Healthy Nails by Addison Landry

Who doesn’t love a little pampering; a relaxing mani/pedi for the perfect color complement or to match the season trend? Recently, we have started to see beauty products being shamed for their use of harmful and toxic ingredients. This has caused us all to begin cleaning our make-up cabinets and switching to non-toxic beauty products, but what about our nails? You may not be aware but we now have more ways to make this luxury experience a healthier one. With the average nail polish, harsh, toxic chemicals create that shine and durable coat -- and this can affect the toxic load in our body. 

You might be thinking "Wait, why would polish on hard nails have any effect on our body?" Well, nails are actually quite absorbent -- especially when exposed to the solvents and chemicals found in our nail polish. The absorption of our cuticles and surrounding skin actually acts as a gateway for the chemicals to enter into our bodily systems. Our skin (including our nails) is the largest organ of the body and we want to ensure we care for it by keeping it safe form as many of these toxic chemicals as possible. These chemicals have the ability to disrupt our hormones and therefore affect our metabolism, mood and energy. 

We do come across these chemicals with our patients and are able to help them detox these nasty chemicals safely through Nutrition Response Testing. I want to be clear that there is no such thing as a chemical-free nail polish, but there are brands that are making the formula much safer. What we want to look for are brands that label their nail polish "5-free" or even up to "10-free". Looking for these labels will indicate they do not use a number of the toxic chemicals most commonly used to create nail polish. So, let's start with the chemicals you want to avoid.

TOP CHEMICALS TO AVOID:

·       formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin

·       dibutyl phthalate (DBP)

·       toluene

·       camphor

·       triphenyl phosphate (TPHP)

·       xylene

·       lead and other heavy metals

·       ethyl tosylamide

·       parabens

·       sulfates

I also wanted to give you some options and brands that take pride in making nail polish and nail polish remover, that are safer and less toxic to our bodies, and some nail salons that are safer, as well. This way, we can really relax knowing that when we are having our toes painted, it’s the healthiest option.

My go-to nail polish brands:

RMS BEAUTY

·       6-free (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, camphor, xylene, and formaldehyde resin)

·       Also paraben-free

·       Vegan

ZOYA

·       10-free (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, camphor, TPHP, parabens, xylene, formaldehyde resin, ethyl tosylamide and lead)

·       Vegan

PACIFICA

·       7-free (parabéns, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), toluene, xylene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin)

Nail polish remover:

ELLA AND MILA
     ·       Made from soy
     ·       Designed to remove more natural-based polishes without the use of toxic chemicals

Usually nail polish remover is made from harsh acetates (also known as paint thinners) and severely toxic isopropyl alcohol that can wreak havoc on the nervous system and function of the hormones in the body.

Nail salon:

SUNDAYS

      ·      Offers non-toxic, cruelty-free, and vegan nail polish

There are many non-toxic salons but Sundays is my favorite one. It's also beautifully-designed with organic treatments and tea to help you truly chill out!

There are lots of ways to still have a cute mani/pedi without the toxic overload. If you want to learn more about the skin, how important it is to know what you’re putting on it, and how to look after it the best way possible, come to my free workshop Beauty From the Inside Out Wednesday October 4th at 6:30pm. I would love to see you there!!!