I have seen a very pregnant lady practically bathing in a cloud of formaldehyde as she was having her
nails painted bright red. To me, women who have their nails painted during pregnancy are no better
than pregnant smokers or drinkers.
To make the polish cover the nail smoothly, the pretty goo also contains plasticizer dibutyl
phthalate, a known hormone disruptor. Little is known about health effects of phthalates, but about one
thing science is pretty certain: phthalates are linked to the worsening state of the male reproductive
system, including sexual dysfunctions, decreasing sperm count, low production of testosterone, as
well as various abnormalities in male reproductive organs (Lottrup et al. 2006). Recent
epidemiological evidence shows that boys born to women exposed to phthalates during pregnancy
“have an increased incidence of cryptorchidism (absence of one or both testes from the scrotum),
hypospadias (a birth defect of the urethra that involves an abnormally placed urinary openining),
testicular cancer and spermatogenic dysfunction,” say Chinese pathologists who studied the effects of
phthalate exposure in 2007 (Chen et al. 2007). Researchers from Denmark found that contamination of
human breast milk with phthalates “has direct influence on the postnatal surge of reproductive
hormones in newborn boys” (Main et al. 2006). Many cosmetic companies agreed to remove
phthalates from their nail products. For example, most L’Oreal, Estée Lauder,Milani, Lumene, and
Revlon nail polishes today do not contain formaldehyde or dibutyl phthalate. Yet there are many,
many more popular nail products that proudly display phthalates in the ingredients list.
The rest of the ingredients of your average nail polish are not that safe, either. Solvent acetone
smells ghastly, but its hidden effects are even worse: in 2008, scientists of Brookhaven National
Laboratory in New York found that animals who inhaled acetone were slower and less agile (Lee et
al. 2008). Reports about acetone intoxication date back to the 1990s (Kechijian 1991), and recently
Hong Kong researchers found that there’s more to acetone than its ability to irritate skin and make rats
high: acetone is often contaminated with another toxin, formaldehyde (Huang et al. 2007). It’s another
reason to use nonacetone nail polish remover—if you decide to use nail polish after all you now
know.
Are there any natural, nontoxic nail polishes available? Yes, but don’t expect them to be as pretty
and long-lasting as their synthetic counterparts. They would still contain nitrocellulose, ethyl acetate,
and isopropyl alcohol, but at least there would be no formaldehyde, toluene, or phthalates. HoneyBee
Gardens, No Miss, Sante, and Suncoat make natural-looking polishes that come in a sophisticated
palette of colors. Safer conventional nail products include top coats by Revlon, Estée Lauder, and
Mary Kay that give your nails a natural groomed look without formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, or
FD&C dyes.
But if you are pregnant or are trying to be completely green in your beauty routine, consider
avoiding nail polishes altogether. Until science comes up with something truly nontoxic, the only
option to keep our tips and toes groomed is buffing and lots of cuticle oil. When you are having a
manicure or a pedicure, ask the manicurist to buff your nails with a special buffing pad and buy your
own buffer for use at home. Apply a coat of nourishing cuticle oil every night and regularly exfoliate
your cuticles with a homemade sugar scrub. I stopped wearing nail polish three years ago, and my
nails today look healthier than ever.