The Hazards of Nail Polish!!

The other day as I was nearly passing out from the smell as I was putting on nail polish I had this thought. How safe is nail polish really? Now I know its not like organic and chemical free, so I know to some degree its unsafe, but I wanted to know if I should never paint my nails again or what. So I set out to do some research, on the chemical in nail polish and if there is a better health alternative.


Most Nail Polishes Contain the Following Chemicals:

• Formaldehyde- yes the same chemical used to preserve dead things, is a known human carcinogen and can also cause eye, throat, nose and skin irritation. 
• DBP -is a known reproductive and developmental toxin.
• Toluene-maybe a reproductive and developmental toxin and can also cause headaches, dizziness and fatigue. 

All these chemicals can be absorbed into the body through the nail bed. The good news is that after 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics campaigned and got some mainstream nail polish brands such as Orly, Sally Hansen and OPI, to remove one or two of those chemicals from their nail polish.  They are more limited than in the past, but they are still present in nail polish. 

You can even get Nail Polish Poisoning, which is from swallowing or breathing in (inhaling) nail polish.
This causes problems with your kidneys  bladder, eyes, nose, lungs, nervous system, and heart just to name a few.

Nail polish doesn't just effect your health, it effects the environment as well. When you throw those bottles away they leak into the soil and groundwater. Nail polish is even listed in many household hazardous waste departments as hazardous waste to be accepted at their facility.

So what is the alternative, well you can choose nail polishes that are made without harmful chemicals by checking to see if the company signed with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and search for options on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database. If you are really worried about the health and environmental effects, you can just do all natural, and opt out of using polish all together, and you can Google ways to do natural manicures!