“Nailed: Endocrine Disruptor in Nail Polish Gets Into Women’s Bodies.”

I love nail polishes, I felt it’s something bold I can do out of my naturally given and boring looking nails. Plus, I can always change color and design it to my liking that matches my mood and convenience. But when my toenails started to show white speckled lines and eventually became brittle and was so susceptible to fungus I decided to stop wearing for a time being and work on hiding my yellowy toes by wearing closed shoes. 

Eventually, my above-mentioned problems disappeared and then decided to never go back to wearing nail polishes again. Believe it or not, I’ve been living with a plain toe since like 10 years ago and I’m doing just fine. I still do pedis though but that’s minus the color and the tincture and I bring my own pedis kit to the salon. Sorry, uhmmm not sorry, I know you’re aware some women have silly OC disorders like that, LOL!

And I can’t be happier with my decision because something alarming about nail polishes has been surfacing lately and I’m not going to spend money or strain myself for the things I know I can do something about. 

This goes to women out there who are fond of buying unbranded nail polishes at the sidewalks because they’re cheap at P3.50/per little, cutey bottle and to women who love to flaunt brand names on their wares. But either way, reality is, nail polishes are highly toxic blend of chemicals that some of them find their way into the woman’s body.

To know more about this, here’s a repost of a letter sent from a friend at http://www.ewg.org/

Friend,

It’s not surprising that many nail polishes contain potentially toxic chemicals – but according to a new study, at least one of those chemicals could be ending up in your body.

The study, co-authored by EWG and researchers at Duke University, found that triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) – a suspected endocrine disruptor also used to make plastics and as a fire retardant in foam furniture – could be ending up in your body if you’ve painted your nails lately.

The EWG-Duke study tested the urine of 26 women who had recently painted their nails and found evidence of TPHP in every participant.

Besides disrupting hormones, scientific evidence shows that TPHP could contribute to weight gain and obesity. In animal studies, it has caused reproductive and developmental problems.

See here to learn more about the potential dangers of TPHP 

and see which brands sell nail polishes that contain it.

The study found that when women applied nail polish with TPHP directly to their nails, the levels of a biomarker of that chemical in their urine increased nearly sevenfold compared to when participants wore gloves and applied the polish to synthetic nails.

Scientists knew little about the toxicity of TPHP until recently. Now there is growing evidence that it could affect hormones, metabolism, reproduction and development.

See here to learn more in EWG’s latest analysis: 

“Nailed: Endocrine Disruptor in Nail Polish Gets Into Women’s Bodies.”

Thanks for making this and all of EWG’s research possible.

Sincerely,

Johanna Congleton, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist, EWG

(Image: CTO)

Posted in Beauty and Beyond, Women and Health, Women and Home