FDA Takes Issue with Nail Color Trend

One of the trends that stands out in my mind from my high school days was Hard Candy nail polish, which at the time could only be found at Bloomingdale's. It was the first nail polish line that I can remember coming out with the most unusual and wide array of colors- green, yellow, etc. The crazy trend eventually gave way to the dark hues and neutrals that have been my personal favorite for some time. While I admit that a pop of color is refreshing, especially in the summer, the palette of nail colors that has been the booming trend in the last year has become both fashionably and legally questionable. Legally because the FDA is now taking note that some of the colors, especially the neon polishes, contain color additives the have not been not approved. 

In order for a color additive to clear FDA's standards, it must meet composition and purity requirements, and there must be a reasonable certainty that the color additive will not be harmful when the product containing such additive is used for its intended purpose.  After receiving approval, the additive is issued a certification lot number and can be used for their specified uses. Apparently a true neon color contains color additives that do not pass FDA's standards and U.S. companies are not taking the time to get approval before producing and selling these colors. Some companies, like OPI, have complied by not creating "true" neon colors, but close replicas that do not require the additive. While we are digging some of the hues that we've seen around, if the FDA is questioning this trend, perhaps we've gone a bit overboard.