Are Czech Glass Files Actually More Sustainable?

If you are trying to find more ways to produce less waste, start looking at your beauty routines. It's not a secret that skincare, hair care and especially nail care products contribute a major amount of waste to landfills every single day. However, we are not meant to hold the entire weight of the environment on our shoulders by ourselves or overnight. The key is to step out of 'throwaway culture', kick out habits that keep letting us spend more money on disposable products and sharing better ways to make one product last longer. Making small changes to your nail routine can make a difference, and Bona Fide Beauty has the perfect tools to help you switch from "cheap" disposable emery boards to Czech glass nail care tools that will last you a lifetime.

A Lifetime With You Instead Of The Landfill 

If you really think about it; all nail tools can last a lifetime, but not all nail tools can function as well for a lifetime. The main question that is often asked when comparing nail care tools is "how often will I need to replace this?" With Czech glass nail tools, we can assure you that unless you're planning on throwing them off a balcony that's higher than 2 stories, you will not need to replace them quite as often as emery boards; or even at all! (And yes, we've thrown them off a 2 story balcony before, so we know they will survive)

Standard emery boards are typically made of hardware store sandpaper and cardboard, stuck together with petroleum-based glues. Because these materials can absorb, frankly everything, you cannot clean them after using them, which cause them to wear out more quickly. If you feel like you've experienced having a dusty, flimsy and worn out nail file after only a couple weeks, then you know exactly what we're talking about. Once it gets to this point, throwing the old ones away & replacing them is the only option. Unless you're able to completely separate each material that we listed above, emery boards are considered non-recyclable and end up living in the landfills. These mixed materials will spend a lifetime leeching microplastics into the earth, instead of filing your nails like they were intended for.

On the other hand, Bona Fide Beauty nail tools are made of one thing; tempered (strengthened) Czech glass. Now, one of the most common questions we receive is "does your grit wear out overtime, though?" And the short answer is, no! We use an acid-etching technique that allows the grit to be directly built into the tempered glass. This means we do not use any spray-on grit, glues or other mixed materials that could wear out overtime. It's genuinely a piece of art. They also do not absorb anything! Czech glass is non-porous, so it is possible to wash and sanitize it without wearing it out—meaning, you can use it over and over again. If anything, washing your glass nail tools is the most important step in ensuring that they last you a lifetime. And if you end up breaking them by accident, they are 100% recyclable. Czech glass is meant to be the main character here and she does not need extra materials to prove that she is the perfect addition to any nail care kit.

Are 'Cheap Disposables' Actually Affordable?

Why did we ever choose to make emery boards the default nail file in a nail kit? Mainly because of how cheap they are to buy, but when you need to replace them every few weeks; is it really that cheap? If we did the math for how much we would spend on emery boards in 1 year compared to buying 1 Bona Fide Beauty Czech Glass Nail File, this is what it would look like: 

And if we did the 'girl math', we would say that you're essentially getting 100 manicures for free. Not to mention, your nails will actually grow stronger and healthier with a regular nail care routine. You wouldn't need to sit at a salon for 5 hours and pay hundreds of dollars every month anymore! Investing into products that actually last long-term is not only a key step in reducing the waste in landfills, it's also saving you the time and money that you would've spent on looking for self care products that only work temporarily. Just like the environment, your time and money is just as precious. 

Making The Shift: Quality Over Quantity

Bona Fide Beauty wants to help represent & contribute to the nail community by providing nail care products that actually last and help people grow stronger and healthier nail habits. Investing in a genuine Czech Glass Nail File is a quiet act of rebellion against the cycle of waste and "throwaway culture". It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s one less piece of trash in the world. 

We can’t solve everything at once, but we can choose nail care tools that respect the planet as much as we respect our time and money. It’s time to stop buying the packs of ten disposables and start choosing the one file that will last you a lifetime.

Are you ready to stop the cycle? Check out these collections to get you started! 

Bona Fide Beauty's Starter Kit Collection 

Bona Fide Beauty's Nail File in Hard Case Collection