Kind of a downer of a post

I love few things better than a great manicure/pedicure. In my small town, I am lucky to have so many awesome options for these indulgent services. However, I recently learned that there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Apparently, our nails are porous and the products and chemicals that go on the nails get absorbed into our bloodstream. Nail hardeners and polish block these pores and their damage can go much, much deeper when they contain carcinogens like formaldehyde.

The takeaways for me are as follows:

(1) Try to use poison-free polish. Whole Body, the Whole Foods personal care line, carries a few options.

(2) Make sure that the salon where you get these services performed is well ventilated, or, if doing it yourself, that you have fresh air circulating.

(3) Going polish free is probably a good idea every so often. With summer coming to a close (sigh), maybe consider taking some time off from polish and letting the nails 'breathe'.

Check out this article (the reliability for which I can't attest) to learn more:

http://www.carefair.com/beauty/nails/toxic_nail_polish_846.html