We are nearing the end of summer sandal season. Since I live in the deep south, there is a high probability that I’ll still be sporting my favorite strappy shoes for at least another month. I love painting my toenails a rainbow of colors during this time of year. Since creating a chemical-free life is one of my healthy living goals and a helpful fibromyalgia recovery strategy, I want to know what ingredients are used to make any product I put anywhere on my body. There are a lot of potentially harmful ingredients in many popular brands of nail polish. Four of the most toxic are:
- Formaldehyde. It is used in embalming fluid and can cause cancer.
- Toluene. It’s used in gasoline, affects the nervous system, and can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eye irritation.
- Dibutyl-pthalate (DBP). It has been linked to reproductive problems.
- Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP). It’s used as a fire retardant and has been linked to disruptions in the endocrine system. A study by researchers at Duke University found measurable TPHP inside the bodies of women just 10-14 hours after they applied nail polish that contained that ingredient. Duke University TPHP Study
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If you are not sure which brands are safest, search online for nontoxic nail polish. Even if you find an article with a list of safer brands, you still have to verify the ingredients yourself. Look for brands that are free of the four toxic ingredients listed above. Check brands you like on the EWG Skin Deep Database. It’s a great resource. Type in the name of the product and they will give you a numerical color-coded rating. Lower green numbers are safest. Higher red numbers contain the most toxic ingredients. The yellow middle set of numbers remind you to be cautious because this product contains some safe and some unsafe ingredients. My favorite safer nail polish company went out of business recently, so I’ve been noodling around the internet and checking the Database looking for new options. I found two brands that have safer green ratings: Piggy Paint and Suncoat Polish. Even if I’ve used a product previously, I do a quick check on the EWG Database. Companies change their formulas all the time and manufactures that value nontoxic products are taken over by companies that don’t value safer ingredients at all.
If you adore colorful nails, find the safest polish options, and enjoy your beautiful happy toes during the remaining warm days. Summer will slide into autumn soon enough and it will be time to pull your favorite boots out from the back of the closet.
Here’s to making healthy choices and creating a chemical-free life!
If you adore colorful nails, find the safest polish options, and enjoy your beautiful happy toes during the remaining warm days. Summer will slide into autumn soon enough and it will be time to pull your favorite boots out from the back of the closet.
Here’s to making healthy choices and creating a chemical-free life!
Find more healthy living tips, effective strategies to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, methods to reduce toxic chemical exposure from common household products, and recipes and resources for creating a personalized healthy living plan in my new book, Practical Priorities for Fibromyalgia Recovery. Now available in paperback and eBook versions at amazon.com. Buy your favorite version today. Buy Kindle eBook. Buy Paperback.
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