Some time ago, we mentioned the ‘toxic-trio’ (toulene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and formaldehyde) in relation to nail salons and nail care. In response to increasing awareness and in advance of upcoming regulations governing the toxic chemicals used in nail polish, many manufacturers began selling nail products free of these three chemicals…. or so we thought.

_The California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC), released a summary of findings in which random samples of off-the-shelf nail products were tested and found to contain one or more of the toxic trio chemicals. What's more, many of the nail products containing these chemicals had labeling that specifically claimed they were free of the them.

_Using EPA testing methods designed to characterize hazardous waste, DTSC labs screened a total of 25 products purchased directly from the shelves of consumer retail outlets. Of the samples, 12 claimed to be free of at least one of the toxic trio chemical while 7 claimed to be free of all three. When tested, five of those seven claiming to be ‘three-free’ failed to substantiate this claim. Ten of twelve products claiming to be ‘toulene-free’ actually contained toulene.

_With Safer Consumer Products regulations going into effect in California later this year, these test results shed some light on not only compliance but also marketing and inconsistent labeling of these products. Unfortunately, it seems that even products that are labeled to be free of these toxic chemicals fail to live up to their claims.

_The entirety of the findings and list of products tested can be found here (FYI, it's a slow loading PDF from the ca.gov website).