Is your nail polish toxic?

Today, I am writing about toxins in nail polish, an issue I care about deeply.  Many of you may not be aware that when polishing your nails, you may be exposing yourself to chemicals that have the potential to cause cancer and birth defects.  Specifically, a chemical combination called the "Toxic Trio": Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Formaldehyde.  Below, I will be talking about why each chemical is unhealthy.

Toluene

Toluene is most commonly found in petroleum crude oil. It is also found in some aerosol sprays, antifreeze, adhesives, printer ink, and cosmetics.  Toluene exposure occurs when it is inhaled or absorbed through skin.  It could also be ingested through contaminated food or water.

Effects on your body:
Most information we have about toluene exposure is from studies about inhalant abusers, or "huffers". Inhalants contain many other chemicals, and therefore the information is not specific to toluene.  Inhalants can cause problems with the central nervous system.  This may result in symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and confusion. Over long periods of time, exposure to high levels of the chemicals found in inhalants can cause permanent brain damage, kidney failure,  liver failure, and even death.  Toluene by itself can be a skin irritant causing redness and itching.  No studies have shown that exposure to toluene causes cancer.

Exposure during pregnancy:
There is no data available about only exposure to toluene during pregnancy.  Much of the data about possible effects of toluene exposure during pregnancy is from studies about people who abused inhalants, or "huffers".  Therefore, this data is not just about toluene, since aerosolized sprays obviously contain other chemicals.  Those studies have shown that exposure to aerosolized chemicals may cause birth defects such as mental retardation, decreased birth weight, delayed growth, behavioral delays and hearing loss.  Animal studies on the effects of toluene have shown decreased birth weight, delayed growth and hearing loss.

Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)


Dibutyl Phthalate is used to make plastics soft and flexable. It is found in many plastics such as shower curtains, food wraps, bowls, and of course nail polishes and cosmetics.  It has no scent.  Exposure can occur through inhalation or oral exposure.

Effects on your body:
The effects of DBP on humans are relatively unknown because there have been no studies on the direct effects of inhaled or oral DBP in humans.  Some studies on animals have shown liver problems, reduced weight, and anemia.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers DBP unclassifiable as to carcinogenic effects.  This means that because there are no studies on this chemical, they cannot say whether or not it is proven to cause cancer.

Exposure during pregnancy:
Again, no studies have been conducted on humans, therefore data available about possible effects is limited to data observed in animal studies. Animal studies have shown decreased birth weight, decreased numbers of viable births (meaning the animal died in the womb secondary), neural tube defects, decreased size of testicles, and decreased production of sperm.

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a strong scented clear gas which can be mixed with alcohol to create a liquid.  It is frequently used as a preservative, and I am sure many of you can remember the scent from anatomy classes.  Formaldehyde is contained in many common building materials such as particle board and insulation.  It is also found in some cosmetics, paper products, plastics, dyes, and cigarettes.

Effects on your body:
Formaldehyde inhalation can cause difficulty breathing, watery eyes, and irritation of the nose and throat.  Ingesting formaldehyde can cause vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Skin contact can cause irritation and rashes.  Formaldehyde exposure has been proven to cause nasal cancers in animal studies, and therefore is considered "probably carcinogenic" to humans. There have been no human studies on whether or not formaldehyde will cause cancer in humans because they are too dangerous to conduct knowing that it is known to cause cancer in animals.

Effects during pregnancy: 
There is no evidence that Formaldehyde causes birth defects.  There is some debate as to whether exposure during pregnancy causes increased risk of spontaneous abortion and reduced fertility. There is also debate as to whether exposure causes decreased sperm concentrations.

Now, before you freak out and decide you are never going to polish your nails again, there is good news! Many nail polish and cosmetic companies are aware of the unhealthy chemicals used in cosmetics, and are now manufacturing their products without toluene, DBP and formaldehyde.  If polishes do not include these products, they are known as "3-free".  There are also products which do not include formaldehyde resin, known as "4-free", and products that do not contain formaldehyde resin or camphor, known as "5-free" Also, there is a small group of companies that manufacture water based nail lacquer.  I am working on a list of nail polishes that are in each of these categories. Check my next post for a list of safe polishes.

Are you scared to polish your nails now? Would you still polish your nails while pregnant after reading this? Do you think the government should make it illegal have these products in polishes and other cosmetics? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

Environmental Protection Agency 
Environmental Protection Agency, DBP
Environmental Protection Agency, Formaldehyde
Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety 
Illinois Dept. of Public Health

The Polish Well contest!

Hello everyone!

The Polish Well is a blog that I love to read!  They are hosting a contest to win some polishes so I wanted to show you my entry. The theme of the contest is "Fashion" and your nail art is supposed to reflect your favorite fashions that inspire you, whether it be print, pattern, or color.

So, what fashion was I digging this summer? The bright and bold prints and colors in Macys "Journey to Brazil" collection, thats what.

Below is my nail art inspired by this theme.

                                         

What do you think? Head over to The Polish Well to take a look at the other contest entries and head over to Facebook on August 2nd to vote!

Updated review on Essie Poppy Razzi "Action"

My mom and dad came down yesterday to visit and go see my brothers band, Angus and the Attiks play last night.  The band did an amazing job as usual, and you should all go see their next show at  Wicked Pissa (formerly Legends Rock Bar) in Gales Ferry, CT on Sat. Aug. 4th 9:30PM.  Anyway, my mom asked me to paint her nails for her before the show, and she picked out Essie "Acton" which I reviewed earlier in the week.  I thought this would be the perfect time to try this polish with a white base coat like I mentioned in my previous post.  The results were much better!

I used Revlon Quick Dry Base coat, and then two coats of Sinful Colors "Snow me White". After that, I applied two coats of Essie "Action" and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. The white underneath the Essie shade really seems to bring out the neon in the polish, and it really looks much more like a neon highlighter, which is what this shade looks like in the bottle. I just wish that Essie had added something to the color to make it more opaque to begin with so that the white undercoat wasn't necessary.  With the white underneath, this is a shade that I will probably wear more often.

What do you think? Do you like this shade better with or without the white base coat? Would you wear either one?

Leopard Nail Art Tutorial

Well, I was so disappointed with how sheer Essie "Action" came out, I felt the need to do something to save this manicure.  I decided that some bright leopard spots would be just the cure.  These are super easy and super cute! See below for the tutorial.

1.  Start with a base color of your choosing.  When it is dry, take some of your acrylic paint, and paint little dots or c shapes on your nails.  I used pink.  I suppose you could use a nail art brush and some polish instead, but it will take longer to dry, and you will have a little less control over the paint than with the acrylics.

2. Next, take some black acrylic paint and paint little c shapes around the pink spots. For some of these I did c shapes on both sides, and for some I did a c shape along the bigger c and a dot on the others.

3.  If you feel that you don't have enough spots, you can go in and add a few random spots with just black.

Thats it! So simple, and such a cute way to spruce up a boring manicure, right?  Do you think you will try this?

Review: Essie "Poppy Razzi" Collection - Action

Essie put out a neon summer collection called "Poppy Razzi" which contains 4 awesome summer neon hues.  This collection is out in drug stores right now.

I picked up a shade entitled "Action" at CVS which I was very excited about!  It is full of neon tangerine goodness.

Although I was excited about this shade initially, I was not impressed after I put on the first coat.  It came out streaky and sheer. You could totally see my smile line, and also the few areas on my nails that area pealing a little. 

 Yuck! look at how sheer this is! You can absolutely see any imperfections your nails may have.

After the second coat, you could still see the smile line, plus it started to bubble a little. This could be because I was applying the color outside and it was hot out.  I will talk in a later post about how to stop bubbles in your polish.  Anyways, It took three coats to make this polish to look decent.

As with most neon shades, this polish dries matte.  A top coat is a must to get the full potential out of this nail color! Overall, I was disappointed with the sheerness of this formula. I read some other blog posts that mentioned they used a white polish underneath and loved how the color came out.  I would try this polish again with a white base first, but if that doesn't work out I can't see myself wearing this very often.  Even though I love the color, this polish is just too sheer. 

Has anyone else tried the other polishes from the "Poppy Razzi" Summer 2012 collection? What are your thoughts? 

How to make your own nail art decals

Hello!

My spree of overnight shifts is over! This means that I finally have time for some nail art again.  Today I am going to show you how to make some cool nail art decals.  This is perfect if you want to make some geometric designs on your nails but don't have a steady hand.

My manicure with nail art decals

So, read below for how to make your own nail art decals.

1.  Start with a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Choose your nail colors.  Paint each color in thin layers on the paper.

2. Wait for color to dry, continue to paint more thin layers. I painted about 5. If you paint too few, it won't come off of the paper correctly. Painting several layers of polish will also make the colors opaque so that you will be able to apply them to a darker color base polish.

3. Wait for the colors to dry completely.  I waited overnight.

4.  Gently peal polish off of paper.

5.  Cut into whatever shapes you want. Then, take thin paintbrush and apply clear top coat to back of decal and stick on nail. 

6.  Use nail scissors to cut to proper shape on nail.
7.  Finish off with top coat over decals. I used Seche Vite top coat for this because it is thicker, so will cover up any bumpy-ness from the nail decals.

There you go!  That is how I make some neat decals.  I used the dotting tool to create some extra dots on this nail after I applied the decals. What do you think? Will you try this look? 

Review: Maybelline Color show

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. I have been working the overnight shift, and it takes me a while to adjust, so the only thing I have been doing is sleeping and working.  I am working on something really cool for you all though. I am going to post it in several parts, since it is kind of complex.  Today, I am reviewing a new line of polishes by Maybelline.   The line is called Color Show polish and it contains 40 different shades "Inspired by the Catwalk". This color called "Green with envy and is a creme mint green.  The formula is smooth. It dries streak free after two coats. No clue about the wear yet, as I just put it on. I will update you in a few days. Overall, I think this color is very unique, and on point with summer fashion.