What Is That Smell?

During a rare lunch excursion, my husband and I saw this young mother walking down the sidewalk with her baby girl. At first glance, it seemed enduring; she was toting a packed diaper bag that I am sure was full of snacks, sippy cups, diapers, and toys. She was a mommy on a mission- certainly this was an outing she had carefully orchestrated. She was just about to enter a store when it dawned on me that this was their destination...

Without hesitation she pulled open the door to the nail salon and entered. I immediately started experiencing olfactory memories of the salons I had visited in the '80's and early '90's. The intense aroma of chemicals and acrylic dust particles in the air were always nauseating to me. I had to wonder what effect, if any, this experience would have on a small child. So I decided to research...

Firstly, I couldn't come up with any uniform answer on why the tech wears a mask, so I am going to stick with my thoughts of "if you can smell something - it is entering the body". Secondly, I became more concerned about the polish that this little girl would have stroked across her tiny delicate fingernails which would undoubtedly end up in her mouth.

The compound used to prevent chipping in fingernail polish is phthalates.... these are the same chemical compounds that gives your new car that smell everyone loves so much. Despite the warm and fuzzy feelings it brings us, phthalates, a worldwide platicizer, has been linked to immune disorders, infertility, cancer and other debilitating diseases. The CDC released a report in 2000 implicating concerns about developing fetuses of women who use cosmetics that contain phthalates during pregnancy.

So, if the CDC is concerned about the phthalates in cosmetics to your developing fetus, is there justified concern about phthalates and your younglings who are still developing the brains and nervous systems outside the womb?

I read compelling information presented by Donna Jackson Nakazawa in The Autoimmune Epidemic. Nakazawa reveals that the The European Union has been proactive in removing phthalates from nail polish, but the US regulators continue to wait for more burden of proof before taking such a stance. However, while the bureaucratic red tape is being filtered through some manufacturers took it upon themselves to remove the phthalates: Proter & Gamble and Estee Lauder.

As I type this I sport chipped purple, blue, and red finger nail polish from our recent girls' night featuring a mock salon with home manicures. I suggest that the next time you want to get a manicure with your daughter that you too select a home manicure with a nail polish that is clearly labeled phthalate-free. If you go to the salon where they do not have to label there products as such, you risk exposure to a harmful chemical to yourself and your daughter.