Nails tend to be an important part of women’s beauty routines – and I have some tips on
how to make your routine less toxic for you, your pockets, and the planet all without having
to leave your home.
Hey y’all!
It’s Ashley Renne and welcome back to my green living channel where I show you sustainable
and vegan-friendly ways to have a healthier body, home and planet.
Today’s video is all about your nails.
At the time that I’m recording this, we are in the middle of a global health crisis
that has caused millions of women around the world to stay at home.
Which means no visits to the nail salon.
But not to worry.
My eco-friendly nail care tips can help you keep your nails looking beautiful from the
comfort of your home.
And FYI all my product recommendations can be found in the description.
Last summer I completely changed my nail care routine when I found out 1.
Most nail polish is not vegan 2.
A lot of nail polish is packed with toxic chemicals and 3.
Traditional nail salons tend to produce a lot of waste, something I’ve been actively
trying to cut back on.
So Here are 3 sustainable steps you can take to do your nails at home that are less toxic
to your health, will save you money, is better for the environment, doesn’t harm animals
– and I even found a brand of nail polish that lasts 2 weeks.
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Remove your nail polish with reusable bamboo cotton rounds.
Single-use cotton products are wasteful.
Between using cotton balls to wipe off nail polish and disposable cotton rounds to clean
our faces, a lot of cotton ends up in the trash.
On top of that, it takes 20,000 liters of water to produce one 1 kilogram of cotton
which is essentially a t-shirt.
Switching to a reusable option cuts down on water waste, means less cotton in landfills,
and saves you from having to spend money on disposable beauty products that you have to
replenish when you run out.
I bought this 20-pack of organic reusable bamboo cotton rounds that comes with a tiny
laundry bag for washing.
I use these to remove polish, makeup, wipe my cell phone done with alcohol, if you use
toner you can you use it for that too.
I’m sure there are a ton of ways these can come in handy in your life.
Step 2: Remove your polish with natural polish remover
So let’s talk about toxins, I mentioned earlier that there are harmful chemicals in
polish – but the same also goes for polish remover.
Just think about that smell that fills your nostrils the moment you twist the lid off
that remover.
It smells toxic.
Plus polish remover usually comes in a disposable plastic bottle.
Luckily there are more natural and zero waste ways to remove polish.
It can be tricky to find one that’s low-cost and effective – but you do have options.
The one I use is natural and soy-based with lavender essential oil.
It’s vegan, cruelty free, and acetone-free.
It comes in a glass bottle and they use soy-based ink.
So no plastic means less harm to our planet.
Step 3: Paint Your Nails with Non-Toxic, Vegan Nail Polish
Traditional nail polish is problematic for our bodies and the earth because of the harmful
toxins and animal-derived ingredients.
When I first found out nail polish isn’t vegan, I was perplexed!
But it’s true.
Some of these strange ingredients include crushed beetles, fish scales, and animal fat.
Which then sent me down a rabbit hole of research where I also learned that the chemicals I
was exposing myself to can harm our skin, immune systems, and hormonal development.
WHY THO?
My first reaction was to go to the beauty store and find some
non-toxic vegan nail polish.
Sephora only had one brand – Pacifica - that met that criteria.
So I bought 2 colors, a base coat and a top coat.
In an effort to be cleaner, nail polish companies started using terms like 3-free, 5-fee, 7-free,
9-free, and 13-free to indicate they are free of certain chemicals.
Pacifica is one of those brands.
It is labeled as 7-free, meaning it is formulated without the following toxins: parabens, formaldehyde,
resin, toluene, phthalates, xylene, and camphor.
They have a lot of pretty colors and I love that it’s vegan, but it starts to chip after
a few days.
So I wondered if by choosing sustainable nail care, did that mean I had to forego the long-lasting
effects of gel and powder nail finishes?
Thankfully no!
My aunt sent me a link to a brand that seemed too good to be true.
It was vegan, non-toxic, and promised to last as long as gel polish.
I was skeptical so I ordered one of their mini kits to try it without committing to
the bigger quantities.
Similar to gel polish it requires a few steps to work.
It comes with nail prep, a base coat, polish, and a top coat.
The first step is to prep your nails by saturating a reusable cotton round and scrubbing each
nail to clean it.
Then you apply 2 coats of the base coat followed by two coats of the nail color and finally
the top coat.
The exact instructions are on the box.
The color lasted me about a week and half before I experienced my first chip.
So yes non toxic, vegan polish definitely exists, and even more exciting, there’s
one on the market that can even compete with gel polish.
So that’s it!
That’s my 3-step process for eco-friendly, non-toxic, vegan, and cruelty-free nail care
you can do without leaving your home.
Whether you’re watching this during the quarantine or sometime in the future when
it’s safe to venture out into the world, I hope you’ll still consider these options
no matter what.
Because as always, every little step you take living a more conscious, sustainable life
helps us have healthier bodies, healthier homes, and a healthier planet.
If you learned something in this video or just liked it, give it a thumbs up and subscribe
for more sustainable and plant-based lifestyle tips.
Until next time, stay safe out there y’all and keep on living an adventurously green
life.