Week 25 - What's In That Polish?

In the past several years it has become quite a trend for women and girls to go have a "mani" and/or "pedi" at their local nail salon. Ten years ago this was not a common occurrence. I for one have never had either done by a “professional”. It’s not because the products used there are bad for the environment (and believe me, are they ever!), it’s because a) the salons smell horrible, b) you put your feet in a thingy that several other people have put their feet in (yes, I know they get cleaned but really how clean?) and c) a stranger is touching you (oddly enough, massages don’t bother me). I just try to keep my nails clipped and cleaned.

Manicures and pedicures make people feel good and I’m all for that. We just have to know what we are exposing ourselves and the environment to and how to make better choices. So let’s start with nail polish.

Nail Polish

According to Puresolutions.com, the major safety concerns of nail polish are:

1. Chemical fumes: Solvent-based nail polish formulas use aromatic chemicals that quickly evaporate, leaving behind a hardened coat of paint. Environmental chemicals do not simply bounce off our bodies in a neutral fashion. In order to prevent damage, our bodies have to efficiently process them. Most chemical that you inhale, will be absorbed into your blood stream, deactivated by your liver and expelled from your system (via your colon, urine, or sweat). Noxious chemicals like the ones found in solvent-based nail polish can place an increased burden on your liver. The more chemicals you are exposed to, the harder it is for your liver to function efficiently. Overwhelmed livers can set the stage for a variety of health problems. It is generally recommended to limit your toxin exposure when possible - switching to a safer nail polish brand is a great start.

2. Dibutyl Phthalates: Prevents nail polish from chipping. Prenatal exposure to phthalates has been shown in animal studies to cause birth defects. Phthalates also improve absorption of topical ingredients into the skin (this is a negative quality when used in formulas that contain other chemical ingredients).

3. Toluene and xylene: Petroleum-based organic solvents that are toxic and may be linked to cancer.

4. Formaldehyde: (the stuff they preserve dead things with, YUCK) Noxious chemical - highly toxic to the liver and carcinogenic.

It goes without saying these chemicals are bad for us. But to keep things in perspective, how often and how long are we exposing ourselves to them? Unless you have some kind of sensitivity or work in an industry where you have increased exposure, we are likely going to be okay.

The environmental effects however, are of greater consequence because of 1) the manufacturing process where chemicals are released into the air, are absorbed by the soil and can end up in waterways, and 2) although polish is packaged in glass they are almost never recycled since we rarely finish an entire bottle before throwing it out! The waste increases chemical levels in landfills.

So what to do?

If you want to continue using nail polish (and I’m certain most of us do), choose safer options. Go to cosmeticsdatabase.com, a cosmetic safety database which rates various brands of nail polish products and removers. Most popular brands of nail polishes (Cover Girl, Sally Hansen, Revlon) come in with a 5-6 rating, on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being the worst. OPI—perhaps the most popular brand of nail polish at salons—recently removed toxic chemicals from its products. So that’s some good news.

Don’t be fooled by the term “natural formula”. A solvent based nail polish can still be “natural”. If a polish is solvent based, it likely contains acetate. Read the labels and decide what you can live with. The safest nail polish is water-based.

HoneybeeGardens.com's Water Based Nail Polish is considered the safest, can be found at Whole Foods stores or ordered from their website. They offer both no peel and peel options. Their no peel polish can be removed with rubbing alcohol, vodka/grain alcohol or their own Odorless Polish Remover

Colornpeel.com offers ToeShades Nail Polish. It looks like a pretty cool product. It contains no formaldehyde or toluene; requires no acetone to remove since it just peels off; it’s low odor; it’s non-flammable and it will last 21 days or longer on your toes.

Here are some other suggestions from Idealbite.com:

SpaRitual Nail Lacquers - 72 different hues of vegan, phthalate-free polish ($10).
Peacekeeper Nail Paint - we like the muted purple Paint Me Grateful. All profits go to women's health and human rights orgs ($12-$17).
Firoze Nail & Skin Care Products are hypoallergenic & never tested on animals

Note: most natural polishes take longer to dry (remember they are lacking the chemical that speeds drying). Use a blow dryer to speed things along.

One other thing we can do is purchase the smallest bottle of safe polish we can find. Maybe than we have a chance of both finishing the product and recycling the bottle.

Nail Polish Remover

Anything that can take the finish off a table, eat a hole through fabric or discolor a carpet cannot be good for us or the environment! Nail polish remover is nasty stuff! Here’s the ingredient list as outlined at CareFair.com:

Acetone

Acetone is the main ingredient found in most nail polish removers and is a highly inflammable liquid widely used as an organic solvent and as material for making plastics.
Acetone can irritate and cause redness to eyes, but it can cause lung congestion and even shortness of breath when exposed to its’ vapors. The effects however are only temporary if exposure is minimal.

Toluene

A colorless flammable liquid obtained from petroleum or coal tar, toluene is found in many nail polish removers and is also used as a solvent in high-octane fuels.
Toluene can also cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, confusion and even memory loss in minimal exposure. Repeated exposure to the chemical has been known to cause birth defects in children.

Ethyl Acetate

This chemical has been found as a substitute for nail polish removers that label themselves as non-acetone. Ethyl acetate is a fragrant colorless flammable volatile liquid ester made from ethanol and acetic acid. The chemical is also used in perfumes and as a solvent for plastics.
Ethyl acetate has been known to have the same effects as both acetone and toluene when exposed to.

The fix? Switch to a safer product. There are a lot of other options on the market that contain gentler ingredients. Also keep in mind that non-acetone removers are no safer than ones that contain acetone. Try:


Suncoat Natural Nail Polish Remover (a number of on-line vendors carry it) is “an earth friendly product which is 100% Soya and Corn based. It is naturally derived from farm crops and does not contain any petroleum ingredients. Non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and is also readily biodegradable.”

HoneybeeGardens.com offers their acetone-free fragrance-free formula enriched with horsetail extract to strengthen nails, and fortified with vitamin E and aloe to soothe and protect cuticles.

Fake Nails

Sometimes I wonder what future anthropologists will say about our current culture. Picture it. There they will be, brushing away at a skeleton when they come to a grinding halt because several things just seem off. There's a pair of silicone “pillows”, the teeth are still blindingly white, and what’s that by the hands - it appears to be extra fingernails, decals and all! Can you imagine what they will think? Will it be as interesting to them as discovering say, the ancient Egyptians? Anyway…

Artificial nails are made from acrylic resins, residues of which can cause allergic reactions. The ingredients in adhesives used to secure the artificial nail to the real nail can cause irritation or reaction as well. Worst of all is the solvent used to remove acrylic nails: acetonitrile. This chemical breaks down into cyanide when swallowed and at least one child has died after ingesting a single mouthful of a nail remover containing acetonitrile.

Do we really need them? Instead, let’s try and take care of what we were born with. Consider the following:

1. Your nails are going to reflect what you eat. If you eat nothing but junk, don't expect your nails to be strong and healthy
2. Get into the habit of wearing rubber gloves as often as possible.
3. Wear gloves while gardening.
4. Moisturize your hands AND nails with lotion. It helps strengthen them.
5. Moisturize your cuticles daily.
6. Trimming your nails will keep them looking nicer, longer.
7. Keep emery boards everywhere and remember to file in one direction.
8. Don’t use your nails as tools.
9. Don’t bite your nails. Besides being icky, it makes your fingers look terrible.
10. Using a buffer regularly will create a natural low lustre sheen.

I think this might be an area where making a change could be tough. Sure we can take better care of ourselves and the environment by shopping for less toxic supplies (which are not readily available yet), but if you have the quantity of polish I have (3 females in the house) it’s going to take a while to make this change. It’s not an area I would feel comfortable just dumping what I have and starting over because it would be releasing more toxins into the environment. So we just have to be patient, use what we have with care and make better choices in the future!