That Darn'd Acetone

Think of a time when you watched your mom paint her nails. I bet you remember how long it took or maybe the fact that the nail polish matched her socks. I bet what stood out the most, though, was the smell of the nail polish remover; sweet and kind of like chemicals. The stuff that gives nail polish remover that scent is a chemical called acetone, a colourless liquid with that weird smell (some describe it as fruity).

Acetone is already in your body. It’s there right now. It swims around in your blood, your breath and even your urine. When your body breaks down fatty acids, you make more acetone but diabetes, exercise and fasting can also cause your body to make more. When it’s in your body, it can be broken down into useful sugars that give you energy.

It’s used as a solvent, meaning it can be mixed with something to break that thing down, kind of like when water dissolves sugar. It’s been used to make certain chemicals but that’s also a problem because you can use it to make heroin. It’s also used to make some plastics but, at the same time, to break other plastics down. Try pouring some into a Styrofoam cup someday and see what happens!

Acetone won’t kill you but it can definitely hurt you. Babies can experience problems like seizures if they’re exposed to about 180 mL. It doesn’t change your DNA or cause cancer but it can cause changes in your nervous system, and higher concentrations can cause serious issues like coma. It'll change your results on a behavioral test but even alcohol can do that. The most it'll do when you're painting your nails is make your eyes hurt a little bit. 

If you’re worried about acetone, try acetone-free nail polish removers. You’ll notice that these have something called ethyl acetate instead in the ingredients. This stuff also doesn’t dry out your nails and it can’t really hurt you or the environment.