Europe's gel nail polish ban: Why your favourite manicure might be in danger
A UV or LED lamp is used to set gel polished.
Image: Leeloo The First / Pexels
The European Union just dropped a bombshell on the beauty world, and if you’re someone who lives for that perfect, chip-free manicure, you might want to sit down for this.
The days of your go-to gel polish might be numbered, and it’s all for a pretty serious reason.
For years, gel manicures have been our go-to for a durable, high-gloss finish.
You simply pop into a salon, get a few coats of that thick, shiny polish, and then sit under a UV or LED lamp to set it and then you walk out with a manicure that lasts for weeks, fending off chips and peels.
It's no wonder gel nails became a massive staple in the beauty industry.
But all that is changing now, thanks to a single ingredient called TPO, or trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide.
This chemical is what helps gel polish cure so quickly under UV light, making the entire process fast and efficient.
It’s also what keeps the colour vibrant and long-lasting.
The EU has now completely banned TPO, effectively taking it off the shelves of all 27 member states, plus a few other countries like Norway and Switzerland.
So why the big ban? European health officials have flagged TPO as potentially toxic, and have even labeled it as "carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction."
While there haven't been large-scale human studies to prove these claims, the ban is based on alarming findings from animal studies.
In these tests, TPO was linked to complete infertility in female rats and issues like reduced testes size and sperm depletion in male rats.
It is worth noting that the animals in these studies were given much higher doses of TPO orally, which is a very different scenario from getting a manicure.
However, the EU decided that the potential risks were just too great to ignore.
As Dr. Hannah Kopelman, a dermatologist, put it, the ban is a "precautionary move" that prioritises public health.
For the EU, the convenience of a long-lasting manicure simply doesn't outweigh these potential risks.
This means that nail salons in Europe have to get rid of their old stock immediately, and manufacturers are scrambling to reformulate their products to be TPO-free.
While the ban is only in the EU, it certainly makes all nail enthusiasts think long and hard about their decision to continue using gel polish.
So you might want to go back to basics and stick to your classic nail polish that doesn’t require any UV curing.
These days, there are plenty of long-wear formulas on the market that can give you a week of chip-free wear if applied correctly.
Then there’s the option of press-on nails, which has really gained popularity because it can be applied in minutes and there are so many designs available.
They have come a long way from those flimsy versions of the past.
IOL Lifestyle