Nail Polish Health Advice

Nail Polish – Which is the healthiest?

 

We all know we probably shouldn’t keep nail polish on as long as we do. We’ve heard all the bad stuff about it – you can get fungal infections from sharing it, it can discolour your nails, can ruin your nails if they are brittle..

Have you ever considered what the chemical content may be and how this may affect your health?

Now, I will stress – NOT ALL nail polish brands have these chemicals, but I’m lead to believe that they are more likely to pop up in the cheaper nail polishes on the market – the best way to check this is to read the ingredients panel.

The first I’ll discuss is FORMALDEHYDE – yes formaldehyde! Many of you will have heard and smelt this stuff in your biology classes at school. It’s the chemical used as a preserver and to embalm bodies. Most often formaldehyde is found in nail hardeners. According to the International Agency for Cancer Research it has also been found to be a known carcinogen (http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2004/pr153.html).

The next is DIBUTYL PHTHALATE (DBP). This is used in your shower curtains, plastic wrap and gumboots to make the plastic extra flexible. Whilst it’s not been found to be carcinogenic, it has been linked to reproductive and developmental issues, its been banned for use in the European Union (http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions/en/phthalates-school-supplies/l-2/5-safe-daily-exposure.htm).

The final one is TOULENE, This chemical is used in petrol as an octane booster and as a raw material in TNT. This chemical has been linked with affecting the nervous system causing dizziness, headaches, eye irritation and developmental issues. This has also been banned for use in the European Union (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_sccp/docs/sccp_o_076.pdf).

One of the problems we have, is that these products may be ingestible if you tend to bite or chew your nails.

The take home message is to make sure that these products are not present in your nail polish.

My research has found that the more expensive nail polishes have removed these ingredients from their products – these company’s include Chanel, OPI, MAC and Sally Hanson (please check label’s before purchase).

This blog is not designed to cause a stir, it’s just to provide some information to empower you to make better choices if you chose to wear nail polish.

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Melissa Biedak

Melissa Biedak

Podiatrist

On Key

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