Is It Safe To Use Nail Paints During Pregnancy?

2 min read

Colour your nails pretty! Well, nail paints and nail paint removers carry small amounts of formaldehyde and toluene and acetone – for that colour effect, smooth gliding and easily removing the nail polish. These chemicals in these products are to the tune of 0.2%, so it is very unlikely that they will cause harm to your unborn baby. A weekly change of colour and a manicure will not affect the baby in any way. However, if you are working at a nail art studio, regular exposure may cause nausea to you, since pregnancy does make one smell sensitive. Consider talking about this to your manager and rest assured, expect for some instances of nausea, anything major is unlikely to happen.

You can use the below tips to further reduce your exposure to these chemicals –

Using chemical free nail paints.
Using acetone free nail paint removers.
Making sure that you are in a well ventilated room when getting your nails done.
Drying your nails by keeping your arms away from your face. Blowing on the nails could make you inhale the chemicals.
If working at a nail salon, ask your colleague to paint nails or clear the polish.
Always wash your hands with soap and water to rinse of any chemical remnants.
Be aware that the toluene is harmful for the fetus if inhaled regularly and in high volumes and may cause birth defects in the baby. Avoiding continual exposure is your best bet, if you work in industries related to these chemicals.
Formaldehyde also happens to be broken down by the body of inhaled, so chances of it reaching the baby are very remote.
Acetone is present in the atmosphere as well, so unless you inhale large quantities on regular basis, there is a possibility that your baby might get exposed to it.

Having said that, pregnancy makes one sensitive to many smells, hence you should always be aware of other chemicals and toxic substances like cleaning solvents, lead, mercury, pesticides, and paint. The March of Dimes website reports that we still don’t know the cause of about 70 percent of birth defects.

Go on, dab some colour!

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