Nail polish removers under the spotlight and are they all what the label says they are?
Lets discuss.
I’m sure you know there are loads of nail polish removers out there of varying brands including mine Fresh Therapies Natural Nail Polish Remover of course.
Varying colours from pink, blue, purple, a slight yellow tinge and clear. Some infused with lavender and other nice smelling ingredients. Acetone, non acetone, vegan, plastic bottles or glass the arena is flooded with them and in my opinion so are some the polish removers themselves. With far too many ingredients and some really don’t need to be there.
Lets dig a little deeper and put nail polish remover ingredients under the spotlight first.
Remember this: When looking at labels it’s also worth remembering that the higher on the ingredients list the more of that there is in the formula. So if water for example was first on the list, this means there is more water contained in it’s formula than anything else listed.
Here’s a comparison of what I’m calling a Conventional nail polish remover against Fresh Therapies natural nail polish remover.
Conventional nail polish remover ingredients
In general you’ll see the product label showing these chemicals (keep in mind everything is a chemical even water).
Its a vibrant blue in colour and is a high street brand.
Here we go top of the list:
Isoproply Alcohol – If mixed with water it will be called Rubbing Alcohol or Surgical Spirit. MEK – Methyl ethyl ketone. is a clear, colourless, volatile, highly flammable liquid with a mint or fruity acetone-like odour. Other common names are butanone, 2-butanone and methyl acetone check out the link at the bottom Ethyl Acetate – Although this can be found naturally in fruits there is also a synthetic man made version. Aqua- water. Caprlic/Capic Triglyceride and emollient, Parfum basically man made or synthetic scented oils. If you’ve bought a cheaper brand of nail polish remover then the Parfum is more than likely a man made version. Glycerin, also known as Glycerol a type of sugar alcohol. Panthenol – Comes from Vit B5 help retain moisture. Citric Acid – Is a weak acid. Tocopheryl Acetate – Known as Vitamin E. Denatonium Benzoate – A chemical with a very bitter taste, its added to some products to give a vile taste so prevent ingestion!. C1 42051 – This is a colourant, which give this particular polish remover its blue colour.
Wow there’s 12 ingredient there, some of which begs me to think if they really need to be there, and keep in mind this is an Acetone Free nail polish remover.
Now this is the interesting part of the label. The bit which tells you of its hazards, which legally has to on the labels.
Right at the top of the list is bold letters – Caution Highly Flammable
Avoid prolonged contact with the skin and then all the usuals. Keep out of reach of children, do not ingest, avoid contact with eyes etc etc. Its in a plastic bottle.
But it does market itself as Gentle on the nails and kinder to skin and is vegan, Really!
Now lets be fair on this, there are loads of nail polish remover brands all across the world and unless they are claiming to be 100% natural they’re all going to have very similar ingredients in, maybe in a different order. My take on this list of ingredients is due to the fact that its acetone free. There would be slightly different ingredients used as the solvent part of a formula, as we know acetone is strong stuff!
Now lets compare the ingredients in Fresh Therapies natural nail polish remover.
The list starts with:
Estasol DBE – a combination of these three, Dimethyl Glutarate, Adipate and Succinate. A non flammable, biodegradable ingredient to act as a gentle solvent. Ethylhexyl Palmitate, derived from coconut also acts as a gentle solvent and softener. Citrus Aurantifolia Oil – Lime oil for its citrus aroma.
As you can see there is a big difference in list length isn’t there. Also sold in a glass bottle with aluminium lid which all are recyclable both bottle label and box are too.
What’s some of the other differences?
Packaging – Conventional ones are more than likely to be housed in a plastic bottle, with a clear label wrapped around it which is plastic also.
Fresh Therapies 100% natural nail polish remover sits in a glass bottle, aluminium lid, biodegradable label and cardboard box. All recyclable.
Manufacturing origin – This is a little tricky to find out sometimes, but many conventional ones could be made in so many different countries around the world. Fresh Therapies product is made right here in the UK and I’m proud of that.
You can buy the Fresh Therapies award winning version here on Special Offer
https://freshtherapies.com/product/natural-nail-polish-remover/
