Sandal season! Time to unveil your beautifully pedicured toes to the world.  I love to revel in the range of dazzling nail polishes with colors to match my mood, outfit and occasion.  I make sure, however, that my devotion to beauty does not come at a sacrifice to my health, and armed with the proper knowledge, you can too.

Have you ever walked into a nail salon and become overwhelmed by the strong smell? The excitement of getting your nails done can be tempered by these harsh chemical odors. As you may have suspected, not only do these odors offend your olfactory senses, but they are harmful to the rest of your body as well.

Most conventional nail polishes and removers consist of substances that have an extremely adverse impact on your health:

• Toluene:  Added to preserve the color of the polish, toluene has potential toxic effects on the nervous system, kidneys and liver.

• Formaldehyde: Yes, this is the same noxious substance that you used in high school chemistry class.  Formaldehyde is used as a hardener in many nail polishes, in spite of the fact that it is a known carcinogen. Have you ever gotten watery eyes or a headache while at the nail salon? Formaldehyde, linked to allergies, is probably the culprit.

• Phthalates: These have been in the news a lot recently, especially their use in plastics. Dibutyl phthalates are present in many nail polishes in the United States, even though the European Union has banned its use in personal care products. Phthalates are damaging to the reproductive system, having been linked to infertility and birth defects in developing fetuses. Many medical professionals advise pregnant women and children from wearing nail polish with these substances.

So what can you do? I am not sentencing you to a lifetime of neutral nails (although those are beautiful too!) I encourage you to research and find less caustic alternatives for your nails. These are just a few companies that offer nontoxic polishes, although this list is by no means exhaustive.

Acquarella Water Color

Honeybee Gardens Water Colors Polish

Polished Mama Nail Care

Suncoat Water-Based Nail Polish

Zoya Nail Polish

Coming soon…more tips for achieving and preserving the natural beauty of your nails.

Have you ever used these or other nontoxic brand of nail polishes? What has worked for you?