{"id":905005,"date":"2025-09-03T19:43:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=905005"},"modified":"2025-09-03T19:43:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:43:23","slug":"the-stuff-youve-heard-about-the-gel-nail-polish-ban-is-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=905005","title":{"rendered":"The Stuff You\u2019ve Heard About the ‘Gel Nail Polish Ban’ Is Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nails<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Stuff You\u2019ve Heard About the \u201cGel Nail Polish Ban\u201d Is Wrong<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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The EU\u2019s ban of an ingredient called TPO\u2014and how concerned you should be about it\u2014is more complicated than it\u2019s been made out to be.<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Marci Robin<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Photo: Peter Ash Lee<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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Gel manicures are no strangers to controversy. The exposure to UV light that comes with curing gel polish has long sparked skin cancer concerns, though studies have largely concluded that the risk is low. Some of the ingredients in gel polishes are known to be skin sensitizers, which, if absorbed into the skin, may cause contact dermatitis or, over time, a type of allergic reaction called delayed hypersensitivity reaction.<\/p>\n

And this week, the European Union raised an apparent new concern. On September 1, it announced a ban on gel polishes containing a specific ingredient\u2014trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO)\u2014after classifying it “carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction.” Effective immediately, gel polishes with TPO will no longer be legal to sell to consumers or use in salons across the EU.<\/p>\n

Almost instantaneously, headlines inaccurately stating that Europe had banned all gel manicures popped up, quickly followed by fact-free fearmongering on social media. Some TikTok users have claimed, also inaccurately, that gel nail polishes in general contain \u201ctoxins\u201d that are \u201ccausing infertility.\u201d Others have suggested the US is derelict for not banning TPO. None of these things are true in the cut-and-dry sense, but the message has clearly instilled some fear of gel formulas on the internet. Before you decide to swear off gel manicures for good, you may want to understand how the EU reached its decision and how you can still safely proceed with your biweekly appointment should you so choose (spoiler alert: you likely don\u2019t need to change a thing).<\/p>\n

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Meet the experts<\/strong><\/div>\n
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  • Kelly Dobos is a cosmetic chemist<\/li>\n
  • Mona Gohara, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist<\/li>\n
  • Amanda Lam is a cosmetic chemist<\/li>\n
  • Shyamali Singhal, MD, a board-certified surgical oncologist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    To be perfectly clear, gel nail polishes and manicures themselves have not been banned outright in the EU\u2014just trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide. Otherwise known as TPO, it\u2019s a photoinitiator, aka a type of compound that turns liquids into solids when it absorbs energy from light. It\u2019s commonly used in gel nail polishes because of its curing efficiency and resistance to yellowing, according to cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos.<\/p>\n

    The EU first identified TPO as a substance of concern in the spring of 2024, Dobos says, and the toxicity data that raised those red flags primarily comes from animal feeding studies. Shyamali Singhal, MD, a board-certified surgical oncologist and medical director of the cancer program at El Camino Health in Mountain View, California, noted this as well. \u201cStudies in animals\u2014not humans\u2014show that ingesting high concentrations of TPO leads to fertility issues,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n