Nailboo is a popular cosmetics brand that claims its customers can get “salon quality nails” from the comfort of their home. Using Nailboo is much cheaper than getting nails done professionally.
But does Nailboo contain any ingredients that may be toxic or unhealthy? Is it easy to use? And how do real Nailboo users rate and describe the experience and look?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Nailboo based on medical research to give our take on whether the brand contains unhealthy ingredients or if it’s a good choice.
We’ll also share real, unsponsored Nailboo user reviews that explain if it’s easy to use and whether it makes nails look good.
Ingredient Analysis – Is Nailboo Toxic?
The ingredients in Nailboo powder are shown above. There are a number of artificial food colors that may have negative health effects.
Black 2, also known as carbon black, has been clinically shown to be associated with increased lung cancer risk, although most of the studies on this compound involve workers exposed to the chemical.
Yellow 6 is contaminated with a carcinogen (compound that causes cancer) called benzidine according to a medical review published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.
Blue 1 was analyzed in a medical review published in the Advances in Nutrition journal, and the study authors concluded that this ingredient “may be toxic” after reviewing results from clinical studies.
Yellow 5 may be damaging to DNA as we documented in our Tula reviews article on another cosmetic brand that uses this ingredient.
In our opinion, the ingredients in the coatings are less concerning than these ingredients in the powder.
Nailboo is not unique in this regard; many nail polish companies use artificial food colorants, but it seems logical to avoid these ingredients in our opinion.
But is Nailboo's dip kit easy to use and how does it look? We’ll review in the next section.
How to Use Nailboo
A Nailboo tutorial on the brand’s official YouTube channel is under 2 minutes long and shows how to properly use their nail polish:
Real, Unsponsored Nailboo User Reviews
A YouTube creator named “SipAndDip” reviews Nailboo has a Nailboo review that includes an unboxing, a price comparison and instructions on how to apply the different coatings and extras like glitter:
Another YouTube creator named “JauntyJuli” shares how to create a “clean” nail look using Nailboo:
Where to Buy Nailboo for the Best Price
Nailboo is sold on the brand’s website and on Amazon. Here’s a price comparison for the starter kit:
Brand website: $68
Amazon: $29.99 (link to official Amazon listing)
Nailboo is currently 56% cheaper on Amazon than on the brand’s website.
Is Nail Polish Toxic?
A YouTube health influencer and doctor named Eric Berg has a video on five women’s products that he recommends people stop using immediately. We’ve timestamped the below video to start at the nail polish section:
Real Customers Review Nailboo
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion. Nailboo’s most-reviewed product on Amazon is their Starter Kit linked in the previous section.
It’s been reviewed over 400 times with an average review rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Megan Derry” who claims the product is convenient:
“The process was really quite simple. Once my nails and cuticles were prepped, the process (including the drying times between steps and at the end) took about 30 minutes to complete. I loved that I only had to wait 5 minutes after I was finished, and my nails were completely dry.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Wisdom Amegashie” who claims the products caused side effects:
“From the moment I opened it, I was itching and scratching my face. I’m allergic to it’s products I’ve come to find out. But, I said okay I’ll still use it to see if it’s worthy! Ha! Should have stopped while I was ahead. Instead of product building into a gel like polish. This became a mess on my hands. It literally felt like I had hard dried flour on my fingers. It never settled or smoothed out even after buffing and filing. I finally got tired of buffing my life away and ordered gel remover to get it off. It’s still some remaining around my cuticles.”
Nailboo has an average review rating of 1.26 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, with many users like “Laura M” claiming they paid but never received the product:
“ZERO STARS. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE COMPANY. My husband ordered the dipkit for me for Christmas. order placed 12/18/22.... Apparently the product has been shipped 3 times - we've YET to receive it. The customer service is terrible. I tried calling the phone number online - some random voicemail”
What’s more concerning than the negative BBB reviews is the fact that the company does not respond to the reviews to try to resolve the situation in most cases, which is a sign of a low-quality brand in our opinion.
Why Was Nailboo Sued?
In 2021, Nailboo was sued in a class-action lawsuit according to ClassAction.org.
The plaintiff alleges that Nailboo was sending automated text message ads marketing their products to consumers who did not consent to receiving such ads.
At the time of publishing this article, it’s unclear whether this lawsuit is still ongoing. This information suggests that consumers interested in Nailboo may wish to purchase their products on Amazon rather than on the brand’s website.
Our Non-Toxic Nail Polish Pick
Our top nail polish pick is a brand called BONTIME that’s sold on Amazon. It’s free of artificial colorants and uses iron oxides instead which are natural colorants.
As we documented in our review of Il Makiage Foundation, iron oxides are not only non-toxic but also can protect from UV damage.
BONTIME’s nail polish kit costs $22.99, while Nailboo’s costs around $30 as we documented in the pricing breakdown above.
Interested consumers can check out BONTIME nail polish at this link to the product’s official Amazon listing.
