Allergic to nail varnish - do you think I can wear gel?

[Passmethecrisps]

I discovered a free years ago that the horrid puss-y eyes and dry, flaky eye-lids I was suffering from were caused by nail varnish.

99.9% of the time I never think about it but the recent spate of glorious, rich gel type stuff makes me a bit sad. Just a bit.

What about shellac? The problem is I have no idea exactly what it is in the polish that I am allergic to.

Any ideas oh wise ones?

I have no clue about shellac so I can't really help with that, but I do know that Clinique has made a nail polish range that is made for sensitive skin.
As far as I'm aware, it's a 5-free polish (meaning it doesn't contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl phthalate, Formaldehyde resin and Camphor), but I don't know how else it differs from other 5-free polishes.

Are the polishes you have had reactions to 3-free (no Formaldehyde, Toluene and Dibutyl phthalate) or 5-free?

Thanks for the reply - they were all just standard come as they are polishes. I wore it so rarely and the reaction took some time to occur so it was ages before I made the connection. I did once ask a make up person about it for my wedding but she reckoned that there was no such thing as allergen free nail varnish. So thank you so much for the info.

I have to use Clinique make up already as so many other brands cause allergic reactions so the nail varnish sounds perfect.

Thanks so much!

I've had the same reaction to polish. Of been through every ing else before I thought of it!! Seems it's quite common.

Interestingly some are ok. Revlon better than OPI. I've never tried shellac

It was a GP who mentioned it as I was walking out the door in a sort of "you don't wear nail varnish do you?" To which I said no as normally not. Some time later I had been doing a bit of prettying and did the whole base and top coat business - 10 hours later I could barely open my eyes and it finally twigged. I have never had an attack of the unknown eye yuck since.

I will have used various freebies from magazines and probably some revlon as well. I can't think of the brand I used to prefer right now - square bottle and sort of mid price high street. I'll work it out

I think it was Rimmel actually. And some maybelline. Maybe I should have upscaled!

Try revlon after not wearing any for a while. Hydrocortisone (weak) works with the allergy

Summer hols are coming up so now might be the time to risk puss eye balls!

Good point.

I am serious - no work. I can use sunglasses and frankly have never been a sun worshiper