It is strange how we can often ignore the negative impacts of something simply because we happen to like the cause of them too much.
A simple example of this is nail polish. As much as I love having beautifully coloured nails, unfortunately most nail polishes and removers are full of nasty chemicals that actually damage your nails and are harmful to the environment. Yes, my nails do finally grow back healthy again but why am I sacrificing my health (and the environment) for a few days of prettiness? (Apparently it doesn’t just affect the nails. The fumes are not good to breathe in and the chemicals also get absorbed into your body through the nail bed.) In terms of the environment, nail polishes and removers are actually classed as hazardous waste (even the bottles can’t be recycled because of this). So should we really be producing this stuff in the first place and then having the risk of it making its way into the ground and waterways?
Since I started to take these facts seriously, I have been trying to find a healthier and more environmentally friendly way to make my nails pretty. I was initially delighted to find plenty of ‘non-toxic’ polishes on the market and bought a lovely breathable polish from the Orly brand, however I then struggled to find a good natural remover that didn’t cost a fortune and that was able to give me reassurances that it was ok to use the remover with reuseable, washable pads and hence it was safe to rinse the remover down the sink? I have still yet to find one. So for now I have decided to trial the ‘au naturel’ look.
I stopped using nail varnish about 4 months ago (whilst my toes could hide in socks and boots) and noticed that after about 8 weeks my nails finally started to look and feel healthy again. So now that the weather is finally warm enough to get my toes out, I have given myself a lockdown mani/pedi and I even cooked up a multipurpose balm to make my nails nice and shiny!
The multipurpose balm is something that I found in the ‘Zero Waste Home’ book by Bea Johnson. It is simply beeswax (I bought from Noel’s Farm Shop) and oil (I used olive though apparently sunflower is the best for vitamin E). I just melted it down and then let it cool in an old glass jar. (It has lots of uses too!)
So whilst we are in lockdown (and no one can see) you may want to let your nails breathe for a few weeks and perhaps break a widely held addiction to painted nails?! Personally, my nails have never looked healthier or felt stronger. Maybe if I finally find a good natural remover and have a special occasion, I might use my lovely Orly polish again, but for now I think the healthy look is the best look to have.