
The sweet, pungent scent typical of many nail polishes is created by the chemical toluene, an industrial solvent that is also the most widely abused inhaled volatile drug in consumer products such as lacquers, glues, paint thinners, adhesives and industrial cleaning products. Toluene is one of the best-studied neurotoxins, which has a severe impact on myelin of the central nervous system. The myelin sheath is a layer of fatty tissue that engulfs nerve fibers like insulation on a wire, speeding the transmission of electrical signals, and it is degraded by exposure to toluene–a chemical which is known to cause white matter changes and brain atrophy in the central nervous system.
Many nail polishes in the early 2000s incorporated the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a compound which helps retain color, prevent chipping, and improve flexibility of the polish.
Evidence has mounted that DBP leads to obesity, interferes with thyroid health, and disrupts fetal development. DBP was found to be a reproductive and developmental toxicant which lead the European Union to ban its use in cosmetics in 2004.
Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP)
TPHP is used in nail polishes to impart durability and flexibility.
Research links TPHP to endocrine disruption, meaning that it alters the exquisitely fine-tuned balance of human hormones that is so important for health. Other effects of TPHP include alteration of thyroid hormone levels, reproductive toxicity including decreased semen quality, altered metabolic function and weight gain, developmental toxicity, and genotoxicity (damage to DNA).
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