In your green efforts, you may have come across eco-friendly nail polishes and wondered what they were all about. I did myself, so when Auum – The Honest Nail Salon opened up specialising in vegan, animal-cruelty free and eco-friendly nail services, I knew they could answer a few questions for us. I spoke with the owner, Lung Lung, and she not only opened up a lot on the subject, but even gave us an awesome nail art DIY tutorial to do at home!
Here’s what Lung had to say:
Conventional polishes contain chemicals called plasticisers which fix the colour onto your nail. These are the same chemicals used for painting cars – which already paints the wrong image, but the worrying part is that these same chemicals pass through your nail bed, and into your blood stream.
Lung talked about the importance of people knowing their options. Many, especially pregnant women, are not aware of how harmful these chemicals can be. We’re already bombarded by so many toxins in our day, so why not use products that cause the least amount of harm. Lung reminds us that no polish can be completely natural, but there are better options:
So how do you know if a polish is truly water-based? It has no smell! That’s something I noticed right away in The Honest Salon, there were no nauseating chemical smells at all!
This can be tricky for most consumers, because even though a product may not have been tested on animals, their parent company may have. A lot of well-known brands are owned by a larger corporation, who test their formulations on animals’ skin, fur and eyes for allergic reactions. We’re talking about nail polish here, and it’s just insane to think that we would contribute to that kind of cruelty, for the sake of a manicure. Luckily there are a few brands out there who are completely cruelty-free! Lung’s favourite brands are:
So how do water-based polishes hold up against their plasticised counterparts? Lung says that your manicure will last up to 2 weeks – you may find that Priti NCY hold up a bit longer than Scotch, but they both come in so many colours that you’ll have fun switching it up anyway! Lung loves designing nail art at her salon, and has shared with us her technique to create a really fun and super simple design yourself at home!
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Thanks a million to Lung for sharing her knowledge with us all – she’s on a mission to “educate consumers, one manicure at a time!” If you’re in Singapore, definitely check out her eco-friendly nail salon! Everyone can get more nail art inspiration on their Facebook page, where they share tons of pictures of their work!
1 Comment
where can I get the eco-friendly nail polishes? I’m in China/ I also can get stuff from the US.