I’ve tested so many non toxic nail polish brands over the past ten years, and I’m finally sharing my tried-and-true favorites. The best clean nail polish is made without harmful chemicals and actually lasts without chipping right away.

Overall, the absolute best nontoxic nail polish is Olive and June’s gel nail polish for professional looking nails that actually last.

Testing method: I used two coats and a top coat for each brand.

Wait, My Nail Polish is Toxic?

Yep, typical nail polish contains formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate. formaldehyde resin, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, and TPHP. Clean nail polish will mention their formula is 5-free, 10-free and even 21-free. The number refers to the number of worst offenders that are removed from the ingredients, but the specific ones varies from brand to brand. The clean nail polish brands that don’t contain Benzophenone-1 (UV absorber used to prevent the polish from yellowing while stored) are Sophi, Sienna, Cote, Honeybee Gardens and Pacifica.

For nail polish to function the way you want it to, it needs SOME chemicals. So non-toxic nail polish is actually low-tox. For the absolute cleanest nail polish, look for a water-based formula but keep in mind that it won’t look or last as well. For safer, low-tox ways to remove nail polish, check out my favorite nail polish removers!

Types of Nontoxic Nail Polish

• 5-free nail polish: Formulated without five common toxins found in conventional nail polish: formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), formaldehyde resin, and camphor.
• 10-free nail polish: Made without the five chemicals removed in 5-free formulas plus additional ones like xylene, ethyl tosylamide, styrene, parabens and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP).
• 20-free nail polish: One of the cleanest formulas free of 20 common toxins. Some brands remove Benzophenone-1, but not all, so be sure to check the ingredients list.
• Water-based nail polish: The safest option available that uses water as the solvent instead of chemical solvents. Ideal for people with sensitivities, pregnancy and children.
• Non-toxic gel nail polish: Provides the long-lasting glossy finish of conventional gel polish with a less damaging formula that’s usually HEMA-free. Even cleaner gel polish is also TPO-free. (Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide helps gel harden under UV light. All gel polish requires an LED lamp that emits UV to cure.

I tried Olive and June Gel Polish

This is my favorite low tox gel polish that actually looks good and lasts a long time. It’s a whole lot safer than going to a nail salon and Olive & June’s formula is 15-free and HEMA-free. Honestly, all low-tox nail polish chips so I prefer gel any day. The system is so easy to use and the polish cures very quickly. It’s perfect for someone like me who sucks at and hates spending a lot of time doing her nails. The system is a bit of an upfront investment at $95 (or there’s a simpler set I found on Ulta for $59) but it overrides the cost and time of going to a salon for me. An Olive & June gel mani lasts me around 2 weeks if I’m not doing anything laborious with my hands and even longer for my feet.

The shades Kag and GH are more opaque so harder to make look good while Blush Bounce and The Queen Takes Her Tea With Milk are such natural looking nudes that look sophisticated and minimal. I applied one shade to each finger just for this post, because I personally would want to see how the shades compare since they all start looking similar on the website. Shade Blush Bounce is the sheerest nude compared to CCT, Strawberry Scone, Kag, GH and The Queen Takes Her Tea With Milk.

I can tell a difference between curing it two minutes after each layer of base coat, polish and top coat versus when I’m lazy and do just one minute. I save so much time and money just doing my gel mani and pedi at home and Olive and June’s nude shades are so gorgeous. For my feet I love using their bolder colors. Disclaimer, O&J do use TPO in their formulas. For HEMA-free AND TPO-free gel nail polish I recommend looking into Light Elegance and CANNI.

Price: $12 ($95 for Classic System)
Toxicity level: 15-free and HEMA-free
How long it lasts: up to 2 weeks for my hands and 2-3 weeks for my feet
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Londontown Illuminating Nail Concealer

I recently discovered Londontown’s nontoxic nail CONCEALER and it’s been a gamechanger for my yellow nails! Londontown is vegan, cruelty free and 21-free. Overall, this has been the cleanest polish that’s also highest performing out of all the brands I’ve tried. They do not use acetone, formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, or other harsh chemicals. Their nail concealer brightens and blurs dull nails – like a beauty filter but for your nails. It has light reflecting pigments and optical brighteners, goes on sheer and is totally buildable. I’d say it gives a milky iridescent finish similar to a very very sheer nail polish. In the picture above I’m wearing two swipes above but you really only need one for a your-nails-but-better look. This instantly makes my nails look polished and refined and I don’t need to worry about applying it perfectly like I do with opaque colors. It lasts me more than a week and even when it’s chipping it doesn’t look atrocious. Seriously convenient!

Price: $20
Toxicity level: 21-free and acetone free
How long it lasts: around 7 days
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer

Dazzle Dry is the only regular (14-free) non toxic nail polish brand that’s formulated to look like a gel mani. I can actually see a milky glossy effect with certain colors but not all, so it’s a hit or miss. The full coverage opaque colors can be streaky. I use their system of nail prep, base coat, nail polish and top coat and the polish lasts me about 4 or 5 days before I notice chipping, even less with certain colors. Their Revive product is very cool – it restores the consistency of the top coat when it’s gotten overly thick. Their Transform product is also a nifty problem solver and fills ridges. I do feel like it actually somewhat mimics the look of a gel polish, but it obviously looks nowhere near as nice as Olive and June’s actual gel polish.

Price: $12
Toxicity level: 14-free and nitrocellulose free
How long it lasts: 4 or 5 days
Hypoallergenic, Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Zoya Nail Polish

Zoya is 10-free, uses less toxic solvents and is made without formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, camphor, TPHP, parabens, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, or lead. There’s no acetone at all in their formula and hardly any harsh smell. With two coats and a top coat, their nail polish lasts me around 4 or 5 days before starting to chip. I didn’t find their polish to be streaky but I do find their brush to be much thinner than other clean nail polish brands.

Price: $14
Toxicity level: 10-free
How long it lasts: around 4-5 days before chipping
Hypoallergenic, Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried 100 Percent Pure Zero 20-free Nail Polish

100% Pure’s clean 20-Free nail polish is one of the first brands I used when switching to clean beauty. This is one of the cleanest yet still high-performing nail products on the market in my experience and the company is basically a one-stop shop for all things clean skincare, makeup, haircare, bodycare AND nails. I love that they’re vegan, cruelty-free and available in a wide array of colors. Sadly, the product in the bottle itself doesn’t hold up well over time compared to other brands I tried. Overall, all 100 Percent Pure products have a short shelf life.

Price: $12
Toxicity level: 20-free and acetone-free
How long it lasts: around 3 or 4 days
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried SOPHi Water Based Nail Polish

SOPHi is one of the only water-based nail polish brands meant for adults and started by Piggy Paint. It’s truly non-toxic with no harsh chemicals or solvents and has no chemical smell to it. Sadly doesn’t perform like the other low-tox nail polish brands. As soon as I do anything that causes friction against my nails, the polish starts coming off immediately like a loose film. It doesn’t last a full day for me unfortunately. Love the concept, but I will not be repurchasing. If you can manage not doing much with your hands or are pregnant this might be a good option for you.

Price: $8.99
Toxicity level: No chemicals
How long it lasts: less than one day
Vegan and cruelty-free

I tried Tenoverten

Tenoverten is an OG clean nail polish brand and were the first to open a non-toxic nail salon in NYC back in 2010. I love that their nail polish is 8-free, cruelty free, vegan and free from: dibutyl phthalate (dbp), toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, triphenyl phosphate (tphp). The colors are absolutely gorgeous – I love the shade Ludlow, which is a bright punchy pop of cherry red. This is a high quality clean nail polish that lasts longer than many other brands I’ve tried.

Price: $20
Toxicity level: 8-free
How long it lasts: around 4 days
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Huella Vegan Nail Lacquer

Huella is a 15-free and vegan nail polish brand that focuses on delivering high-shine and chip-resistant nail polish. And I love that the bottle size makes sense. There isn’t too much product so it doesn’t go to waste and the applicator is so convenient to grip and use. Note that the brush is very thin like Zoya’s. Ballet Blanc and I Do Take You are a couple of my favorite Huella shades (shown in my picture above). They look so good with just one coat and even better with multiple coats. Wear time is decent at around 5-7 days before it starts chipping. I think their nudes are especially stunning.

Price: $16
Toxicity level: 15-free
How long it lasts: around 5 days
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Olive & June Long Lasting and Quick Dry Polish 

I tested both Olive and June’s Long Lasting and Quick Dry formula nail polishes and love both. The Quick Dry really does dry and set super fast. The Long Lasting formula seems to take a little bit longer to chip, but I can’t tell a huge difference to be honest. Some colors feel streaky while others are better and last longer – just hit and miss for me.

I tried Eco Glaze (budget!)

Eco Glaze is a great option for an affordable clean nail polish under 8 bucks! This is a sustainable, plant-based, and vegan nail polish line that’s 14-free and formulated with up to 70% bio-sourced ingredients extracted from sugar cane, beets, corn, and molasses. The shades are SO good and vibrant, plus long-lasting, but the downside is there’s only eight to choose from. I really wish they would expand their shade selection.

This is the sister brand of China Glaze, and I’ll be honest, I do NOT like China Glaze nail polish. It turns kind of filmy and chips off easily, so I was skeptical of how their new clean nail polish brand would perform especially at such a low price. But Eco Glaze feels higher in quality and it lasts much longer without chipping.

Price: $7.99
Toxicity level: 14-free
Vegan and cruelty-free

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I tried Ella + Mila

Ella + Mila is an amazing non toxic nail polish brand that’s 17-Free, vegan and made in the USA. They have a super impressive selection of colors available. I find their bottles to be super long lasting before they start drying out. I want to say mine lasted almost two and a half years before the formula started to dry. The polish itself can feel a little streaky depending on the color. It wears well for about 5 days before chipping. I do appreciate Ella + Mila is priced lower than other clean nail polish brands while being cleaner in formula too.

Price: $10.50
Toxicity level: 17-free
How long it lasts: around 4 or 5 days
Vegan and cruelty-free