Is it safe to use acrylic paint as nail polish?

Using beautiful colored acrylic paints can save you money if you already have them around the house, but it is important to investigate first if these paints are safe for our nails. Then there’s the matter of their pigmentation. Nail polish isn’t meant to last forever, but traditional polishes are made to last.

Based on Painting with you, many acrylic paints are non-toxic, which means they won’t harm you if they get on your nails or skin. If you can find non-toxic paints, then acrylic paint should be fine. In fact, they just recommend that you always apply a coat or two of base coat before painting to make sure the paint comes off easily and doesn’t stain your skin or nails. They further note that acrylic paints are cheaper and come in larger containers than most nail polishes, so you can save money.

If you don’t choose the non-toxic, you could expose your body to lead, copper, cobalt, manganese, and chromium, among other toxic metals (via PaintTopics). So pay special attention to the paints you are buying if you are using them for this purpose. Furthermore, since they are not made for use on nails, they may not be uniform. With some jobs, they usually flow smoothly.

So it’s perfectly legal to use acrylic paint, and PaintTopics even notes that it’s great for nail art. Have fun with it (and be safe)!