Non-Toxic Nail Polish Brands

The more natural I go with skin care, the more natural I go with everything I put on my body. My latest green switch is nail care. I am a big fan of painted nails.

I was watching a rerun of my favorite guilty pleasure, Gilmore Girls, and

Lorelai’s nails were painted this great fire-engine red. I ran to my bathroom, got my fave O.P.I. red and started to paint. Then, I noticed the smell. My husband has what we like to call “dog nose.” This affliction causes him to smell things more deeply and strongly than the rest of us. Problem is, I seem to have contracted it as well, and the nail polish was seriously making me feel like I was going to lose my lunch. And the kicker? It wouldn’t dry. Ever. I think it was the rain.

Whatever the cause, after 4 hours trying to dry in the evening and a sleepless night spent with my nails sticking to my flannel sheets, I got up and removed the perfect red that was now all smudged and still not dry. The lacquer and formaldehyde smell stuck with me through the night and my nails felt a little bit like someone was trying to peel them off.

I’ve been more aware of healthier nail polish since I attended the Women In Green Forum, but would non-toxic colors really last? Would they come in the shades I like? Would plain old alcohol really remove them the polish from my fingers? I finally felt like I had the impetus to get over my fears and make the switch.

Avoid These 3 Ingredients in Your Nail Polish

There are lots of brands out there that you may have used that say they are all-natural or non-toxic, but there are 3 ingredients you want to avoid:

1. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
2. Formaldehyde (yes, seriously. In your nail polish.)
3. Toluene

These 3 have been linked to problems ranging from you having skin irritation to birth defects in animals.

Nail Polish Brands that Exclude The Worst 3 Chemicals

1. Piggy Paint, non-toxic, odorless, kid-friendly, kid-colored, water-based formula so your kids can have fun.
2. Honeybee Gardens, an alternative to solvent-based nail polish, water-based, odorless, which you can remove with rubbing alcohol.
3. No-Miss, does not contain the three-to-avoid above, and also does not contain camphor.
4. Acquarella, water-based system of nail polish, conditioner, remover and moisturizer.
5. Suncoat, water-based nail polish that has been recognized and honored from the Canadian Health Food Association Expo.
6. Gaiam, Created by New York City’s first organic spa, this non toxic nail polish is free of known carcinogens.
7. Peacekeeper Cause-Metics, created by the Environmental Working Group as the safest paint-based natural nail polish you can use.
8. Benecos, created without the use of formaldehydes, toluene, camphor, phthalates or formaldehyde.
9. Nubar, carcinogen-free nail care products.
10. Safe Nail Polish, non-toxic, oderless, made in the USA.
11. Priti, non-toxic, made without the evil-three and all known carcinogenic ingredients.
12. Spa Ritual, vegan nail lacquers.

Having done my research, I was eager to try some out so I looked at

several of the brands for the colors I wanted: fire-engine red; palest of pinks like you’d use for a french manicure; and dark purple-almost black, but not true black. I found what I thought I was looking for at Honeybee Gardens online, and ordered all 3 colors. Once delivered, the only one that was what I wanted was the light pink, but I saved the other two to give as gifts.

I found the red & a pretty blue polish by No-Miss in the RWC Whole Foods, and am still on the lookout for the not-quite-black.

I recommend buying polish you can see in the store, online photos and different computer screens make it difficult to tell what color you’re really getting.

So how well does your polish hold up on your nails, and does it really come off with just rubbing alcohol? Fabulously well! And Yes! I gave myself a full manicure & pedicure on Sunday, and I had to

remove the last of the pink polish. I used plain old generic rubbing alcohol, and cotton swabs (once my bag of swabs is done, I’ll switch to using cotton rags instead of disposable cotton balls). I had to rub a little longer to remove all the polish, but there was no stink!  Honeybee Gardens and No-Miss both state they are fragrance-free and while they do have a slight odor, it is insignificant and doesn’t smell like toxic paint.

As for the staying power, I have a chip on one nail, but I’ve done dishes, washed a car and moved some furniture since Sunday and I’m impressed with how great the polish looks and stays on. I’m a convert for sure.

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Wow!  Very interesting & since I always polish my nails, I’ll probably try to find a few of these brands & give them a try. I prefer quick drying polish as I do my nails before I go to bed & I want them dry by the time I’m ready to shut the light…

I’ve never heard of the brands listed above so I don’t believe I’ve seen them in the stores where I shop, but I may do more online research to see where they are sold.  I have no idea what they cost & since I do my nails often, I prefer not spending a fortune on the polish I buy. I do quite a bit of gardening, & even with gloves, my nails still end up chipping…

It never ceases to amaze me what ingredients I find in various products. I once bought fish in Walmart & when I got home, I read the ingredients; Would you believe they had formaldehyde listed. I imagine it was used as a preservative, but, needless to say, I immediately returned it to the store! That just wasn’t going into my body!

Ladies, please let me know if you’ve tried any of these polishes before? If you have daughters, have you let them use any of the water based polishes?

Have a great day!