Why is gel nail polish banned in Europe? Everything to know about the dangers of TPO after EU enforces strict regulations

The European Union has banned a particular ingredient that is commonly found in gel nail polish, starting September 1, 2025. This ingredient, TPO (trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide), gives the nails an ultra glossy look and also reduces drying time when put under UV or LED light.

While this ingredient got banned across the European Union, it is still available in the United States without any restrictions. According to The New York Post, the ban happened after several studies suggested that TPO could cause fertility issues and negatively impact reproductive health. 

For the unversed, unlike regular nail polish, gel nail polish gives a more shiny appearance and can also resist peeling and chipping. According to The Post, the gel polish, that became popular in the early 2000s, would dry when put under LED or UV light. This led to the coating being more resistant to damage like peeling.

The ban is reportedly a precautionary measure and not a preventive measure since the studies connecting TPO to adverse effects on health, have been done on animals.

The New York Post reported that while many gel nail polishes don't contain TPO, a lot of them do. EU labeled the health risks caused by this ingredient to be too high, tagging it as "carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction."

Exploring the recent ban on gel nail polish across the European Union starting this month

As previously mentioned, the European Union has banned gel nail polish starting the beginning of this month, due to the presence of a particular component called TPO, in a lot of them. It had further been found out that this ingredient is not just used in nail polishes.

According to The New York Post, TPO is also used in photoinitiator in dental fillings. However, the ban of the ingredient is restricted to its usage in cosmetic items like gel nail polish. Prior to the ban across the EU, TPO could be accessed for professional use only and a maximum concentration of only 5% was permitted.

It had been stated that nail salon will have to discard any existing stock of the gel nail polish, with "no exceptions, no time limit for selling products." While the initial decision by the EU was announced in May 2024, the ban date was revealed earlier this summer.

Many beauty professionals and nail salons argued that keeping September 1 as the ban date did not allow them to replace with products that were free of TPO.

Dr. Hannah Kopelman, a dermatologist at DermOnDemand, told Wellness Pulse,

"The European Union is banning it out of caution, since even though we don’t yet have large-scale human studies proving harm, the potential risks were enough to warrant stricter regulation."

Meanwhile, Francesca Rapolla of the British trade association CPTA told the nail magazine Scratch,

"In the case of TPO, the industry did not, and could not, defend the continued use of this ingredient in nail products, mainly because it could not demonstrate that there are no alternative ingredients to this one."

According to The Post, over 100 million people across the US use some kind of nail product. However, according to research, they should be concerned of only one ingredient, that is TPO.