FAQs

Your most frequently asked questions, humbly and honestly answered by Habit Founder Aja.

If you have a question that is not answered here or elsewhere on our site, please email us here!

1. Where do you ship?

Everywhere the post office does.

2. What are your shipping rates?

Shipping is free for domestic orders $60 and over.

For domestic orders under $60, shipping is $8.

For all international orders, shipping is $40.

For order processing, please allow 2 business days.

3. Is your nail polish/makeup made with ethically mined mica?

We work with two cosmetic manufacturers to make our products. Both of them have sent us documentation ensuring they do everything in their power to make sure that their mica is ethically sourced. But regardless of what they say, there is still a lot of progress to be made on this front.

Mica sourcing is not completely transparent - the same is true of tin oxide, iron oxide and titanium dioxide sourcing too - and any brand claiming with 100% certainty that children were not present while their mica was mined is not being entirely honest. First, manufacturers (and brands for that matter) are often very secretive about their sources. And if they're willing to disclose their sources to you, unless you visit these mines in person, you can't know for sure what's happening on the ground at the moment that the mica is being mined. To give you some idea of how difficult this is to control, the bath and body company Lush attempted to control their mica supply chain and, failing to do so, opted to stop using natural mica altogether. In spite of the fact that Lush grosses somewhere around $500 million dollars in sales every year, with all of their resources even they couldn't maintain control over their mines. Lush now uses synthetic mica, but they've still had issues with ensuring that is also ethically produced.

And the mica issue is not confined to cosmetics. About 10-15% of all mica mined is used in the cosmetic industry, while the rest is used in products like house paint, car paint, electrical cables and plugs, solar panels, electric cars and in asphalt.

We've thought about following in Lush's footsteps and using only synthetic mica in our line, but we're not sure that's the solution either. As I mentioned before, there are some issues with insuring that synthetic mica is being ethically produced. Plant pigments are not a viable substitute because they have very high bacterial loads which are a concern when it comes to product spoilage, they're not soluble in oil-based formulas, and they don't produce bright colors anyway (think about the color of dried fruit; these are earth tones). Additionally, in many of the regions where mica is mined, it's the main source of industry. If everyone ceases to use natural mica, the local economies in these areas would be gutted. A Child Rights Expert whose spoken on this matter says that the solution is not to avoid mica, but to make sure that the people mining the mica receive living wages (and to ensure that children are not being used to mine it).

As far as us joining an ethical mica program, the group we've looked into, Responsible Mica Initiative, is attempting to work towards this goal. However, they aren't even close to forming any solutions at this point, and the yearly membership fee is over $8,000 just for the chance to participate in the discussion. While their efforts are valuable and worth supporting, as an indie beauty brand with a team of 3 people at the moment, the cost of joining is prohibitive for us, especially as they aren't currently solving anything.

I wish I could give you a neat and tidy answer to this question, but this is my honest perspective as to what's going on in the industry right now.

4. My nail polish chipped! What happened? What should I do?

We work with an amazing manufacturer to produce our nail polish and we usually hear that the wear time is excellent (just check out our reviews!). But your polish can chip, especially if you tend to use your nails as tools, or if you don't know the mani care secrets! There are a few different ways to make sure that your manicure lasts as long as possible, so here are some tips on how you can get the most wear out of your polish:

- Before painting, wash your nails with soap and water, then dry them thoroughly
- Apply one coat of a base coat, making sure to glide your brush past the edge of your nail. Base coat helps your polish color adhere to the nail and protects your nail from potentially getting stained by the pigment, so you're already ahead of the game using one!
- Paint on one to three THIN coats of your polish color, still making sure to paint over the edge of each nail. Thin coats of polish prevent bubbles and extra long drying times. This technique also keeps your polish job silky smooth!
- Apply a top coat to seal your mani (and don't forget to paint past the edge of your nails!)

5. Are all of your ingredients plant-based? Where are they derived from? I have no idea what most of those ingredients actually are!

In our nail polish, aside from the Myrrh extract we use, the balance of our ingredients are not plant-based.

When I created Habit, it was important to me that our polish was non-toxic and helped to improved nail health, but still had the same great performance of a traditional nail polish. In order for our polish to perform as you would expect (like staying on your nails for more than a day), it still has to behave like a paint and be composed of ingredients that help it to mimic paint.

There are some brands out there that have alcohol and water-based formulas, but the polish applies poorly, doesn't stay on your nails, and the color range is limited. So creating Habit products is a balance of removing toxins, but giving you the color you want and the performance that you expect.

6. Is the glitter in your glitter polish made from microplastics?

Yes, the glitter that we use is currently standard polyester plastic glitter, as at this time, we haven’t found anything that can replace it. I've tested biodegradable glitter in our formula and it works very well, but I declined to move forward with it when I discovered that biodegradable glitter performs exactly like standard glitter unless it is disposed of in compost-like conditions, which I don't think is very likely to happen in the context of normal disposal, and would encourage the use of disposable cotton rounds.

The plastic components that we use for our polish are recycled (and I'm proud to say that we're the first and currently only polish brand using these!). So the next step for us would be to create our own glitter from a non-plastic source that could perform on par with standard glitter. As a small brand, we don't currently have the resources to do this; our dreams have always been bigger than what we can currently accomplish!

7. Why is the bamboo cap on your nail polish removable? Isn't that greenwashing?

We made our bamboo caps removable three years ago, and we did this for a few different reasons:

I was getting feedback that our bamboo caps were difficult to paint with
Up until last year, we were adhering the bamboo caps to the bottles with an eco-friendly epoxy resin by hand. Every single one. This was insanely time-consuming, expensive, and was preventing us from scaling up our production, which contributed to us frequently selling out of our polish and ridiculously long lead-times (the amount of time it takes an order to ship out) because we were very limited in how much we could produce
After being used for some time, the fixed bamboo caps would end up become misaligned on the bottle. Now that they are removable, they can be repositioned to be straight all the time
We've always used minimal plastic inner caps. We aren't able to completely eliminate plastic at this point, because it's still the best material to use for brushes, and metal caps are much more expensive, a cost that we would have to pass on to you. But after many years of looking for a factory to work with us on this, we finally found one willing to make them for us from recycled (and recyclable) PP plastic. No one else is making nail polish with recycled plastic components. So I'm proud of them and want to show them off!

I do understand that some of the bamboo caps come off too easily now and don't grip the inner cap, which is why we have a slightly modified cap design coming out later this year that will solve this problem.

You might wonder, why do we still use the bamboo overcaps if they've generated so many problems? Because bamboo is an amazing renewable and biodegradable material that enables us to achieve attractive product design with a sustainable material. And because beautiful design is an equally important goal that contributes to sustainable living in a unique way. We should all be purchasing less, but really loving the items that we do have. The products we buy must be great. And by that I mean: they must work in the ways that we need and expect them to. But to get the maximum enjoyment out of them, they should also look great. And achieving attractive product design doesn't necessarily mean extra expense. It does mean extra attention to detail on the part of the designer.

I want you to get the most value out of our products possible. I want you to be able to leave them on the counter and enjoy the look of them as much as you enjoy our formula and colors on your nails. And if we can achieve that with a sustainable material like bamboo, then we're ahead of the pack.

8. What do we do with your bottles after using the polish? How do we recycle/reuse your packaging?

After being emptied of remnant polish (let nail polish remover sit in them, then pour the mixture out onto paper towels and toss; similarly, wipe down the polish brushes with a remover-soaked paper towel), our nail polish bottles can be repurposed to carry loose mica, travel-sized amounts of facial oil, cuticle oil and perfume, or even loose beads (if you're a crafter).

The cutey aluminum and glass jars that our multi-use colors and highlighters come in are perfect for housing small amounts of concealer, creams, or homemade lip balm on-the-go. I also use one as a pill container that lives in my purse :)

If repurposing is not your thing, our nail polish caps are made of 100% recycled PP plastic and are the only recycled and recyclable ones in the business. Our brushes are made from 80% recycled PE plastic. To recycle them, first clean your bottles, brushes and caps with nail polish remover, and then wipe them dry (turn your polish bottle upside down and leave it out to dry on top of a rag) to make sure they are free of any excess polish. The bottles can go straight into your recycling bin. As for your caps and brushes, put them inside any plastic containers you're currently recycling, and then place them in your recycling bin.

At this point, not all recycling facilities accept the brushes, so it’s best to check with your local facility first. I know this is not ideal, and to that end, we're working on developing a mail-in recycling program.

Bamboo (a plant material) decomposes organically in the environment, so you can either dispose of them in a compost bin where they will break down naturally, or (my favorite option) repurpose them as mini bud vases and place them around your home!

As for our makeup, our aluminum lids and glass jars can be infinitely recycled! Just make sure to clean the jars of any remnants of makeup before placing them inside your recycling bin.

The waste issue in commerce and in our personal lives is intimidatingly huge and multi-faceted. Everyone is busy, and while I think most people like to see themselves as mindful, ethical and all-around good, we generally don't like to change very much or be made to learn something new. I think for sustainability to be effective, it has to be about making small changes that add up, and by looking at how we can limit waste and reuse items in our everyday lives. And purchasing makeup with recyclable and reusable components fits that idea.

9. I'm looking for an eco-friendly/ non-toxic nail polish remover to use with my nail polish. Do you happen to have any recommendations?

There are so many great non-toxic polish removers out there, but if you're looking for non-toxic with more eco-friendly packaging, I would recommend the essential oil-based nail polish removers from Exo Supply. They come packaged in glass jars with aluminum lids as opposed to the usual plastic, and they smell amazing!

10. How do I care for my nail polish?

Habit products are designed to look good enough to leave out wherever you practice your getting-ready ritual, so that you can enjoy them even when they're not in use.

For best longevity, keep your makeup in a cool(ish) place. As for your polish, some experts advocate for storing it in the refrigerator. But I leave mine on the bathroom counter and it keeps just fine :)