Travel mugs instead of disposable paper cups? Yes, please! And make them cute!
Organic food? Almost always.
Buy in bulk? I just ordered 50 lbs of flour yesterday from Mountain People's Co-op.
Give up paining nails because nail polish is super toxic? Uhhhhh.... I.... I can't.
While I do go stretches without painting my nails, overall it is a toxic habits I've had trouble letting go of. I enjoy the act of painting them. I wait until my daughter has gone to bed (because I don't want her breathing the fumes), crack a window, pour myself a cup of tea and put on a cheesy show or chick flick to watch. During more stressful times of my life I've done a lot of nail art, because it takes even more focus, and is practically meditative for me.
Mainstream nail polishes actually carry quite a few health risks. Toxic chemical ingredients in most include: Dibutyl phthalate (DBP); Toluene; Formaldehyde; Formaldehyde resin; Camphor; Xylene; Triphenyl phosphate. This Readers Digest article does a fantastic job of explaining the toxicity of each.
Boiled down - many are known or suspected hormone disrupters. Formaldehyde is a classified human carcinogen. A study explained in this Huffington Post article shows that a chemical (TTP) in nail polish can be absorbed through the nails, although we don't yet know the long term health problems this might cause.
While I've known for years that nail polishes are very toxic and potentially very harmful, I've still not been able to shake the habit. Lately, it has been bothering me though that I've started to take action in my nail polish box.
For myself (and I'm guessing for most people) it is very difficult to give up a pleasurable habit, no matter how unhealthy. So instead of pushing myself to give up my relaxation method - which I'm sure wouldn't work long term - I started seeking out healthier options.
There are a few brands which promise a healthier nail polishing experience, advertising as 5-Free, 7-Free, or even 9-Free. These numbers reflect the number of most toxic chemicals they leave out of their formulas.
Knowing there are healthier options available, I decided to start phasing out the poison from my beauty routine. I'd love to throw out all my conventional polish and restock with brands I trust, but financially (each polish from the better brands I've seen runs $8-$12 per bottle) I can't afford to do it all at once.
Recently, I made my first investment, and bought two shades and remover from Mineral Fusion. Other than knowing this brand's polish is 5-Free and still having a shade of their purple polish I bought years ago, I didn't do much research pre-purchase.
After I used the Mineral Fusion polish remover to get some old pink polish off my toes, I used the new red I bought on both my finger and toe nails. While it was drying, I googled the brand.
Be still my heart. Mineral Fusion is everything I didn't know I wanted from a cosmetics brand. They are committed to sustainability and utilize wind power, use recycled materials and recyclable materials for packaging, create non-toxic and even healthy beauty products, made in the USA and they don't test on animals. As a lovely cherry on top, they donate some proceeds to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). The brand is also EWG (Environmental Working Group) Verified - meaning this nonpartisan nonprofit has tested and found their products in compliance a strict standard.
Even better news (could it get better?!), the nail polish I tested works wonderfully. It looks pretty, went on easily and smoothly. I usually have to use fast drying drops, but this polish dried quickly enough that I skipped the drops (I'm sure also very toxic), and have a lovely manicure and pedicure.
Their remover also worked better than any acetone or conventional remover I've tried - the dark pink I had on my toenails wiped off easily without a trace left.
The remover didn't smell nearly as bad as the types I've bought from the dollar store or Walmart. In fact, it smelled kind of nice, and has a very short list of ingredients (which I haven't yet researched, but I will and will keep you posted!). The nail polish did have a typical oder, although not as strong or harsh as conventional brands.
I will definitely be buying more Mineral Fusion nail polishes, to replace shade in my toxic box of polishes. Knowing I'm not slowly poisoning myself will make my "me time" activity even more relaxing.
Do you use any chemical free polishes? Do you have a favorite?
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