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When you go to the store to buy nail polish, one of the most important factors for what you purchase is the color. Is this the right shade? How will it look on my nails? Does it match my new outfit? But how often do you think about the ingredients that make up the liquid that you're putting on your nails? And how harmful are the chemicals that have been key components in those polishes?

Most beauty companies have changed the ingredients in the past few years to reduce the toxins commonly found in nail polish. But for years, nail polish contained three major chemicals that induced birth defects, allergies, and even cancer. So what exactly is in nail polish?

The three main chemicals in nail polish that were used for years are: Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde, and Toluene. Since 2006, many cosmetics laboratories and nail polish companies have removed these toxins from their products. Most of the nail polishes you'll buy off the shelf no longer contains these chemicals, but why were these chemicals removed? All three of them proved to be toxic to humans, especially newborn baby boys.

Dibutyl phthalate was first put into nail polish to prevent chips. It's a binder that makes the nail polish last longer. This ingredient was linked to underdeveloped genitals in baby boys, low sperm count, mutations, and cancer in lab animals. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the problem with the chemical did not come from absorption through the nail or cuticle, but by inhaling it.

So even while you sit and delicately apply your nail polish the toxic chemicals that you inhaled could have caused a number of these devastating effects. Even for your pets. If animals could contract cancer from these chemicals, then so could your pets. When you polish your nails around them, they breathe the same air you are breathing.

Formaldehyde is a human carcinogen. A carcinogen, according to www.dictionary.com, is "any substance or agent that tends to produce cancer." In nail polish, a resin form of formaldehyde is used. Even though straight formaldehyde isn't used in nail polish, it is used in nail hardeners. Be sure to check all ingredients before purchasing your nail beauty products. Beautiful, manicured nails look great, but it's not worth developing cancer just to have professional looking nails. Most other allergic reactions to formaldehyde include red, swollen eyelids.

Toluene is a solvent found in many paints such as acrylics, varnishes, lacquers, and even gasoline.

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