Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Three major nail polish manufacturers, OPI, Inc, Orly International, and Del Laboratories (which makes the Sally Hansen brands), are now in the process of removing potentially harmful toxins from their products. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics lobby group has spent years targeting specific nail polish brands whose products are said to contain ingredients like phthalates, formeldahyde and toluene. These ingredients are on California’s Prop. 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.

Sally Hansen, perhaps one of the most well-known U.S. nail varnish companies, has said that they are now reformulating all of their products in order to remove dibutyl phthalate (DBP), formaldehyde and toluene. Orly and OPI, however, have only decided to remove DBP and stated that some of their polishes will still contain traces of the other chemicals. According to Simon Pitman of cosmeticsdesign.com, “recent scientific studies have stressed the line between DBP and underdevelopment of newborn baby boys. Although the chemical is banned by the EU, in the U.S. the FDA has not made any such move.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics states that “The EPA restricts toluene in drinking water because it can cause nervous system disorders and damage the liver and kidneys. The FDA does not require that cosmetics products be tested for safety before they are sold.”

This most recent move to eliminate harmful chemicals follows changes already made by large cosmetics multinationals, including Avon, Estee Lauder, Revlon, and L’Oreal, who have already confirmed the removal of DBP.