⚠️ TPO in nail products: everything you need to know

❓ Lots of confusion, little time?

👉 Here are the quick answers:

• What is TPO?
  An ingredient that ensures UV gel products cure under the lamp.
• Why is it being banned?
  Because it now falls under CMR regulation (potentially harmful with long-term exposure).
• When does the ban take effect?
  As of September 1, 2025.
• Can I still use my current stock?
  Yes, you can use products containing TPO until September 1. After that date, all products containing TPO are completely banned.
• Are you still selling products with TPO?
  Only Sculpting Gels and 3D Gel Clear from Ugly Duckling. The rest are TPO-free.
• What about the products I already have in stock?
  To be completely sure, it's best to check them yourself.
• Do I need to check everything?
  No, only products that cure under UV or LED. Not regular nail polish or acrylic powders.
• How do I check if something contains TPO?
  Check the ingredient list and look for: Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide.

📚 Prefer a bit more explanation?

The questions above are quickly answered – but sometimes it’s nice to go over everything calmly.

👉 Below we explain step by step:

• what exactly TPO is
• how the ban works legally
• what this means for your products and your salon.

No dry legal language, just clear explanations tailored to nail techs. Scroll down ⬇️
 

🔬 What is TPO?

TPO stands for Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide. It’s a photoinitiator: a substance that makes gel products cure under UV or LED light.

So you’ll find TPO only in products you place under a lamp – such as gels, gel polish, and rubber bases. No lamp? No TPO.

As of September 1, TPO is classified as a CMR substance (potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction), and that’s why it’s now banned in cosmetics.
 

📅 What does the ban entail?

As of September 1, 2025, it is prohibited to sell, market, or use cosmetic products containing TPO within the EU.

This is laid down in Regulation (EU) 2025/877.

• The ban also applies to products you already have on your shelf.
• There is no transition period: from September 1 onwards you may no longer work with products containing TPO.
   

🦆 TPO in Ugly Duckling Nails products

Good news: almost all Ugly Duckling Nails products have been TPO-free for a long time.

Exceptions:

• Sculpting Gels
• 3D Gel Clear

These still contain TPO. This is always clearly stated on the product page, and you get a discount on them.

Note: We cannot see which products you previously purchased. As far as we know, there have been no UD products with TPO for sale since last year, but we only recently verified this jar by jar. So always check the ingredients yourself to be sure.
 

💅 TPO in Urban Nails products

Everything we currently offer from Urban Nails is TPO-free.

But be careful:

• Products like Rubber Base purchased before June 2025 may still contain TPO.
• Urban Nails has a large assortment – we only sell a selection.

If you buy Urban Nails products elsewhere, contact that distributor to check whether it’s the TPO-free formula.
 

🔍 How to check your own products?

Fortunately, checking whether a product contains TPO is not difficult.
You only need to check the ingredient list — it’s usually on the bottle, jar, or box.

👉 Look for this name:

• Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide
  This is the correct full name as it must appear on the ingredients list. For completeness, you can also check for:
• TPO
  This is just the abbreviation, normally not used on packaging.

• Diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide
  Chemically this is an alternative spelling for the same substance, but it is normally not used in cosmetic ingredients lists.

NOTE: the ban really only concerns TPO, as described above!

👉 The substances below may look similar but are allowed (not banned):

TPO-L is an alternative photoinitiator and is not banned.
Possible spellings of TPO-L:

• Ethyl Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphinate
• Ethyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phenylphosphinate
• TPO-L

BAPO is another photoinitiator and it is also not banned.
Possible spellings of BAPO:

• Bis Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphine Oxide
• Bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phenylphosphine oxide
• BAPO

👉 BAPO and TPO-L are not banned, so they are perfectly safe to continue using.

Only check UV/LED products – no need to check regular polishes or acrylics.
​

🤗 No panic: you’ve still got time

Until September 1, 2025, you can still work with products that contain TPO.

According to data from the European Commission, there is no evidence that TPO is harmful under normal use. The ban is precautionary, mainly because TPO showed risks in animal studies with long-term exposure and high doses.

Source: European Commission & EFSA chemical risk database.

So: no panic, but do switch to TPO-free working in time!