Karma Naturals Nail Polish Remover with Soybean Oil & Lavender Review (Acetone Free!)

Does anyone else enjoy painting their nails in the springtime over any other time of the year?

An unfortunate side-effect of painting my nails very often (aside from the familiar cancer-causing fumes, time commitment, and accidentally smudging all over your keyboard) is that my nails become very brittle and start to peel. Normally my nails are thick and healthy, and could do me well if I ever need to fight another girl over my boyfriend. Yet when painting season rolls in, the repeated process of paint, acetone, scrub, ad infinitum takes its toll.

Since not painting my nails as much was so obviously out of the question (what a silly idea!) I was left to finding a polish remover that was kinder on my nails. I know that generally speaking acetone-free removers are nicer for you, so that was my aim. My expectations were low, but I struck gold with this find.

REVIEW

Description from Amazon.com:

This ORGANIC nail polish remover is soybean oil based and derived from American farm crops. It is packaged in biodegradable and recyclable materials and is NON TOXIC and NON CARCINOGENIC. This product has a net weight of 12ml and is .43 full oz. Avoid heat and flame, and keep away from children.

Ingredients List from Label:

Propylene Carbonate, Soybean Oil methyl exter, tocopheryl acetate

$12 (or $10.74 with Amazon Prime) for one 4oz. bottle.

First off, I love lavender, and this most certainly does smell of lavender. Gone are the days of painting your nails with the window open and all fans set to high, and a clothespin on your nose. This smells positively lovely.

Even more important than the smell is how effectively this removes polish, and how it makes your nails feel afterwards. As far as effectiveness goes, I cannot tell a single difference between this and a regular acetone remover. This cleans off the polish quickly and cleanly, and without needing to use an entire bag of cotton balls. Plus it lasts a long while, you won't need to repurchase it as often as other removers. That is of course if you don't accidentally spill it all out first, which is possible since the opening of the bottle (as you can see above) is completely open, and has no mechanism of slowing the product down. I would suggest holding your cotton ball (or whatever) to the mouth, and tipping the bottle gently until the ball is sufficiently saturated. Don't just try to pour it out.

After the removal process is said and done, my nails feel very healthy and silky using this remover. The soybean oil soaks into your skin and nails, making feel a bit slippery and oily but ultimately letting your nails and surrounding skin keep their moisture. A quick washing with soap and water removes this slippery feeling, and preps your nails for the next color they will happily wear.

CONCLUSION

This is my new favorite nail polish remover. Previous I'd enjoyed Sally Hansen's (since I love her polishes), but I kept running into the issue of brittle nails. I've been using this remover for months and I have never had any complaints about it. It smells good, it feels good, it is good. If you're the nail-painting type, pick yourself up a bottle. Even if lavender isn't your scent, Karma Organics has Tea Tree and Unscented versions as well, though I haven't personally tried them myself.

WARNING: take my word on this, you do not want to confuse this bottle with your Glory Boon Floral Hydrosol. Nail polish remover does not a lovely facial tonic make.