By Sarah Logan

So you’ve switched your hair and skin care products to more natural and healthy choices.  Even if you never took skin care classes, making the decision to switch was an easy one because of the harmful ingredients in so many products out there. But what about the products in your beauty routine which you may not have switched yet because more natural choices seem harder to find? Nail polish most definitely fits in this less accessible category. While you may think that there are limited alternatives, don’t worry – there are plenty of options out there, and by voting with our dollars, we will see safer nail polishes become more widely available.

We have to first realize what chemicals we are up against in deciding to make the switch. According to safecosmetics.org, there are three main ingredients to avoid that happen to be in almost all regular nail polishes: DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde. These are known reproductive and developmental toxins, carcinogens, and neurotoxins that are introduced into our systems by breathing the fumes, and by absorption through skin and nails. Despite a minority of aesthetic schools and salons now moving away from using them, it’s unfortunate that the industry standard is still the traditional chemical laden formula, a lot of times used in poorly ventilated areas to boot. A simple thing to do as a client getting a mani or pedi is just bring your own polish with you, and it doesn’t hurt to discuss trying some natural options with the salon owner.

While completely chemical free isn’t an option as of now, some like Sephora by OPI, Zoya, Orly, and the Loreal Paris Jet-Set line all avoid using the top three chemicals mentioned earlier. Some other lesser-known health store options include Honeybee Gardens, Suncoat, Sante, and Earthly Delights. Knowing what ingredients to look out for and checking the labels will help us uncover more choices as beauty brands continue to become more and more health conscious.

Many large grocery and drugstore chains have been expanding their natural products section, and even makeup giant Sephora has been more supportive of the green girl shopping for safe products. Natural and organic brands becoming more available in these stores is great for consumers who may not have had a good natural specialty store in their town to shop in before. Similarly, many mainstream brands are also starting to change their formulas little by little and attract a consumer that may not have been interested or was afraid to try a natural product before. While it seems natural nail polishes are too often relegated to a small display of few color choices, a little bit of digging uncovered some options that many of us may not be aware of.

Article provided by Sarah Logan on behalf of Aesthetic Science Institute (ASI). ASI is a aesthetics school for new students interested in a career in aesthetics and licensed aestheticians interested in advanced aesthetics training and certification.