Safer Nail Polish

Strategies for healthy living often focus on food. And that's a good thing. We detoxify our bodies when we eliminate processed food full of harmful chemicals from our diet and eat real food instead.This was one of the primary changes I made that helped me recover from fibromyalgia and continues to help me maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Processed food is not the only thing that can be toxic.Household products are full of potentially harmful ingredients. I was shocked to learn how many dangerous substances are added to makeup, hair spray, deodorant, and other personal grooming products I use every day. I guess I could just ditch all that stuff but deodorant, toothpaste, and soap are quite necessary for maintaining good hygiene and I like to use makeup,hairspray, and other personal grooming products to look my best. (At my age I need all the help I can get!) 

Let's look at nail polish.

Safe Nail Polish in Mixed Berries

I love painting my toenails a rainbow of colors during the summer sandal season. But there are a lot of potentially toxic ingredients in many popular brands of nail polish. Four of the scariest are formaldehyde (which is used in embalming fluid and can cause cancer), toluene (which is used in gasoline, affects the nervous system, and can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eye irritation), dibutyl-pthalate (DBP) (has been linked to reproductive problems), and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) (which is used as a fire retardant and has been linked to disruptions in the endocrine system.) A recent study by researchers at Duke University found measurable TPHP inside the bodies of women just 10-14 hours after they applied nail polish that contained that ingredient.Duke University TPHP Study 

Making practical choices for healthy living required me to change my routine in realistic ways that I could follow for the rest of my life.My plan for limiting exposure to toxic chemicals in processed food is to eat real food at least 90% of the time. (That gives me a 10% margin for eating out, having cake at my grandchild's birthday party, and other occasions when it is unrealistic to eat real food I make myself.) I've also made practical changes to limit my exposure to harmful chemicals in household products.

Here's what I do to limit my exposure to toxic ingredients and still have fun using nail polish.

• I do not paint my fingernails. 
• I only paint my toenails in the summer during sandal season.
• I use one of the safer nail polish brands.

I don't paint my fingernails because I use my hands to prepare food, comb my hair, scratch an itch, and other activities where I want to minimize contamination from polish. I only use nail polish in the summer which limits the amount of time it is on my body to just a few months of the year.I use a safer nail polish brand that does not contain as many harmful chemicals as traditional brands.You can smell the difference. Polish that contains harmful chemicals emits fumes that have a strong, distinctive odor. Safer brands have little or no smell.

If you want to create a healthy lifestyle and still enjoy nail polish, use it in moderation, and consider trying one of the safer brands that don't contain as many toxic ingredients, such as: Benecos,Honey Bee Gardens,Nubar, Piggy Paint, and Safe Nail Polish.

I like Safe Nail Polish.It is water based, nontoxic,odorless,hypoallergenic, and made in America. Most of the safer brands of nail polish are more expensive than traditional brands. Safe Nail Polish is $10.95 a bottle. It is cost effective because it will last two to three years.I have used a bottle three summers with no change in texture.Two coats is all you need. It dries hard in five minutes and is water repellent after two hours. Safe Nail Polish 

Skies the Limit, Dew on a Rose, Mystic Silver, Pink Pearl

Being mindful of what I put on my body as well as what I put into it, is an essential part of my healthy living plan. Changing my lifestyle truly changed my life. I have had no more fibromyalgia symptoms since December of 2012. I maintain my health and well-being by continuing to use practical strategies for healthy living.

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