Healthy nail polish
You know what I love? Pretty, polished nails. You know what I don’t love? The harmful chemicals found in so many (most!) of the nail polishes in salons and on store shelves. An at-home mani-pedi or trip to your favorite progressive salon (here’s California’s list) can be so rejuvenating. But when we’re not careful about the products we choose and use, crappy ingredients, chemical-filled workplaces and horribly cruel animal testing can really rain on our beautifying parade.
There’s good news, though: Better-for-all-of-us nail polish brands exist! And today, I’m highlighting the best of the best in my newest Crazy Sexy product review: nail polish edition. With happier and healthier ingredient lists void of the scary stuff, you can breathe a non-toxic sigh of relief when you use these polishes to glam up your fingers and toes. High-five!
To make all of my product reviews as accurate and useful as possible, I always bring in one of my favorite organizations, the Environmental Working Group (EWG). EWG is a leader in up-to-the-minute research on toxins and chemicals present in the environment and our personal and home products. Together, we’ve teamed up and created a Healthy Home Checklist and done several beauty reviews like this one, including deodorant, lipstick, mascara, foundation and concealer (stay tuned for more reviews to come!).
EWG did us a huge favor by analyzing the ingredients in these nail polishes and adding the product ratings to their Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, which contains information and online safety assessments for over 60, 000 products. Thanks, EWG!
Check out the awesome infographic below for the results. And for those of you who are wellness detectives like I am and want to know more about how we vet the products I recommend, read this.
*Note: I was bummed—but not totally surprised—that many of the polishes in our list landed in EWG’s “Moderate Hazard” category. So we chose to only include polishes rated 5 or lower, 6 being the high end of moderate (no thanks). I imagine creating a polish that looks great, lasts long and is free of weird, potentially toxic ingredients is no easy task, but I’m excited for the day that someone cracks the code on an ultra-clean, ultra-gorgeous polish formula. I know some of you will choose to avoid all polishes and show off your fingers and tootsies in their au naturale beauty, and to that I say, “Heck yeah, girl!” For those wanting to rock a colorful mani-pedi, but use safer, smarter products, these polishes are for you.
A Note on Nail Polish Removers
We’re still on the hunt for great, effective, non-toxic polish removers! We tried a boat load, and while some looked fab on paper, they were mostly “meh” in use. If you know of a safe, worthy remover, let us all know in the comments!
Your turn: What’s your #1 non-toxic polish pick and why? And if you have a go-to remover, please share that, too!
Gentle Request: If you work for a beauty company, please be cool—we’re trying to keep these comments as unbiased and useful as possible. Sharing your product is welcomed and awesome. Hundreds of comments about your product and/or why you’re cranky that it wasn’t included is NOT awesome. Thank you!
Peace & polished nails,
Now’s your chance! Annmarie Gianni, an organic, non-toxic skincare line that I adore, is offering a gorgeous sample kit for only $10. The shipping is free, and you’ll get a coupon for a later purchase. Try these natural, wild-crafted products that will really get your skin glowing again! Get your sample kit here.
