The European Union’s strict cosmetics regulations strike again. This time, they’re coming for gel manicures. On Monday, a European ban on a common gel nail-polish ingredient called TPO, or trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, went into effect.

TPO isn’t in all gel polishes, but it’s often what helps them cure quickly and get that ultraglossy finish we know and love. The European Commission has deemed the ingredient possibly “carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction” and is now prohibiting its use in cosmetic products. The organization first announced the ban in May, categorizing TPO as a CMR1B substance, which means that the “toxic” effects are presumed to be harmful to humans based mostly on animal studies . Before then, the ingredient was only suspected of being dan

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