Shiny, durable, chip-resistant and ideal for masking nail imperfections, gel manicures have become a regular part of many women’s beauty routines.

  But gel nail polish needs ultraviolet light to harden, raising concern about the risk of skin cancer when hands, cuticles and nails are regularly exposed to UV rays that can be more powerful than the sun.

  And a new study, published in Nature Communications on Jan. 17, 2023, is adding to these concerns because it found radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers can damage DNA and cause mutations in human cells.

LED lamps still emit UV rays

  Some salons use UV nail lamps to cure the polish; others use LED lamps. Women may think the LED devices skip or minimize the ultraviolet light, but that’s a big misnomer, said Dr. Chris Adigun, a dermatologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who specializes in nail disorders and who contributed expert advice on the safety of gel manicures for the American Academy of Dermatology.

  “Gels are massively popular nationally. They have catapulted the nail salon industry into a whole other stratosphere of revenue,” Adigun told TODAY.

  “Gels, by definition, need a UVA exposure to polymerize. So if there’s no UVA, there is no gel manicure.”

Click here to read full article: https://www.today.com/health/are-gel-manicures-safe-what-know-about-uv-exposure-skin-t154294 

[via MAY 17, 2019, 8:07 AM AST / updated JAN 19, 2023  Source: TODAY A. Pawlowski]

  When you go to a nail salon, you probably make sure that all the tools the nail technician uses are clean and sparkly. Can you say the same thing about your personal manicure tools? True, you are probably the only one that uses them, so you can't get infected by other people. But, bacteria and other harmful agents can grow on your manicure tools, and it only takes one use to harm your nails and skin. So, what can you do? Just like at the nail salon, you need to know how to clean and disinfect your manicure tools, and you can learn how to do just that in the following article:

Disinfect the tools

  Cleaning the tools is not always enough to kill bacteria, so you should also disinfect them before use. Disinfecting manicure tools is simple, and you can do it either with Isopropyl Alcohol or water:

• Isopropyl Alcohol: Put all the clean tools in a bowl, cover them with alcohol, and let them submerge for 30 minutes.
• Water: put the tools in a clean pan/pot and cover them with water. Put the pan/pot on the stove and let it boil for 20 minutes.

  After you disinfect the manicure tools, either with water or alcohol, take them out of the bowl/dish and dry them with a clean paper towel.

Click here to read full article: https://trysprig.com/how-to-clean-manicure-tools 

  Q. I was worried about drying my nails with a lamp or light box at the nail salon because of the potential risk of cancer from the ultraviolet radiation, but my salon recently switched to LED lamps. Are they safer?

  A. The light boxes used to cure polish during gel manicures, and to dry traditional nail polish, have raised some concern because — like tanning beds — they emit ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, which is associated with a higher cancer risk. A 2014 study in JAMA Dermatology found that the level of UVA exposure associated with a gel manicure every two weeks probably isn't high enough to increase the risk of skin cancer significantly, but you are wise to be aware of the issue.

  The bad news is that while some lamps are referred to as UV lamps and others as LED lamps, both emit ultraviolet radiation — predominantly in the form of UVA, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. So, regardless of the type of lamp, it's a good idea to follow the same recommendations we've offered in the past — protect your hands from UVA exposure by wearing sunscreen on your hands or slipping on a pair of fingerless gloves during your manicure to give your skin some added protection from the potentially damaging UVA radiation.

Click here to read full article: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/safety-of-led-nail-lamps 

[via Harvard Health Article]