Beyond the Headlines: Understanding the EU’s TPO Ban
What the European ban really means — and what it doesn’t — for your gel manicure.
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If you follow any beauty or nail accounts on social media, you’ve probably seen alarming posts declaring that “gel polish has been banned in Europe.”
If this is true, what does it mean for the gel manicures you’ve been getting? Are you putting yourself in harm’s way at the nail salon near you?
Beyond the eye-popping headlines is a story about difference: a difference in how regions regulate ingredients, interpret data, and communicate risk.
In this article, we break down what actually happened, how the EU came to their decision, and what it all means for you. Let’s begin.
What Actually Happened: The EU's TPO Ban
In May 2025, the European Union added an ingredient called TPO — Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide — to its list of prohibited cosmetic substances.
TPO is a photoinitiator, an ingredient in some gel nail polishes that helps initiate a chain reaction leading to gel polish hardening and becoming a durable and protective layer. This process occurs when the uncured gel polish is cured inside LED lamps.
We can think of TPO as the invisible spark in some recipes — like the hint of rum that helps a cake rise and deepen in flavor. Do all cakes have rum in them? Of course not. But is there rum in some cakes? Absolutely.
TPO starts the transformation, then disappears into the warmth of the baking process. By the time the gel is cured and hardened into its protective finish, that initiating note has long been evaporated — leaving only the protective shield it helped to create. And as we’ll discover in the next section, TPO is not the only ingredient that can perform this function for gel nail polishes.
The EU’s decision came from a hazard-based framework: when an ingredient shows potential for harm in laboratory conditions, it can be restricted or banned as a precaution. In this case, it must be stressed that the studies and data that led to the ban of TPO as an ingredient in gel nail polishes were not based on nail salon use.
These results came from laboratory studies in which animals were given extremely high oral doses of TPO — a testing method used to measure the limits of toxicity, not the realities of everyday use.
Bottom line: the EU did not ban gel manicures. It banned one of several ingredients that can make gels cure.
TPO Was Never the Only Option
Long before the decision by the European Union, professional cosmetic chemists worked with a variety of photoinitiators in gel nail polishes — not just TPO.
Ingredients that are alternatives to TPO such as BAPO, Irgacure 819, and TPO-L have existed and been used in production of gel polishes for years. This is especially true for gel polishes manufactured in Korea and Japan, where manufacturers had proactively developed TPO-free gel polishes long before the European Union banned the ingredient, because other photoinitiators worked better than TPO with their existing formulas.
Just as bakers work with a variety of fats (butter, olive oil, shortening, coconut oil, etc.) that all achieve the same essential function but each react slightly differently, cosmetic chemists have long worked with different photoinitiators that offer unique benefits: curing depth, color clarity, and compatibility with LED technology.
As a Philadelphia nail salon that has our clients’ health as our number one priority, we have always been curating the bulk of our portfolio of gel nail polishes from manufacturers in Japan, Korea, and the rest of Asia. In our experience, we’ve found that their formulations are ideal collaborators to our Nail Care and Nail Art processes that produce leading manicures that are healthy, worry-free, and beautiful.
For our nail polish manufacturers and Atelier Anaiis, the transition away from TPO isn’t a crisis; it’s the world catching up to the level of care we’ve long considered baseline.
The EU vs. The US
Headlines and captions often treat a regulatory update as proof of danger. But in reality, hazard is not the same as risk — and understanding the difference explains why news of the European Union banning TPO recently became all the rage on social media for a while, only for it to simmer down.
In regulatory science, a hazard describes a substance’s potential to cause harm under certain conditions. As a tangible example, alcohol is considered a hazardous substance – both by the European Union and the United States Food and Drug Administration. Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer alongside well-known grim figures: asbestos, radiation, and tobacco. And yet it remains unbanned and for many of us, alcohol remains a part of everyday life as we generally limit the amount consumed, even if we imbibe. We see a double-standard here for an ingredient both hazardous and risky, that nevertheless remains legal in both the EU and the US.
A risk, on the other hand, measures the likelihood that harm could occur under real-world use and exposure. This helps explain why TPO has not been banned in the US. For the FDA, ingesting TPO orally (think drinking several bottles of gel polish) is not considered an example of real-world use.
This distinction defines how different regions regulate products.
The European Union follows a hazard-based approach, which assumes that if a substance can cause harm, it may be restricted or banned — even if real-world exposure is minimal. It’s a precautionary system designed to eliminate potential risks before they occur.
The US FDA uses a risk-based approach, which focuses on how a substance is used and at what level. If the actual exposure under typical conditions is proven to be safe, the ingredient remains permitted.
This is why some ingredients banned in the EU — such as certain food dyes, parabens, or TPO — remain legal in the United States. They simply interpret data through different philosophies. One errs on the side of caution, the other on contextual evidence.
From a consumer and professional standpoint, however, the EU’s caution isn’t a bad thing — in fact, it often accelerates innovation.
When regulations tighten, the industry as a whole is pushed to develop and use cleaner, smarter formulations, often leading to products that are both safer and higher-performing.
As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
For thoughtful brands and nail salons, the EU’s decision should signal an opportunity for the industry to evolve, to question ingredients, and to craft materials that meet the next standard of beauty and safety.
What This Means for You
The recent EU decision banned TPO as an ingredient, not gel manicures themselves. Gel manicures remain safe, refined, and very much part of modern nail care — and the conversation now shifts toward transparency.
For you as a client, this moment is an opportunity to start a dialogue with your nail salon.
Ask them about the products they use. Do they work with brands that prioritize nail health and ingredient safety? If you’re unsure, take a look at how they communicate. Do they have a blog? Do they educate? What are their principles and values?
As a leading Philadelphia nail salon, Atelier Anaiis is already having these conversations with our clients — and with those who find us while searching for clarity.
Our clients’ health has been, is, and always will be our first priority.
If the day ever comes when gel polish itself is prohibited, we will reinvent ourselves.
But for now, gel manicures remain our proven choice for a protective and restorative system for the natural nail — far superior to traditional polish, acrylics, dip powders, or Russian manicures in both health and performance.
The TPO conversation simply reminds us that thoughtful craftsmanship, transparency, and care will always outlast trends or headlines.
Perspective Leads to Peace
At Atelier Anaiis, beauty and safety are harmonious and one.
