With the ban on TPO gel nail polish within the EU formally in impact, loads of manicure-lovers are looking for different and up to date formulation. Fortunately, manufacturers not solely had a cushion to vary formulation (the ban was introduced in Might 2025 and went into impact in September), however there are additionally a number of completely different TPO options to select from. Which means your change (whether or not a compulsory change or your choice) to TPO-free gel polish might be simple. Forward, get caught up on the EU ban, and discover your new favourite TPO-free gel nail polish, simply in time for fall!
What’s TPO?
TPO, or Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, is a most important ingredient in gel polish formulation, chargeable for the curing course of.
“TPO is a photoinitiator,” explains beauty chemist Kelly Dobos. “It’s an ingredient that absorbs energy from the light of the nail lamp, and then kicks off the chemical reaction that cures the gel into a strong film on the nail. It’s efficient at curing thick layers of gel and doesn’t cause yellowing like some other photoinitiators can.”
Why is TPO Banned within the EU?
On September 1, 2025, the EU formally banned the sale of gel nail polishes with TPO, classifying it as Class 1B CMR substance (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Poisonous to Replica). That sounds fairly scary, but it surely’s essential to grasp how the EU got here to that conclusion.
“The EU’s classification of (TPO) as a reproductive toxicant was based on animal studies that demonstrated adverse effects on reproductive health, particularly from feeding studies or by injecting TPO into rats and mice,” Dobos explains. “The routes of exposure used to make the regulatory determination in the EU really aren’t relevant to how someone might be exposed to TPO in a nail gel. Typical levels of TPO in gel nail formulations is about two to four percent, and most of it is reacted away during the curing process.”
Moreover, the EU’s regulatory course of for beauty components is vastly completely different from the U.S. Based mostly on a precautionary principal, the EU bans components by hazard-assessment, which means they think about the ingredient in isolation. If that ingredient is discovered to hurt replica, trigger most cancers or harm DNA, the EU bans it, no matter how that ingredient may work in a method and the way a lot publicity would really happen.
Then again, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) does what’s known as “risk assessment,” the place they think about the toxicity of an ingredient and analyze beneath what situations it might trigger hurt and what chance it has to trigger hurt. In TPO’s case, because the quantity in nail polish formulations is low and most of it reacts away, gel polish has what beauty chemist and science communicator at Lab Muffin Magnificence Science, Michelle Wong, calls a 100-fold margin of security. To expertise detrimental results from TPO in a gel nail polish, “you would have to have over 100 times the amount you would have been exposed to” in a TPO method, she explains.
Because it’s not going that TPO formulation can penetrate the nail plate and truly trigger hurt, it’s not very seemingly that the FDA will ban it within the U.S. That mentioned, manufacturers nonetheless must discover a new curing agent to promote their merchandise within the EU.
What’s Changing TPO?
Since TPO is taken into account integral to the curing strategy of gel nail polish, formulators have needed to discover a cheap different that has an improved security profile for the EU and nonetheless will get the job carried out. Fortunately for manufacturers, there are a number of completely different choices.
“In gel formulations there are alternative photo initiators that can be used like Ethyl Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphinate or TPO-L, a modified form of TPO with an improved safety profile,” explains Dobos. “Other brands use Hydroxycyclohexyl Phenyl Ketone.”
TPO-L, the commonest substitute for TPO in gel polish formulation, is absolutely compliant with present EU requirements and accredited to be used in cosmetics.
Store TPO-Free Gel Nail Polishes
1 / 5
This sparkly lilac has smoky, moody undertones that make it an ideal low-key introduction to fall. This shade is for the women who love fall, but in addition love a clear, minimal look.
2 / 5
Brown polish is already a serious temper this season, and this wealthy and darkish shade is an ideal instance. Dramatic and daring, this shade is for anybody trying to take fall to an expensive place.
3 / 5
This shade is proof that greens don’t go anyplace in autumn. Offset your PSL with this beautiful matcha-inspired shade, and benefit from the steadiness between brightness and temper.
4 / 5
This cinnamon-red is a gorgeously earthy shade that completely compliments a fall palette.
5 / 5
This darkish plum is a fall-lover’s dream, serving a cool and moody shade that’s undeniably elegant and glam on the identical time.
