Seche Vite and Toluene: Harmless or Harmful?

 

*UPDATE* Please click here for current views.

 

 

 

After dealing with one top coat failure after another, I decided to investigate and compare top coats online before purchasing another one. I stayed up late one night scouring nail and beauty blogs, reviews websites, and forums for the best and long-lasting top coat out there. One name was ubiquitous: Seche Vite. Reviews from all over the internet lauded the top coat as THE best. Everything I read about it blew any other top coat I had ever heard of out of the water. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt to finally come across a seemingly perfect top coat. I was ready to run out and buy some at 1 in the morning, I was so thrilled.

The Holy Grail of top coats?

Wearing a satisfactory job-is-finally-done smile as I was about to close out the last website I was on, I read a final comment that smacked that smug smile right off my face. It basically stated that Seche Vite can cause birth defects and shouldn’t be used.

Uh, say what?!

After sitting back and muttering “ain’t that a bitch”, I wanted to find out exactly how and why this top coat was dangerous. Apparently on the back of each box of Seche Vite there is a disclaimer that states: “WARNING! This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.” I went to the store to check it out for myself the next day, and it did in fact state that on the back of the box.

Ok… Now what? What exactly is in this top coat that causes so-called birth defects?

Thinking I would find a quick answer in a few minutes that night, I actually spent a few days digging around to find an answer. I found that the deeper I looked, the more questions I had. I’ve narrowed down the most pertinent questions I had concerning toluene, and the best answers that I found. There are links at the bottom of this post if you would like further reading concerning this matter. It’s extensive!