Hi Sonia,
Animal testing for cosmetics was banned in the EU since 2012. The UK was part of that regulation and has continued it since Brexit.
Toxins only refer to substances from plant or animal origin i.e. occurs naturally. All nail enhancement products use man-made chemicals so the term does not really apply. Also, all artificial nail products contain acrylate and methacrylate chemicals, that can cause allergies to a greater or lesser extent.
HEMA is the #1 nail product allergen in the UK and many countries, but there are many other ingredients that also commonly cause allergies - which is why a dermatologist will make a patch test containing the most common ingredients to find out which allergies someone has.
So avoiding HEMA is not the total solution it may appear to be - in some cases the chemical used to replace HEMA is equally likely to cause allergies.
If you are looking for products with the least risk, then these would be called hypoallergenic. Although there are some brands that use this term and their products do contain higher risk ingredients (in one case, even HEMA).
It's also important to know that hypoallergenic products are designed for allergy prevention. There is no guarantee that someone with multiple ingredient allergies will not react - the situation is more complex.
There are no hypoallergenic acrylic (liquid and powder) products, only gels and gel polishes. There are very few companies offering genuine hypoallergenic products, my company IKON.IQ is one of the few in Europe.
