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From French tips to\u00a0glazed doughnuts, shimmering cat eye to high-shine chrome, getting your nails done is the beauty trend that refuses to fade. Gel polish, dip powder, acrylic overlays \u2026 whatever the method, the demand for durable, chip-resistant, manicured nails is so strong that salons now\u00a0often outnumber high street bank branches\u00a0in the UK.<\/p>\n
But behind the glossy finish lies a more complicated story. Last month, the European Union\u00a0banned TPO\u00a0\u2013 an ingredient that helps gel polish to harden under UV light \u2013 after animal studies suggested it could harm fertility or a developing foetus. The UK is expected to follow next year. It\u2019s not the first safety red flag: Hema, another common ingredient, was restricted in DIY nail kits in 2021 after a surge in cases of allergic contact dermatitis, a painful skin condition marked by redness, blistering and swelling. So how safe is a gel manicure? And what can you do to protect yourself?<\/p>\n
Just a glance at the social media hashtag #gelallergy will show what an allergic reaction to Hema looks like. \u201cPeople describe a broad range of symptoms: rashes, pain, blisters, bleeding, itching, changes in sensation in their fingertips,\u201d says Dr Shari Lipner, a dermatologist nail specialist at New York-Presbyterian hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, US. She recently\u00a0analysed 214 TikTok videos\u00a0about gel allergies.<\/p>\n
The consequences of developing an allergy to these chemicals \u2013 known as acrylates \u2013 are not necessarily confined to nail products, Lipner says: \u201cOnce someone develops an allergy to one acrylate, our immune system often recognises related chemicals, and cross-reactions are common. You could have issues with dental fillings, medical adhesives, joint replacements, insulin pumps or lenses for cataract surgery. You could also react to other cosmetic things. If you want to get false eyelashes or hair extensions, those could also contain acrylates. So it becomes a much bigger problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) is a different type of chemical used in some gel nail polishes as a \u201cphotoinitiator\u201d, triggering the UV curing process. If TPO does pose a risk, it is the nail salon workers, exposed to it and other photoinitiators day in and day out, who are likely to be the most vulnerable. \u201cWhile photoinitiators are essential in UV-curable products, there is growing evidence of their potential toxicity,\u201d says Prof Runzeng Liu of Shandong University, China.<\/p>\n
His research in Chinese salons found\u00a0photoinitiator levels in dust\u00a0were about 100 times higher than in typical indoor environments, and\u00a0chemicals on technicians\u2019 hands\u00a0roughly 200 times higher than in the general population. Liu is also concerned about \u201ccocktail effects\u201d from simultaneous exposure to multiple photoinitiators, which may be riskier than any single chemical alone.<\/p>\n
Whether the TPO ban is strictly necessary remains debated. \u201cThe EU\u2019s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety reversed its opinion on TPO, not because of direct evidence of harm in humans, as exposure from nail products is minimal, but because animal studies showed reproductive toxicity at high doses,\u201d says Dr Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, US. She notes that toxic effects in animals occurred only at high oral doses, which is not representative of normal use.<\/p>\n
The TPO ban does not outlaw gel manicures, only polishes containing TPO, and safer alternatives are available. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean people need to stop enjoying their nail services. Instead, it\u2019s a good reminder to find salons that follow best practices including proper curing, good ventilation and trained professionals,\u201d says Dobos.<\/p>\n
All the same, there\u2019s the question of enforcement. Scientists at Vito, an independent research organisation in Flanders, Belgium, have developed a test to detect both TPO and Hema, and are increasingly being contacted by companies supplying nail polishes and other products to salons, eager to check whether their imported materials contain TPO. \u201cEspecially for raw materials bought outside Europe \u2013 which is the majority \u2013 the label does not always match the actual contents,\u201d says Jan Jordens, a senior researcher at Vito.<\/p>\n
In one case, Jordens\u2019 team found that TPO was deliberately left off the ingredients list when a manufacturer requested a TPO-free material, though testing proved it was still present. In another, a product was labelled as containing TPO, but the supplier insisted it was TPO-free. Testing confirmed the label was wrong.<\/p>\n
These inconsistencies could make it hard for European manufacturers and distributors to comply with the TPO ban \u2013 even though many are making genuine efforts to do so, says Jordens. He suspects the same problem affects DIY gel nail kits sold online. \u201cIt is even harder to control this small packet market, because millions of packets are delivered daily to personal addresses, and customs simply cannot control everything that is coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EU and UK\u2019s ban on the sale of Hema-containing nail products outside professional nail salons in 2021 does not seem to have resulted in a drop in allergic reactions. A\u00a0recent audit\u00a0by the European Environmental Contact Dermatitis Research Group found that, while only 1-2% of the general population has allergic contact dermatitis severe enough to warrant medical attention, Hema now accounts for roughly 2% of these cases \u2013 up from 0.9% in 2016.<\/p>\n
And still, millions of people enjoy regular manicures without incident. For most of them, the main downside of a persistent salon habit is simply weak or damaged natural nails.<\/p>\n
Removal of gels and acrylics gradually strips away the nails\u2019 keratin layers \u2013 protein fibres that give nails their shape and strength and help to protect our fingers from damage and infection. So does filing their surface to help new nails stick.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the long term, if you\u2019re taking away that thickness and telling the body they don\u2019t need to be as thick, it\u2019s not going to ramp up protein production and restore the thickness of the nails,\u201d says Adam Taylor, a professor of anatomy at Lancaster University. \u201cYou\u2019re going to end up with brittle, unsightly nails that are not what you were going for in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leaving false nails \u2013 which includes gels \u2013 on for too long also risks trapping moisture beneath them, creating a breeding ground for fungus or bacteria, including\u00a0Pseudomonas aeruginosa\u00a0\u2013 a bacterium that causes green nail syndrome or \u201cgreenies\u201d, characterised by unsightly nail discoloration.<\/p>\n
While nail infections are usually relatively minor, they can develop into something more serious, particularly if your immune system is weakened or if you have other conditions such as diabetes. \u201cAny indication of redness, tenderness, swelling, pain in and around the bottom of the nail is a big red flag to get your artificial nails taken off and consult a doctor,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n
So what can you do to reduce these risks? Apart from going\u00a0au naturel, the\u00a0American Academy of Dermatology Association\u00a0recommends gels that soak off with acetate rather than hard gels or acrylics that need filing off. They can still leave nails brittle or peeling, but because they flex, your own nails are less likely to crack.<\/p>\n
It also suggests choosing salons that use LED lamps rather than traditional UV ones \u2013 they harden polish faster and give off lower doses of UV radiation, reducing the risk of skin cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re putting your hands under UV light, I\u2019d advocate wearing cotton gloves with the fingertips cut off to protect from UV, or at least wear sunscreen \u2013 factor 30 or higher,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n
Skip cutting your cuticles, which act as a natural barrier against fungi and bacteria. Also consider giving your nails breaks between treatments to allow them to recover.<\/p>\n
Lipner advises caution rather than complete avoidance, although she does avoid gels and acrylics herself, saying she\u2019s \u201crisk averse\u201d. \u201cI don\u2019t think people need to skip nail polish entirely, but both salon and at-home kits carry some risks, so I advise my patients to consider them with their eyes wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pick a salon where the technicians are wearing gloves, and you can see their training certificates, Lipner suggests. \u201cYou should also be asking some important questions: are your technicians trained in doing gel nails? Are your lamps new? Are they maintained?\u201d<\/p>\n
At home, follow instructions carefully, avoid skin contact, and watch out for adverse reactions: \u201cIf there\u2019s redness, itching or peeling around the nails, that\u2019s a red flag,\u201d says Lipner.<\/p>\n
As we talk over a video call, I glimpse a flash of red, perfectly shaped nails. She laughs: \u201cIt\u2019s just regular nail polish.\u201d But it serves as a quiet reminder: there are safer alternatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From French tips to\u00a0glazed doughnuts, shimmering cat eye to high-shine chrome, getting your nails done is the beauty trend that refuses to fade. Gel polish, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2512,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509\/revisions\/2512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}