My first, randomly-selected area of improvement: nail polish.

I know, it’s such a First World Problem. Painting my nails is something I have time to do, energy to do, money to do, and a lifestyle which allows them to stay nice. (My toes, anyway. My fingernails don’t last more than three days before getting horrendous. I call this “actively living my life” instead of “being too lazy to use gloves”.)

But painting my toes gives me a very big mood lift. I love seeing a pop of color when I go barefoot in the winter. I love coordinating my color with clothes and sandals in the summer.

But chemicals…

Like most people, I didn’t give a thought to what my nail polish was made of. If it’s sold in a store, it’s probably safe, right?

Yeah, no.

A lot of our beauty products have chemicals shown to cause cancer or disrupt our endocrine systems. Some may have links to Autism.

Right now, nail polish is not something I’m ready to give up entirely. But I am ready to be safer and smarter.

This is my box of out-going products:

So many pretty colors which have been cheery companions…

And rebuilding my polish collection with new, safer products will take a while. Toxic is cheap. Safe is expensive.

I got these from Pacifica earlier this summer when they first debuted their line of “7 Free” nail polish.

I put in another order today for a clear base/top coat and a red (because a girl needs red for the holidays!). It’ll take a while to get some variety, but I’m going to be patient. My goal is to set aside funds for one new color each month.

For now: blue toenails!

 

Other resources:

Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database (they also have a free app)

Care2 has a list of 12 nail polish brands