10 Harmful Nail Polish Ingredients To Avoid
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All nail polish is not harmful.
In fact, many nail polish formulas contain nourishing ingredients that support nail wellness and growth, and we just wrote a post featuring clean nail polish brands.
Even the lion’s share of nail polish brands that don’t overtly advertise themselves as “clean,” contain clean ingredients and have been cleaning up their formulas over the years.
So as time rolls on, thankfully it seems the nail polish industry is adjusting to the demands of their customers - we want to be beautiful without compromising our health.
That said, some brands are still producing nail polish with toxic ingredients.
Unless you are purchasing your nail polish from a clean-only brand, you often have to read the ingredients on each bottle, under the bottom label or on the back, to know for sure what’s in your bottle.
This is because brands often change their formula, from batch to batch, policy change to policy change, or from lead chemist to lead chemist.
Meaning, if you look at the ingredients on the current, official website listing for your product, it doesn’t guarantee those are the ingredients in your bottle.
You can avoid harmful ingredients in your nail polish though. You can advocate for beauty that takes into account your desire for long-term wellbeing.
You can choose polishes from clean lines and brands. You can read the ingredients before you buy. You can declutter and start sunsetting older, more toxic formulas.
Below you will find 10 of the most harmful chemicals in nail polish:
1 - Formaldehyde
If a nail polish states it’s 3-free, that usually means it’s free of formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin, also called tosylamide/formaldehyde resin, formalin or methylene glycol, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and toluene.
Formaldehyde is typically added to nail polishes as a hardener, though it is classified as a human carcinogen and allergen.
Most nail polishes no longer include formaldehyde in their formula.
However, you’ll still want to keep an eye on the common formaldehyde derivative tosylamide/formaldehyde resin, which is a reaction product of toluenesulfonamide and formaldehyde. This ingredient is omitted in cleaner formulas.
2 - Phthalates
A fairly common toxin in polish, phthalates are added to nail polishes as plasticizers to make the finish more flexible. The most well known phthalate in the nail polish world is DBP, but it’s rarely used anymore.
Sadly, that’s because other phthalates, like dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have taken its place.
Phthalates are dangerous because they’re endocrine disrupters and are scientifically shown to negatively impact reproductive, neurological and developmental systems in the human body, particularly in unborn babies, children, kids in puberty and women.
3 - Toluene
Toluene is also called Methylbenzene and benzenes can be a risk. This is a solvent added to nail polishes to make them faster drying.
The speed toluene offers comes at a high cost - severe adverse effects on the nervous system including anxiety, confusion, memory loss and difficulty sleeping.
It also can cause kidney damage, liver damage and developmental delays in babies when the mother is exposed during pregnancy.
Thankfully, there are now safer alternatives.
4 - Camphor
Camphor contributes to the flexibility and durability of nail polish formulas, however, it can be toxic when ingested causing nausea and mental confusion at lower exposure levels and at higher levels, seizures, unconsciousness and death.
5 - Triphenyl Phosphate (TPHP)
A very common harmful ingredient in nail polishes.
TPHP is believed to have been added to nail polish to replace DBP, but it’s just another endocrine disruptor in a new form and it’s specifically linked to impairing fertility and reproductive capacity.
The only silver lining with this chemical is that TPHP is excreted through the body via urine in about 24 hours.
6 - Parabens
Parabens are used as preservatives and the most common ones you’ll see in nail polish are methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and ethylparaben. I usually spot them at the end of the ingredient list.
In the body, parabens mimic hormones, disrupt hormone signals, impact hormone production, behave like estrogen and affect the healthy function of both male and female reproductive systems.
Shockingly, studies have linked paraben load in the body with decreased fertility and scientific evidence suggests certain parabens alter gene expression.
7 - Xylene
Xylene is a solvent that helps thin nail polish to prevent it from getting lumpy.
Per the CDC, it also causes skin, eyes and throat irritation, as well as impaired lung function, impaired memory, lack of muscle coordination and potential liver and kidney damage.
8 - Naphthalene
Prohibited in the EU, Naphthalene is a common ingredient in mothballs and it’s also found in some nail polish.
Toxic to both humans and animals, naphthalene causes reversible negative effects like headaches, eye and nose irritation, though with repeated exposure it’s linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage.
9 - Styrene
Styrene has a wide variety of chemical derivatives: Styrene/acrylates copolymer, Styrene butadiene copolymer, Polystyrene, Styrene copolymer, Styrene resin, Ethylbenzene and Vinylbenzene.
It’s widely used to make plastics and rubber and added to cosmetics for color. Unfortunately, evidence in the research strongly suggests it’s an endocrine disruptor that is also linked to cancer.
10 - Glycol Ether of Series E (EGEs)
This group of solvents is added to nail polish to improve the spreadability of the pigments.
They’re linked to reproductive harm like birth defects, sperm damage and testicle damage. They are also believed to create adverse neurological effects like personality changes, confusion and trembling.
Okay, so now you have an idea of the harmful ingredients that some brands continue to use in their products, despite the body of evidence that continues to grow against these chemicals.
To prevent yourself from coming into contact with these chemicals, read the ingredients before you buy, lean into clean brands and lines, and if you feel inspired, check the bottles in your current collection for their ingredients.
I had fun looking up the different chemicals, considered the process just one more way to get to know the collection and let it naturally inform my buying decisions moving forward.
All in all, I’m grateful for the many nail polish brands that have made the effort to clean up their formulas, though the nail polish industry still has some work to do.
As nail polish customers, we can help get these chemicals out of our formulas by making more informed purchasing decisions, discontinuing the use of these products in our own collections, and stopping the buying and promoting of new products that contain these ingredients.
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