home. Because I have to do it myself, I find myself just going bare more because it’s less work! But if you see me with nail polish, it is the Pacifica brand in the color ‘Wonderland.’ I have thought about just bringing my Pacifica polish to a nail salon, but besides the polish, you’ve got the remover, cuticle softeners, scrubs, lotions, and their cleaning supplies to worry about. No thank you!
In Summary…
Luckily, safe beauty is becoming more mainstream, and our soaps, shampoos, and makeup are getting a lot more attention. We are constantly being marketed to about soaps with coconut, argon, shea, etc. but you just don’t hear that much about nail polish. It’s kind of crazy to think how focused people are on sulfate-free soap, but are putting formaldehyde on their hands monthly. Right?
Because the cosmetics industry isn’t very regulated, a lot of nail polishes are claiming that they are “safe” or “green” or even “x-free” but are not. It is so important to peel back those labels and understand what you are putting on your body. This is a totally new space for me, and the more I discover, the more scared I get. I tried Beautycounter out a few months ago (and loved it). I am slowly replacing all of my products with safe beauty products, and I’m not going back!