Nail polish: It’s pretty, but is it harmful?

One of a girl’s guilty pleasures is wearing nail polish.  While this beauty practice is very fun and makes you look great, there are some hidden dangers to consider.  Especially when it comes to their ingredients.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of nail polish company’s these days, and ones that make gel, liquid or powder polishes.  You made have heard of Wet n’ Wild, OPI, Sally Hansen or Essie.  But while all of these are popular and have a great color palette, are they safe for you?

The dangers of nail polish unfortunately goes beyond what you see on the outside.  When you apply certain  polish, you are exposing yourself to harmful chemicals- ones that can easily be avoided.

The specific components to avoid are listed below, they can seriously damage your health.

So what can you do to avoid exposure to these chemicals?  Look for companies that lists it is “5 Free,” avoiding use of formaldehyde, its derivative reruns, toluene, dibutyl phthalates or camphor.  There are also “3 Free,” avoiding formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and toluene.

Some nail polish packages and bottles have special markings:

  • “5-Free“ means that the product doesn’t contain formaldehyde, its derivative resins (formaldehyde resins), toluene, dibutyl phthalates, or camphor.
  • ”3-Free” means that the polish is free of just three of the harmful components: formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and toluene.

Some safe and NON TOXIC nail polish options would be LVX, Nars, Butter London, Zoya and Essie.  All of those listed above are all free of the 3 or 5 major chemicals.

Before purchasing any nail polish or using some at a salon, consider the ingredients that you are putting on your body- and make sure that all tools are thoroughly cleaned before use.

 

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