The Refined Hippie: Nail Art {The Safe Way}

This past summer, the beauty scene has been rampant with some outrageous nail art that puts conventional artists to shame. When visiting my younger cousin in Indianapolis this summer, she begged me to let her perform manicurist duties on me and I happily obliged. She adorned my finger nails with leopard print, spending way more time than I would ever have spent on myself, setting the gold background then carefully drawing white specks perfectly outlined in black. She then extended the jungle theme down to my feet, where my toenails were christened with zebra print. Who needs a manicurist when you've got the Pablo Picasso of nail art in the fam? I've seen tuxedo print finger nails, chevron nails, even all-out miniature paintings on the ends of women's phalanges.

While I'm all for this trend, it's important to be selective in what types of polish people are using; many of them contain harsh chemicals that could potentially be cancer-causing. The three active ingredients in many nail polishes which are cause for concern are Dibutyl phthalate, Toluene, and Formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen and DBT has caused speculation for causing reproductive and development issues (including infertility). When choosing a nail polish, look for ones that say they are "three-free," which means they do not contain any of these three toxic chemicals. Good news is, many of our most beloved brands are safe. Essie, OPI, and Butter London are all 3-free. The brand Scotch Naturals is also free of ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, acetone, and heavy metals, making it "truly non toxic."

While these brands claim to be safe and "eco-friendly" it is still important to note the amount of waste that goes into the production of nail polish. All of those glass bottles go to waste because they obviously cannot be recycled... Just something to keep in mind when coming home from ULTA with the hottest 12 new OPI's of the season.