English
French
German
Triphenyl phosphate, or TPHP, is used to manufacture plastic and to stop foam furniture from catching fire. It also happens to help make nail polishes more flexible and durable. It was added to polishes as a substitute for the toxic chemical phthalates that were linked to reproductive problems in women.
Now, it seems we traded one toxic chemical for another. Big name polish brands such as OPI, Essie, and Sally Hansen contain TPHP; it seems the clear polishes have even more of it than colored products. In fact, about half of the 3,000 plus nail polishes studied by researchers at Duke University contained this chemical. In some cases they were in products that claimed NOT to contain them.
The study measured the metabolites of THTP in the urine of women who applied the nail polish to them selves. THTP by-products were found in significant amounts in the urine of these women at both 2-6 hours and 10-14 hours after polish application.
Since our nails are impermeable to most chemicals, the theory is that TPHP leaches through the cuticles into our bloodstream. The participants in the study who wore gloves to apply their polish and also applied polish to synthetic nails (not their own nails) had almost no change in urine metabolite levels.
What’s so bad about TPHP?
Multiple animal studies have shown TPHP disrupts certain hormonal pathways. Besides disrupting hormones, some evidence suggests that it also may contribute to weight gain and obesity. YES, your nail polish could be making you gain weight. Human studies have also suggested an effect on reproduction and development.
Sounds to me like this chemical should be banned from cosmetics!
You can sign an online petition demanding companies like Revlon and OPI remove this chemical from their products here.
What to do with information like this?
I wouldn’t ban all manis and pedis just yet. Like most toxic substances, the amount and duration of exposure to TPHP is key. If you rarely paint your nails I wouldn’t lose sleep over this. If, however, you are trying to get pregnant or suffer from hrmone imbalances and are applying a new polish weekly, I’d rethink how important this is to you.
Pre-pubescent and teenage girls (and boys!) who apply polishes could especially be at risk since their hormones are constantly in flux. Their reproductive organs are developing and we just don’t know what effect TPHP would have.
So until the companies remove TPHP from all of these products AND replace it with something that hasn’t be shown to disrupt our hormone pathways, we have to use our common sense and keep one more thing in moderation: painting our nails!
