When I was eight years old my grandmother told me, "always paint your toenails, it's good for them." For some reason, I took this seriously. Throughout high school, my nails were ever-painted, though each time I'd open up a bottle, my dad would say, "That stuff is toxic."
While nail polish is never "healthy," I'm always looking for brands that make it less toxic. Three years ago, I discovered that I have celiac disease, and I've paid close attention to the contents of food and beauty products ever since.
Until recently, the only "natural" nail polish that I'd used was Scotch Naturals. It chips almost instantly. While it is completely non-toxic, a tiny bottle costs nearly $15.
Gluten may or may not be in nail polish, but a new "gluten free" polish caught my eye last month at the grocery store. Not only is Physician's Formula Endless Color nail polish gluten free, it is also free from; camphor, toluene, formaldehyde, parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs, and triclosan.
Contains: butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, nitrocellulose, phthalic anhydride/trimellitic anhydride/glycols copolymer, isopropyl alcohol, acetyl tributyl citrate, stearalkonium hectorite, adipic acid/fumaric acid/phthalic acid/triclodecane dimethanol copolymer, citric acid, May Contain: ferric ferrocyanide, mica titanium dioxide, red 6, red 7, red 34, yellow 5.
Still, a lot of scary sounding ingredients. Chemists, please elaborate!
I decided to try the product, as it is guaranteed to be gluten-free. The colours are sold in thematic category trios for $12.95: Smokin' Haute, Three Shades of Grey, Trendsetter Chic, California Goddess, Fashion Icon, In the Nude, Bare it All, and Treat Yourself. I purchased the set "In the Nude," as the colours are neutral and chipping is less noticeable.
Physician's Formula Endless Color nail polish works just as well as any other nail polish (note: the colours are intended to be muted/neutral). On my fingernails, I used the rose-hued polish, and last week, I tried the lighter pink one. On my toes, I used the pastel purple. [Fact: I spent 10 minutes trying to take a flattering photo of my feet. Verdict: My feet are creepy].
While it is fantastic that Physician's Formula Endless Color Trios are free from petrochemicals etc., I will likely use the polish more often on my toenails than on my fingernails.
In contrast to the Physician's Formula polish, the Scotch Naturals polish has only 4 ingredients: water, acrylic polymer emulsion, butoxy diglycol, non-toxic colorants. This leads me to believe that there is a middle-ground polish out there that; has fewer ingredients than Physician's Formula and is longer lasting than Scotch Naturals.
