Karen O sporting KO Knockout Flatte Black polish
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been trying to step up my game on well manicured nails. After serious neglect and misuse, I’ve decided to give them the attention they deserve. The problem is, I know nail polish remover and nail polish are not necessarily the healthiest products. I decided to do a little research to find safer brands that I wouldn’t feel as guilty piling on and taking off my nails on a regular basis.
Here are some basic rules to live by:
- Avoid nail polish that contains Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene.
- Look for water based polishes – they take longer to dry and must be taken off within a week, but they contain a lot more natural ingredients.
- Avoid nail polish remover that contains Acetone.
Zoya Nail Polish
The following are brands that follow these rules:
- OPI’s green label polishes
- China Glaze’s black label polishes
- Safe Nail Polish – This is a great brand that is also water based and hypo-allergenic.
- Honeybee Gardens Nail Enamels – Another great water based brand with amazing colors.
- Suncoat Nail Polish - THE safe water-based nail polish, it is also free of alcohol and acetones and acetates, and uses natural pigments.
- Zoya Nail Polish – while not water-based, it is the longest wearing and top-rated natural nail polish with a huge selection of colors.
- Piggy Paint – Made for children, but great for adults.
Honeybee nail polish remover
Safe nail polish remover:
While many of the above companies also make safe nail polish remover, the best reviewed I found was Honeybee Garden‘s liquid nail polish remover.
I hope this helps ladies! Just some easy steps towards going green, one finger at a time.
~Maria
contains some affiliate links.
Jaime @ La vie...J'aime
1 year ago
Great tips- my mom only uses Zoya now because it’s better for nails.
admin Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:41 am
I’m definitely going to make the switch, my nails look beat up lately.
Nichole Medrano
1 year ago
I love Sparitual (check it out) which used to be sold at Cosmoprof but it got replaced with China Glaze
Sparitual contains no harsh chemicals and its also Vegan!
admin Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Ooh, where can I get that?
Nichole Medrano Reply:
March 28th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Well we use to sell it at Elephantpharm before we went out of business
Check online that is probably the only place. Wholefoods sells some nail polish I think but not sparitual
Jenn
1 year ago
Thanks for the info Maria, I guess I never really though about toxins in nail polish. The Zoya line looks nice, I’ll have to try it out.
admin Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Ya, it looks like they a great color selection.
Teresa
1 year ago
Great suggestions! Might have to try some of those brands!
http://www.invasionista.com
admin Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Definitely! And they are pretty easy to find as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin
1 year ago
Thanks for the info! All of the green books I’ve read advocate banning nail polish. It’s good to see that there are some alternatives out there.
admin Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Same! I can’t imagine never using nail polish again, and these alternatives take the bad stuff out, so I’m pleased
Clare
1 year ago
Oh my goodness, this is so helpful. I’m trying to stop biting my nails at the moment so the healthier the better!
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admin Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 10:15 am
I’m glad it helped!! I’m excited to make the switch myself
Gracie
1 year ago
Great post! I’m addicted to painting my nails, but I do want to be healthy about it at the same time. I will definitely start paying attention to the ingredients in my nail polish.
xo,
gracie
http://theflipsideofoz.blogspot.com/
admin Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 10:16 am
Thank you! One less toxin to worry about is what I say