On A Quest to find Non Toxic Nail Polish in Singapore

Yup you read right. I'm on a quest to find Non-Toxic nail polish in Singapore. I don't know how I stumbled upon this non-toxic mumbo jumbo because I've never given a second thought to nail polish before. I usually just buy inexpensive ones based of my liking of the colour. When it comes to choosing nail polish removers tho, I usually do choose the non-acetate one or ones that don't smell harsh. Right now I'm using one that smells nothing like the traditional nail polish remover, it completely smells like Strawberry syrup. I can't remember where I got it from, could be SaSa.

Anyway, I never realised how uninformed I was as a consumer on how toxic nail polishes are. Yes there's the terrible smell that should set off your warning bells, but in the quest to look cute, you often just put up with the smell and not think twice about it. But now I find out there are nail polishes out there that claim to be non-toxic, and as a bonus vegan free (non animal tested) and better for the environment! I feel like I've been in the dark.

The Big 3 toxic chemicals in nail polish as pointed out in a lot of websites is  Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene. You can Google what these chemicals all do. But according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov), this is how these toxins can affect one's health:

How can toluene affect my health?

Toluene may affect the nervous system. Low to moderate levles can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped.

Inhaling High levels of toluene in a short time can make you feel light-headed, dizzy, or sleepy. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.

High levels of toluene may affect your kidneys.

How can formaldehyde affect my health?

Low levels of formaldehyde can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. It is possible that people with asthma may be more sensitive to the effects of inhaled formaldehyde.

Drinking large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, coma, and possible death.

How likely is formaldehyde to cause cancer?

Some studies of people exposed to formaldehyde in workplace air found more cases of cancer of the nose and throat than expected, but other studies did not confirm this finding.

In animal studies, rats exposed to high levels of formaldehyde in air developed nose cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that formaldehyde may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen.

DBP

Can cause birth defects and abnormalities in physiological developments and is a suspected Endocrine Disruptor. This chemical has been banned in cosmetics and nail polishes in the EU but not in the US (or other parts of the world I guess)

This website also gives pretty in depth explanation of why it's best to go with non toxic nail polishes. And this one gives a list of US brands that make safe nail polish. 

So it all sounds pretty scary right? Most of the time I only put nail polishes on my toes because with all the cooking, washing and house work I do i know it doesn't last a couple of days. But there are times when I do want to put them on my finger nails and now with all this information I'm a little paranoid. I don't know whether all this stuff really is bad for you when you're putting it on your nails. I mean you're obviously not gonna drink it and (most likely) you're gonna try not to inhale it as much as possible. But....and there's always a but.....it's better to be safe than sorry right? So thus my quest to find non toxic nail polish in Singapore. When I was at Metro today I saw that they sold O.P.I brand of nail polish. I'm not as familiar with which brands of nail polish is better or what, but I've heard this brand mentioned several times and in various blogs and youtube tutorials. They're not cheap, but still affordable when there's a store wide sale. I was tempted to get them because my vague memory was telling me that I had read somewhere that O.P.I brand was safe and had eliminated the Big 3 toxins. But unfortunately there was nothing on the display to say so so I didn't trust myself. Only the Nic's Sticks had a sign that said it was free of the Big 3 toxins.  But looks like I was right, cos according to their website: 

"Since 2006, OPI has reformulated its entire line of Nail Lacquers, Nail Treatments, and Nail Hardeners to eliminate DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and Toluene.

Formaldehyde has never been an ingredient in OPI Nail Lacquers or Nail Treatments.

Some OPI Nail Hardeners do contain formaldehyde, while others are formulated without it to give consumers a choice. The levels of formaldehyde are more than four times lower than the safe levels established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In fact, according to a study conducted under the auspices of the California authorities, the levels of formaldehyde, even in nail salons, are no higher than those found in many common work places, such as offices, where no nail products whatsoever are present. OPI continues to search for effective alternates to formaldehyde."

I did take a whiff of one of the pots and it smelled exactly the same as a 'normal' nail polish....so...what does that mean? I just wondered whether other unknown toxic chemicals have been replaced in place of the ones they've taken out. I guess we'll never know. Anyway I was going to order some water based and Big 3 free nail polishes from the US, but as it turns out Comgateway doesn't deliver nail polishes because it is considered as a flammable substance. Too bad....

And if you've got some spare time, here's an interesting read from O Magazine.