The European Union has banned a common ingredient in gel nail polish as of 1 September.
The chemical in question is trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, or TPO, which has been linked with infertility and other health issues in animal studies. So far, New Zealand has yet to announce a similar ban on TPO, but that doesn’t mean the EU’s action will have no consequences on the beauty industry here.
What is TPO?
TPO enables the gel polish to form a solid film when put under UV or LED lighting, leading to a long-lasting and glossy nail coat, making gel manicures a popular option in recent decades.
“Everything that a nail technician uses that is cured under a UV light,” says Kornel Fenyvesi, a New Zealand distributor for EU nail polish brand Brillbird. Because Brillbird is made in the EU, all of their gel polishes no longer contain TPO.
“... it makes the coating on your nails tough and strong and dry.”
Is it bad for you?
The EU has a reputation for taking a cautious approach and is considered a global leader - and at times an outlier - when it comes to policing potentially harmful ingredients in food, cosmetics, and other products we come into contact with every day.
The concern about TPO is mainly attributed to a 2018 study involving rats. A correlation was found between TPO and shrunken testes in male rats, potentially impacting fertility. The study also demonstrated adverse effects on liver function and lungs in the rats.
Not everyone is happy about the ban on the sales of nail polish containing TPO. The Belgian wholesaler ASAP Nails and Beauty Supply set up a protest website arguing that TPO has been used safely for decades. It argued that during the study, the rats were dosed with copious amounts of TPO that would far exceed the equivalent amount nail artists and their clients are exposed to.
Penny Lawler, the founder of New Zealand’s Monaco Nail Academy, called the EU’s move a “better safe than sorry decision".
“The way TPO is used in nail products for humans shouldn’t be a massive concern,” she wrote in a statement to RNZ.
Some nail polish brands have swapped out TPO for other chemicals with similar-sounding names, but that are EU-compliant, including Ethyl Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphinate and Trimethylbenzoyl Ditolylphosphine Oxide.
Will New Zealand ban TPO as an ingredient in products?
The Environmental Protection Authority is the government agency that determines which ingredients are safe and unsafe in cosmetic products. Dr Chris Hill, the agency’s general manager of hazardous substances and new organisms, says it is reevaluating the safety of TPO in nail and other cosmetic products.
“Under the Cosmetic Products Group Standard, TPO is permitted for professional use only in formulations up to five per cent as a nail polish finisher,” he says in a statement to RNZ.
The majority of gel nail polish made outside of the EU and used in New Zealand salons probably contains TPO, says Fenyvesi, from Brillbird. Unless the package states the product is TPO-free, it's best to assume it has the ingredient, he says.
Lawler says numerous gel nail polish products used here are already TPO-free to meet the new EU requirements. Some brands distributed by Monaco, including Artistic Colour Gloss, were already TPO-free before the ban on sales in Europe.
“Another popular brand, the Gel Bottle, has already transitioned to TPO-free in the EU and is phasing out in the rest of the world.”
