Striving4Zen

Do you know that your nail polish probably contains harmful chemicals? Toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate, just to name a few. But growing concern and awareness has spawned demand for a greener and chemical-free manicure. And now there's an cheat sheet to know which brands are safe at the shop or salon.

The National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance surveyed product manufacturers and found that 74% of polishes were entirely "three free." Great news!! If you're curious whether your favorite brand is in the clear, print the downloadable card — it's as easy as one, two, three when you cut, fold, and save the wallet-sized sheet as a reference.

Thanks!

Labels: health trend, manicure, nail salons, personal care, toxic, toxins

California law requires the government to list products containing chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects, and three compounds long used in nail salons — toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate — are on the list.
Toluene is a colorless liquid used as a solvent, formaldehyde helps harden nails and dibutyl phthalate is a plasticizer that makes nail polish flexible. A leading supplier to nail salons, OPI Products, announced in March that it would begin removing toluene from its products. Last year, the company said it was removing dibutyl phthalate.
In Springfield, Mass., a community group received a $100,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to build a salon with a high-quality ventilation system to serve as a model for salon owners and workers. The grant came after public health experts at a Springfield hospital found that six Vietnamese nail salon workers had miscarried, while others had rashes, fungal infections and asthma.
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Labels: chemicals, nail salons, toxins