Freshly painted nails are like the cherry on top of a milkshake—polished fingers lend a sleek and put-together vibe to your overall aesthetic. But it’s no new news that mainstream bottles of lacquer are packed with harmful ingredients. The most common chemicals found in traditional nail polish are known as the “toxic trio”—which refers to toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate. Many companies have removed these hazardous ingredients and now market their bottles as “3-free” nail polishes, but that doesn’t mean they are free of all nasty chemicals. If you’re truly looking for safe(er) options, you’ll want to find brands that list their formulas as 8- or 10-free.
To navigate the world of clean(er) polishes, we tapped Kourt’s nail artist, Kim Truong (@kimkimnails), to share her expert insight. “As more people are choosing to live a more natural lifestyle, this can mean taking a closer look into their beauty routine. Many are becoming more aware of the harmful ingredients that are in traditional nail polishes. Even though nail polish is applied on the nail, these toxins can be absorbed into the body through the porous nail plate. For those who might be more sensitive to these chemicals, you can still have beautiful nails by staying informed and choosing nail polish with less toxic ingredients.”
Below, Kim is sharing the brands she recommends for a clean(er) nail polish application.
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