Mixed Feelings: 3 Free Nail Polish

acquarellaAlthough I am excited to see that there is an increased demand, it is a little frustrating to see so many “non-toxic” 3-free nail polish companies come out and declare their righteousness.  “3-Free” means free of Toluene, formerly used to make polish flow easily, Formaldehyde, sometimes used in nail hardeners, and Dibutyl Phtalate, a plasticizer formerly used to make polish more flexible. While I think Zoya, Sparitual and others are fabulous companies doing great things, in some sense I feel…what’s the big deal?  Did you know that most drugstore AND salon AND department store brands are also 3 free?  OPI, Revlon, Chanel, Nars, even Wet n Wild are all 3 Free!  The only one that isn’t that comes to mind is Essie.  I think what I find a little frustrating about it is that I know some of us are willing to pay a premium for a more earth-friendly and safe product but the difference between a wet n wild and another brand may just be marketing.  Certainly there will never be any such thing as organic nail polish but I am more a little more impressed with Acquarella and Suncoat water based formulas.  I chose Acquarella for Spirit Beauty Lounge because it really lasts long, comes in great colors, actually leaves your nails hydrated and doesn’t even contain propylene glycol.  The ingredients are simple: Acrylic polymer emulsion, Water, and non-toxic colorants (No FD&C).  To me, that stands out amongst the rest.  Even with 3 Free polish, the fumes will hit you when you open the bottle.  If I can avoid that, I would rather.  How about you?

Comments

One Response to “Mixed Feelings: 3 Free Nail Polish”

  1. Hannah Lynn Demerson on October 11th, 2008 12:17 pm

    Wow - that’s interesting. Is it O.K. beauty etiquette to take your own nail polish to the nail salon? I want to take your product with me and tell my local nail salon about it!

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