You may want to think twice about what sort of fall manicure you get – and we’re not talking about trendy colors or seasonal patterns.
A critical ingredient used in gel nail polishes, specifically, has been banned in products sold throughout the European Union. The chemical, trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide – referred to more commonly as TPO – functions as a so-called photoinitiator in such polishes. In plain English, it’s the component that allows gel nails to harden, providing customers with a stronger, longer-lasting end result.
But that durable manicure could come at a cost, EU officials warn – specifically, long-term fertility problems, according to the studies officials cited. (Other research efforts, meanwhile, have indicated negative effects on skin from the UV light used to harden gel polishes.)
Here in the U.S., however, the Food and Drug Administration – the governing body responsible for monitoring the safety of cosmetics and other items on behalf of American consumers – has put no such ban in place.
Perhaps it’s a staffing matter. Roughly 3,500 employees were laid off at the agency in April. Though about 25% of them have since been reinstated, the FDA’s ability to inspect goods and process reviews has been significantly hamstrung. Regardless of firings or hirings, however, there are numerous products and ingredients available in the U.S. that are banned elsewhere – from the formaldehyde found in other types of nail polish, to trace amounts of lead in lipsticks.
Some see the logic of the EU ban. Francesca Rapolla, scientific affairs manager at the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association, a trade organization, told UK-based Scratch Magazine that while industry heads could lobby for exemptions from rulings like the one handed down this month, “the industry did not, and could not, defend the continued use of [TPO] in nail products, mainly because it could not demonstrate that there are no alternative ingredients.”
Others in the beauty industry, however, are speaking out against it. One Belgian beauty wholesaler even launched a protest website that calls the ban “unjust,” and asserts that it will have “a huge impact on thousands of salons, training centers, distributors and manufacturers.”
