Gofun Nail Polishes 上羽絵惣 胡粉ネイル

If you are a nail art lover, and interested in traditional Japanese arts and crafts, here's something you have to check out.

I myself am not a kind of girl who spend hours to decorate her nails beautifully everyday (I rather care nothing for my nail to be honest), but I recently came across water-based gofun nail polishes. What attracted me the most is these nail polishers are produced by 260 year old company called Ueba Esou whose main product is gofun, or traditional Japanese pigments.



Ueba Esou is a Kyoto based company that produces hand made paint in beautiful colors from natural pigments. Recently, using the same process that they use to make paint, Ueba Esou developed a unique kind of nail polish containing gofun powder instead of solvent. 

They use all natural, organic ingredients. There are a couple nail polishes that claim this in the States too, but this one is so natural that it doesn’t even have an odor. They dry almost instantly and can be removed with just alcohol. It’s perfect for anyone wary of chemicals in regular polish: ladies during pregnancy, children, or anyone with allergies or sensitive nails.



So what is Gofun? 

Gofun means “seashell powder” and it refers to the ingredient used to make these polishes. The company was established in Kyoto in 1751 and began making high quality paints from gofun to be used for Japanese arts, including painting the famous Kyoto dolls, ceiling and wall paintings in temples and shrines, as well as Noh theater masks.

These gofun nail polishes do not contain any organic solvents unlike regular nail polishes. The solvents are what give off the “nail polish” scent, which is why these water-based polishes are virtually odorless, and more importantly, non-toxic.

The company boats of these points as some merits of using gofun polishes:

• Gentle on nails
• Non-toxic
• Safe for use by children and pregnant women
• Quick-drying
• No strong scent

 

I haven’t tried them myself, but apparently, this nail polish isn’t as durable as regular nail polish and is sensitive to water (aka showers, baths, dish washing).
Best of all being natural gofun is kind to both the body and the environment ! :)

Ueba Esou: http://www.gofun-nail.com/ (All in Japanese)