To Polish or Not to Polish

In four words, Nail Polish is BAD! By bad, I mean that it is bad for your health. You may ask, what is so toxic about nail polish? Well, nail polish contains very many baneful active ingredients. Just to name a few there is toluene, dibutyl phthalate (which has been banned in Europe for some time), and formaldehyde.

Toluene is what promotes the intoxication feeling when it is inhaled. It has been linked to neurological disturbances. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is what makes your nail polish dry, look smooth and leaves that shiny finish. The reason for concern is that DBP has been seen to cause birth defects in newborns babies, specifically reproductive defects. Formaldehyde is believed to be extremely carcinogenic and most particularly connected with brain cancer. People who are in occupational settings with high exposures to this chemical is what made its connection to brain cancer. So, with these short little facts - should we or should be not be polishing our nails?

Personally, I love having my nails painted. You would rarely see me without painted fingernails and on those rare occasions, it will only be because I decided to give my nails some oxygen that day/week. I'm an avid user of polish and I don't think that I would ever stop painting my nails; however, I am conscious of the ingredients that are harmful to my health so, before purchasing polish I read the labels on it.

As a consumer, you should always be aware of the ingredients in the products that you buy. Currently, some positive action has been taken and many big nail polish manufactures are reformulating their products so that they will not contain the witch's brew of chemicals. Many companies are looking to remove toluene, formaldehyde and DBP.

Back to the question: Does this mean you should stop polishing your nails? The answer is, not necessarily.



If you find that your favorite nail polish brand contains these harmful ingredients there are much safer alternatives such as a nail polish known as Polished Mama. You can find more information about this brand at http://amominredhighheels.com/polished-mama-an-eco-friendly-nail-polish-option/. Basically, it is a polish that is water-based and has no significant odor or harmful fumes. It claims to be safe enough to use during pregnancy and contains NO toxic chemicals.

Paraben Free: What's the Deal with Parabens

The reason for this post is to shed light on the health risks of paraben use. You may ask, why parabens? I chose to discuss parabens because it is an active ingredient that is widely used and can be found in shampoos, moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, topical pharmaceuticals, makeup and even toothpaste. The list can go on and on and it may seem that using products with parabens is inevitable; however, not only can you limit the amount of products you use that contain parabens but, you can also find safer alternatives.

On a sidenote: it is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) and there has been great discussion of parabens and it's carcinogenic effects especially with breast cancer - so, I was inspired and felt the need to discuss the issue of this parabens.

Onto the good stuff.

What are Parabens?

In the most simple terms, parabens are preservatives meaning that they are used in personal care products to enable its shelf life. Parabens aid in preventing and reducing microbial growth in these products and are deemed to be safe to use.

Why you should avoid using Parabens?

Parabens are seen to mimic the hormone estrogen. Its estrogenic activity is what leads people to think that it is linked to cancer emphasizing it's specific relation to breast cancer. These hormone disruptions seen to be caused by parabens can lead to long lasting health effects and should be taken seriously. Since increased levels of estrogen is linked to breast cancer then, who is to say that little paraben exposure isn't altering hormone function enough to cause many other health related issues other than cancer such as skin sensitivities and hormonal imbalances.

My thoughts:

The skin is the largest organ in the body. If we know that putting something on our skin will cause something to change and function differently internally and that there is a chance that it will have hidden side effects, why would we want to use it? If it goes on your skin, it can get in your blood. If we are putting toxic things on our skin, we are also feeding our bodies with these toxins.