TPO in Gel Polish: What the EU Ban Means for Canadian Nail Fans
If you do your own gels, you've probably seen the letters TPO going around. Here's the plain-language version of what happened, what Canada is doing, and how to shop if you'd rather switch now.
What TPO is
TPO (trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide) is a photoinitiator — the ingredient that makes gel polish harden under a UV/LED lamp. It's effective, cheap, and it's been in a huge share of gel systems for years.
What changed
On September 1, 2025 the EU banned TPO in cosmetics after classifying it as a category-1B reproductive toxicant based on high-dose animal studies. The UK follows from September 2026. Health Canada has not banned it — it's reviewing the evidence, and products on Canadian shelves remain legal to sell and buy. Worth keeping in perspective: the risk profile studied concerns repeated professional-level exposure, mostly for nail techs handling uncured product daily; a home user curing thin layers has far less contact.
If you'd rather not wait
Reformulated, TPO-free lines are already widespread — most major Chinese and Korean gel brands shipped new formulas ahead of the EU deadline. Practical tips:
- Look for "TPO-free" (and often "HEMA-free" for sensitive users) on the listing — we group them in our TPO-free collection.
- Whatever system you use: don't let uncured gel touch skin, cap the free edge, and cure fully with a proper lamp.
- Prefer to skip the lamp entirely? Jelly-finish press-ons sidestep the question.
We'll update this guide when Health Canada concludes its review. Meanwhile, both classic and TPO-free systems ship free across Canada from our gel polish range.