Nail Polish

I have mixed feelings about wearing nail polish. My toes look naked without it, but if I am trying to avoid ingesting harmful synthetic chemicals, I probably shouldn't put them on my skin either. I used to polish my fingers and toes religiously when I was a teenager. I was one of the first to wear wacky colors back in the 80s, when they were really hard to find. I used to buy pigments at the art supply store and mix them with clear nail polish to get intersting colors. I realize now what a bad idea that was- some pigments can be absorbed through the skin and are banned from use in cosmetics by the FDA.

I thought I would do a little research on nail polish to help make up my mind. I found a great site that explains the history and technology of nail polish. Then I went to the Skin Deep website (see link at right). According to this site, the safest brand of nail polish is called Honey Bee Gardens (http://naturesbrilliancebysue.net/honey-bee-gardens-watercolor-nail-enamel-colors--mascara.html). The ingredients are water, water-miscible acrylic, polyurethane formers and thickeners (soy based), non-ionic soaps, carmine, mica, iron oxides, and/or titanium dioxide. I looked online for some customer reviews, but couldn't find any. It does say that it can take up to an hour to set.

The worst brand is Barielle Natural Nail Camouflage. The ingredients are butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, nitrocellulose, polyester resin, isopropyl alcohol, dibutyl phthalate, stearalkonium hectorite, camphor, propyl acetate, tosylamide epoxy resin, benzophenone-1, titanium dioxide, fd&c yellow 5, d&c red 6, hydrated silica, tocopheryl acetate, calcium panthothenate, calcium fluoride, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and parfum. (Update: this product has been re-formulated- see comments)

It got me wondering whether there were any nail salons in New York that used less toxic nail polish. An internet search tuned up Priti Organic Spa. It's expensive, but I always feel rotten when I go to a regular salon where the young employees are getting exposed to volitile organic compounds such as butyl acetate, ethyl acetate and isopropanol all day. Those nail salons should not be so cheap considering the costs these women will pay with their lives and health in later years.

The possible health effects of all chemicals used in industry are spelled out in their MSDS (or 'Material Safety Data Sheet'). The one for ethyl acetate reads Inhalation can cause severe irritation of mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract. Symptoms may include burning sensation, coughing, wheezing, laryngitis, shortness of breath, headache, nausea and vomiting. High concentrations may cause lung damage. An irritant to the nose, throat, and upper respiratory tract. Exposure to high concentrations have a narcotic effect and may cause liver and kidney damage. Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. Repeated or prolonged contact with the skin has a defatting effect and may cause dryness, cracking, and possibly dermatitis.

So I went into Priti Organic Spa and gave it a try. They use a few different brands of polishes, some of which are for sale at the salon. Their polish remover has the following ingredients: soy ester, corn ester, orange oil and vegetable glycerin. (As I reported in Films to Watch Part 1: The Future of Food, soy and corn products may be genetically modified.) This remover will even take off your old 'toxic' nail polish with a bit of scrubbing. You get a nice long foot treatment for your money. Expect to spend at least an hour there, because the polishes do take a long time to dry. But what I was most delighted to discover is that once dried, the polishes last about 4 weeks before they begin to look like they need a new application.

Less toxic polishes and salons is an idea that I expect will gain in popularity in the next few years. The EPA has awarded to Seattle non-profit groups $100,000 to help local salons become greener in what they are calling the 'Toxic Beauty Project.' The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported the story on June 26. Here is an exerpt:

The issue is a matter of environmental justice, an area of environmental protection that targets low-income and minority populations, who often bear the brunt of pollution and related threats.

"The interesting environmental justice issue here is that the owners and operators (of the nail salons) are largely Vietnamese, but the clientele is largely African American -- not exclusively -- but to a large degree," Cunniff said. "It's an interesting intersection between two communities."

The three-year project will be a partnership between Cunniff's organization and the Seattle-based Community Coalition for Environmental Justice. His group will focus on the shop owners and workers, while the latter will address the customer side.

"We really want to look at community education about what people are putting into and onto their bodies," said Melissa Carnay, project lead for the Community Coalition of Environmental Justice.

The non-profit groups will be researching chemicals that would be safer to use in the salons.

They'll be figuring out if the alternative products are effective and readily available through distributors.

Carnay said she wants to empower women to know that they can lobby nail-polish makers to provide a safer product.

Another focus will be on installing equipment to reduce exposure to the chemicals, including simple fixes such as providing salons with stainless steel containers with tight-sealing lids for disposing cotton balls soaked in solvent.

More-involved projects could be the installation of ventilation systems.

The goal is to target all the aspects of the industry, from manufacturer to customer.