Time for some girl-talk. I can't help but liking nail polish, even tough it's really chemical, bad for the nails and probably tested on animals. So what's a girl to do? To go on a mission to find non-chemical and cruelty-free nail polish! So that's what I did, and I gladly share with you my findings.
A safe and natural nail polish is not at all easy to create. A 100% natural (vegetable) nail polish does not (yet) exist. Why? We like nail polish to last and shine, but this isn't possible with natural nail polish. Did you know that to achieve this, they sometimes use fish scales, lice or lice eggs? Sexy.
Ingredients to avoid
An average nail polish contains about 10 or more toxic or harmful ingredients, let me just explain three of them: DBP, formaldehyde and camphor.
DBP makes sure that the nail polish doesn't burst quickly so that it stays longer on the nails. But, it has been proven to be hormone disruptive and harmful for the environment.
Formaldehyde is used as preservative to make the paint become hard. This ingredient is proven to possibly cause cancer.
Camphor is used to neutralize the chemical smell, but it can be irritating for the skin, eyes and lungs.
Next to these three, there are many other fun ingredients like this in an average nail polish. Is it so hard to ask for a nice nail polish that doesn't cause cancer, hormonal dis-balance or environmental damage? Yes, I found one!
Good nail polish
Luckily there are companies with good intentions, that are doing the effort to think out of the box. Faby is an Italian brand, produced in France, that is free of 10 common harmful ingredients that nail polish usually contains, so no DBP, formaldehyde or camphor. It's not tested on animals (cruelty-free), 100% vegan and produced in line with the European guidelines.
I tried these three nail polishes and I'm very happy with the result! What do you think? I just need to work a bit on my painting skills :)
Base polish: base coat with all natural ingredients that nourish the nails with vitamins A, B and C. Aso organic certified. Contains among others Pistacia resin, from the mastic tree, known for its nourishing properties.
Red nail polish color (name: Instinctive)
Top coat polish: topcoat for a shiny finish. Contains cellulosic resin to prevent nail polish yellowing
This brand has many different colours. You can go here to have a look. Hope this helps you :)
About Mixua
Mixua believes that everyone can make a positive impact. That is why we want to inspire you on the way to a more ecological lifestyle. We do this through various activities such as the Eco Tours, online workshops and the online discovery guide.