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Hi BeautyBrains, I noticed when I use old nail polish containing Formaldehyde I get brittle, yellowing and peeling nails even when I use light colours.
Does the ingredient Tosylamide Formaldehyde Resin also cause this ? Also is Tosylamide the same thing and are these chemicals safe ?
Thanks.
Formaldehyde makes nail brittles because it reacts with protein chains and causes them to link together. In Tosylamide Formaldehyde Resin the formaldehyde is already “used up” because it is reacted so it shouldn’t cause that same problem.
The resin is considered safe to use but formaldehyde can cause health problems at high levels.Hi Randy, thank you so much for this – I nearly ended up throwing out most of my nail polish and money. You have saved me money !
Hi Beauty Brains,
What percent of formaldehyde would older bottles of nail polish contain and is there a safe level ?
The nail polishes in question are from about 1993 until 2003. I don’t wish to have brittle yellowing nails as mentioned in my original post.
Thanks for all your help.
Thanks in advance
Hey Tabby, welcome back! Without having access to the exact formulations there’s no way I can tell the % formaldehyde. Nail polish does last a long time but, to be honest, I would throw out bottles that are 12 and 22 years old!
Hi Randy,
Thanks for answering my question. In Australia ingredient listing for cosmetics came in much later than in the USA so I don’t know the formulations. Also, about DBP it has been phased out last year here – link is: http://www.professionalbeauty.com.au/2014/07/24/government-ban-dbp-cosmetics/#.VgsNHE0Vj5o
Also, about how long to keep nail polish – approximately what is the cut-off time e.g. 5 years, 10 years ? I will also follow your advise and get rid of anything with DBP now as well as ancient bottles that I have had from 1993 – 2003. Time for some spring cleaning as it is spring here !
Many thanks to you and Perry for the wonderful and informative work that you do on the BeautyBrains.
As long as there are no signs of clumping, settling, or separation, nail polish should be fine for 3 to 5 years. (Your results, as they say, may vary.)
Hi Randy, Thank so much for this advice – I will be embarking on a major spring clean out. I have also noticed that some brands stay much fresher and without the above signs such as Revlon Classic (with the black caps) than say Rimmel or Maybelline.
Also with separation, do you mean colour separation as well as the oil/clear layer at the meniscus ?
P.S I love the word ‘meniscus’.
Hi Randy, Thank so much for this advice – I will be embarking on a major spring clean out. I have also noticed that some brands stay much fresher and without the above signs such as Revlon Classic (with the black caps) than say Rimmel or Maybelline.
Even for Revlon – what time-frame would you recommend e.g. no more than 5 years ?
I am asking as I am trying to break my makeup hoarding habit and need to see realistic time-frames otherwise I will end up keeping and using 29 year old nail polish – That was thrown out as per your earlier advice.
Also with separation, do you mean colour separation as well as the oil/clear layer at the meniscus ?
P.S I love the word ‘meniscus’.
I’m talking about any kind of separation. A clear layer at the top indicates some solvent separation. Pigments can also settle to the bottom.
PS “Meniscus” is such a sexist term. Why can’t it be womeniscus?Hi Randy, if you like you can refer to it as ‘womeniscus’ or for cat crazy people ‘catiscus’ or ‘kittyscus’.
Also, I took your advice and turfed out all old polishes. I’m currently wearing Revlon Top Speed in Sheer Pearl (only about 3 years old) without a basecoat and there are hardly any chips after 5 days – I do housework and type on computer all day.
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