Nail polish removers are available with and without acetone and with a variety of alternative ingredients. Choosing between them involves weighing some pros and cons. The polish you’ll see most often at nail salons is made with acetone, a chemical that can remove polish quickly but also evaporates rapidly and is more drying, has a strong chemical smell, and can cause headaches and dizziness if used in a room that lacks proper ventilation.
Some of the non-acetone formulas we tested contain essential oils that hydrate the nails and cuticles, but the downside is that they can take longer to remove stubborn nail polish.
David Johnson, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and co-founder at RedliteX, tells CR that acetone is a powerful solvent that irritates the skin and strips the oils from the surface of the skin, the stratum corneum. “With the oils missing, the skin has less moisture,” Johnson says. “This leads to dryness, redness, and irritation of the skin. I regularly come across patients with peeling skin around their nails, split cuticles, and brittle nails due to frequent exposure to acetone.”
According to Johnson, non-acetone removers are generally less irritating, but they take longer to use. “The longer you rub, the more friction, which can still irritate your nail bed,” he says. If you choose acetone formulas, Johnson recommends refraining from soaking your nails in it, rinsing your hands after use, and applying moisturizer or cuticle oil immediately after using it.
CR’s associate director of product safety, Ashita Kapoor, cautions, “Nail polish removers contain flammable solvents like acetone that can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Always use in well-ventilated areas, away from flames, and keep out of reach of children.”
CR put 11 popular nail polish removers from brands like Cutex, Mineral Fusion, Up&Up, and Zoya to the test (six contain acetone and five are non-acetone).
We timed how long each took to remove gel, glitter, and traditional nail polish, and assessed their ingredients using CR partner SkinSafe, a comprehensive database that scores skin care and hair care products based on their lack of the top-most common allergy-causing ingredients identified by Mayo Clinic.
SkinSafe claims on its website, “Products with the SkinSafe 100 mark have been verified by our team of experts to be free from commonly-known irritants and allergens, making them safe and suitable for even the most sensitive skin. Over 49% of contact skin allergies can be avoided simply by using the SkinSafe 100-rated products.”
The good news is that several products scored a 100, meaning they were 100 percent top-allergen-free, but several contained some other potential irritants (which we list below).
Sneak peek: Zoya Remove Plus 3-in-1 Formula is a cult classic we knew we had to test. We’re thrilled to report that the acetone formula was our second fastest for removing gel polish and was among the top performers for removing glitter and traditional nail polish. But it is on the pricier side, and we found other, more budget-friendly products that performed just as well.
Keep reading to find out more about Zoya and how the other nail polish removers we tested ranked—including our Top Pick.
