SHARES
They come in such pretty colours, such a variety of shades, and you could even do Nail Art with them… oh, what a lovely world of nail colours, but are they toxic? Are they a hazard? Why oh why do these pretty things have to be a danger to ladies and little ones who love painting their nails every time! Is nail polish really a hazard? We try to find out…
We get enticed by those fancy advertisements on television or those glossy magazines, and kids are pretty easy prey to all this. You surely have noticed how adamant your child could become if you didn’t buy her her favourite nail colour or get pretty designs on her nails at the nail art centre.
You have heard that nail polish is toxic but never thought how it could possibly affect us. Well, here’s the bad news, your nail polish is a deadly concoction of toxins!
What does regular nail polish contain?
Nail polish contains chemicals that affect the health of people in general but particularly they contain chemicals that can affect the growth of children. Such chemicals include:
- Triphenyl Phosphate: A study conducted at Duke University by an environmental working group establish that this chemical component of many nail polish brands affect hormone secretion, digestion, reproductive health, and growth. Exposing young children to chemicals like this have grave implications for their health and development as they affect the endocrine hormone responsible for puberty body changes in teens. This, in clear terms, means a child exposed to nail polish may experience delayed body part development at teenage.
- Toluene: This chemical is one deadly component present in many nail polish; though many brands are now reformulated their products to exclude this chemical, some others still defiantly continue to include them in the formulation of their products; Toluene go beyond triggering minor fever symptoms like headache, numbness, irritated eyes, nose and lungs to doing lasting damage to organs like the liver and kidney.
- Formaldehyde: This chemical is a relative of Toluene; it is the component of nail polishes that hardens the nail. Continuous unguarded exposure to formaldehyde may lead to breathing related illness like asthma and allergy; research has also strongly linked and identified exposure to it as a potential carcinogen.
- Dibutyl Phthalate: This is another toxic chemical present in nail polish that can affect the health of children with continuous exposure.This chemical is said to be linked to birth defects seen in lab animals.
Dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, and toluene are known as the toxic trio, that said, would you be still keen on getting your kids’ nails painted with these? Chemicals such as these have the ability to leach into your body in no time. So beware!
What are the alternatives?
Yes, there is something known as non-toxic paints available in the market, but at the end of the day, they are all chemicals. You could try your hand at making non-toxic organic nail polish at home, there are videos on YouTube that you could refer.
References
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by Hridya
A biochemist by education who could never put what she studied to good use, finally found GetDoc as a medium to do what she loved - bring information to people using a forum that is dedicated to all things medical. View all articles by Hridya.
