'Green' blending with pink, pumpkin at nail salons

Many nail-polish manufacturers are successfully removing chemicals from their products, and spas and salons have found natural elements that help strengthen nails and pamper the skin. And for those DIY manicures and pedicures, you'll find many moisturizers and cuticle creams infused with essential oils and other botanicals.

Still, it's not quite a perfect process, with industry insiders saying there is a trade off in some formulas between effectiveness and environmental friendliness.

Whole Foods Market does make "gentle exceptions" to its usual eco standards more often in beauty than other categories for things like artificial color and fragrance, says Jeremiah McElwee, senior global Whole Body coordinator.

The push is to get rid of toxins, but artificial color is a necessary evil for bright, vibrant colors, McElwee says. "It's something we wrestle with."

OPI and Essie, leading suppliers of nail products to salons, have both removed dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde from polish.

Essie isn't done going "green," founder Essie Weingarten says, but it was important to her that customers would still get smooth, rich, long-lasting color. She's still working on a water-based polish, but, so far, it doesn't hold up to hand-washing.

There has been a surge in interest in shades with eco-tinged names, such as bamboo and rice. Greenport was the first to sell out at a recent trade show.

The industry did step up quickly to find less-toxic alternatives for polish, says Alex Scranton, director of science and research for Women's Voices for the Earth.

The environmental advocacy group targeted salon-brand nail polishes a few years ago mostly out of concern about the health of salon workers — a cause still near and dear to WVE's mission — but after some initial pushback, Scranton says manufacturers responded and consumers are reaping the benefits.