I got a very disturbing comment from one of our CV Skinlabs readers a little bit ago. After reading it, I felt really angry that more isn’t done to ensure customer safety with beauty procedures.
This poor woman is an ovarian cancer survivor, and she said that she likes to get those new gel manicures. They’re all the rage right now. If you haven’t heard of them, I’ll tell you more below.
Suffice to say that since her last manicure, she is experiencing constant pain in her fingers and hands. Is it possible this could be because of the manicure?
Unfortunately, yes.
What is a Gel Manicure?
Like so many new beauty treatments, when gel manicures first showed up on the market, they were hailed as the latest. Nails shine brighter and last longer than with regular manicures. You can go for two to three weeks without a crack. For busy women who use their hands a lot, this sounded like a great deal. Not only would nails look better, longer, but women could potentially save money by not having to redo their manicures quite so often.
This sort of durability comes at a price, however. The process requires four or five coats of polish, with each layer followed by a finish under a UV light, similar to those lights used in tanning salons, but much weaker. (I posted about the potential danger with repeated exposure to UV lights in a former post.)
To give you a better idea, here’s the process:
- Your nails are cleaned and trimmed like usual, then sometimes filed and prepped with a special adhesive.
- The tech applies a base coat.
- Between each layer you soak your hands in the ultraviolet light. Most salons give you mittens to keep the rays off your hands.
- The tech applies the next coat, and the next. You go under the light after each one.
- Finally, the topcoat is applied as usual.
- Back in the UV-ray machine you go.
Why do they call these “gel manicures?” It has to do with the polish. Instead of a liquid, it’s actually of a gel consistency. That’s why it needs help to dry.
Granted, these manicures look great. I see all kinds of women raving about them. How they look, however, isn’t the concern here. It’s what they may be doing to your fingers and hands.
Reports of Nerve Damage
The CV Skinlabs reader who wrote in said that for her last gel manicure, she went to a new nail shop. She said she had gotten gel manicures many times before, but this time was “an extremely different experience because during my gel polish I was instructed to put my hands in and out of the UV gel machine for over 45 minutes because the gel polish would keep coming off and just did not look and feel the way a gel nail should.”
After that experience, she says her hands feel “very different” and she is in constant pain.
“Could this be a side effect of the long-time use of the UV gel machine?” she asked.
Other women have had similar experiences. In June 2010, ABC News reported on a woman like our reader who started experiencing hand pain after a gel manicure. “Anything that touched my thumb caused an electric shock,” she said, “whether it was air or water or just touching very gently.”
The woman visited several doctors before she finally went to see a neurologist. The doctor told her she suspected that during the manicure, the technician may have accidently filed some of her skin, breaking the skin barrier, which would then allow some of the dangerous chemicals from the manicure to seep into her body, causing nerve damage.
Nerve damage. From a manicure.
Dangers with Gel Manicures
Let’s look at some of the potential dangers associated with these manicures.
- UV Light: A 2009 article in the Archives of Dermatology concluded that “further investigation” was needed to determine if UV nail lamps can cause cancer. A study conducted at Lighting Sciences, Inc., an independent lab in Arizona, found that getting a gel manicure every two weeks is equivalent to spending an extra two minutes in the sun every day. Remember that exposure is cumulative, and keeps building up to increase risk of skin cancer.
- Risk of Infection: The surface of the nail is usually abraded or roughed with an emery board prior to polishing-this weakens the nail and leads to breakage and possible infection, as well as possible penetration of the chemicals into the body.
- Risk of Chemical Damage: Some of the gel polishes contain “methyl acrylate,” which can cause allergic reactions and rashes, and may irritate the lungs if you inhale it, causing coughing or shortness of breath. Reactions or irritation can also develop in the eyes if you touch your eyes with your fingers.
- Risk of Health Hazards: Some gel polishes contain butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as a preservative and stabilizer, which is considered a possible human carcinogen.
- Removal: To remove the gel polish, you have to soak or wrap your nails in acetone, which is very drying and can cause your nails to become brittle and peel with repeated use. It can also cause eye and lung irritation.
How to Increase Your Odds of Staying Safe
After researching all of this, my best advice would be to stay away from gel manicures, as there really is no way to avoid all the toxins involved.
If you’re just determined to get one, or want one for a special occasion, take these precautions to increase your safety:
- Choose a reputable salon and make sure your technician has been trained specifically in gel manicures. “Nine times out of 10, it’s the unskilled, uneducated technician that’s causing the issue,” said Patricia Yankee, head of education at Dashing Diva Corp., which runs nail salons in New York, California, Japan, Kuwait, and other countries. She added that if the technician mixes glue and powder, that’s wrong, nor should they dip your fingers into anything.
- Put sunscreen on your hands and nails before you go. Make sure it’s a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against all types of UV rays. Or, ask if an LED light is available, which emits less UV radiation than regular UV lights.
- Ask your technician to be particularly careful, and not file your skin accidentally.
- Do not get a manicure when your skin is cut, red, extra dry, or in less than optimal condition.
- Use a protectant healing balm to help strengthen and and foster skin barrier repair.
The following are danger signs that you should find somewhere else for your manicure:
- The salon uses unmarked bottles of products.
- The products smell unusually strong or have a strange odor.
- The nail tech doesn’t sterilize the tools.
- The nail tech does not wash his/her hands.
- The salon is not clean.
- You can’t see the salon or technician licenses anywhere on the walls.
- The gels do not soak off easily in solvents.
If you experience any of the following after your manicure, check with your dermatologist or neurologist right away:
- Your skin or nails hurt.
- You have swelling, redness, or other signs of an infection.
- You have shooting pains in your hands or fingers.
Have you gotten a gel manicure? Did you have any problems with it? Please share your story.
Picture courtesy Körmönfont (Egerszegi Szilvia) via Flickr.com.
Sources
Elisabeth Leamy and Tracey Marx, “Woman Says Gel Manicure Done Wrong Caused Possible Nerve Damage,” ABC News, June 28, 2010, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/gel-manicures-harm-nerves-properly/story?id=11029335#.UDwrU3bCMYY.
Elisabeth Leamy, “10 Tips to Keep Your Gel Manicure Safe,” ABC News, April 12, 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/04/12/tips-to-keep-your-gel-manicure-safe/.
Dr. Susan Taylor, “The Skinny on Gel Nail Polish,” Huffington Post, March 12, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-susan-taylor/gel-nail-polish_b_1333236.html.
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, “Methyl Acrylate,” Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet, http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1219.pdf.
Hi, I do my own gel nails and have been doing so for the past 10 months. I use an LED lamp rather than a UV lamp. In the last month the ends of my fingers – not under my nails has been really tender then tight and sore for about a week after putting new colour on. I am starting to thing that this is due to the acetone I use to remove the gel but am not 100% sure. The nail area isn’t filed down as I do them myself and am always careful but as I use a LED light its the only thing I can think of. Do you think its the acetone?
Hi, Suky. Sorry to hear about the tenderness in your fingers. Though acetone is drying, I haven’t heard of it causing any sort of tenderness or nerve problems—more skin and nail issues. I have heard of gel manicures causing this sort of tenderness, though, even without the UV lamp. My recommendation would be to give your nails a break—with nothing on them for a few weeks, then try regular (not gel) polish and a natural nail polish remover (without acetone) and see how you feel. After some recovery time, you can try the gel again, but please be careful. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk.
Thank you, Jasmine. I can imagine that regular polish, after a time, could damage the nails, as they have no time to “breathe” or recover from the constant sealing. If you’re noticing unhealthy changes, you may want to go without for awhile. I also recommend more natural formulas that don’t have the nasty chemicals in them. Read this post for brand recommendations: http://cincovidas.com/go-natural-with-your-nail-polish-and-ditch-the-toxic-fumes/
For the past several years I have been my nails done with shellac/gel. I had always been very happy with the outcome, no chipping & that shiny look for 3 weeks who could ask for anything better than this.
I then began to notice some tingling in my hands right after having my nails done. I began to pay a little more attention in the shellac process. I noticed that while my hands were in that UV machine , I could feel like tiny little sharp shocks it did not hurt but was noticeably uncomfortable. I took it as me being a drama queen, so I ignored it.
Then I began to feel tingling in my hands, I of course ignored justifying it that I might have pinched a nerve. Then someone mentioned to me how swollen my hands looked asked me if I was hurting or retaining water. I responded that it was probably side effects of the medication given to me for an ailment that I have.
After a few years of justifying these abnormal things , I began to get alarmed. Now my hands tends to become very stiff. I cannot bend my fingers, they are extremely sensitive. Once I begin to move them & put them under water they become better. I told my doctor, thinking it could be the medication, I was told could be so they decreased the dosage. I then began to notice it seemed to get worse when I would get my nails done. I went to see my doctor explained to them what I thought and was told no that could not be the reason, could be my ailment. I even mentioned it to the owner of the nail salon I go to. He assured me that this shellac process was safe (what else can he say , right?)
My last shellac/gel was done back in April started to feel that flare up again. Then the second week of May I went to get the polish removed & decided to let my nails just “breath” just regular clear polish. My nails were not the same thick nails I once had, now they were paper thin nails.
Whole month of May no shellac/gel. I had just mentioned to my husband how wonderful it felt that I had not had a flare up on my hands for the past month, still ignoring the obvious. I went last week to have my nails done for an event I am going to, yes shellac/gel process was done.
A few days ago my hands began to flare up, last night the pain was unbearable, this morning my fingers were extremely stiff. I sat myself down in front of our computer & began reading up on side effects of shellac/gel polish, which I should of done several months ago. Then I read your article & read Renee Hutchinson comment in reference to her experience my goodness I thought I was reading something I had written.
With that said was a validation that my gut feeling was so right but I kept ignoring it by justifying it , when this whole time it was truly trying to protect me which I simply ignored to a degree. So, thank you for your article. I am 100% sure that this is the reason for my painful issue in my hands. I will no longer be using shellac/gel on my nails.
Thanks to your article I will be making an appointment with a Neurologist and will be sharing your article on my FB. Thank you again!!!
Wow, Hilda, what a story. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing it with our readers. Obviously you checked and double-checked to find out the cause, and your detective work led you right to the shellac nails. Just goes to show how important it is that we increase awareness about this issue. Every time I hear a story like yours I get just a little angrier that people are suffering these effects without warning. Thank you for spreading the word. The more people who know and tell their friends, the more will be saved these painful side effects. I hope you continue to heal and feel better!
I had nail tips and gel over top my fingers around the nail split went purple swelled up and were very painfull it hurt to touch anything I had tingling in finger tips and the skin peeled off down to my first didget the nails are full of dents and ridges. 8months later they are much better, but its still painfull and inflamed when I use a gentle nail polish remover and I sgill get odd pains in fingers and they still swell and go red or purple around the nails all from uv lamp. Please stop getting your nails done this way its not worth getting in this state now im wondering if I have finger cancer with all these new findings about uv lamps.
Hi, Debbie. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Your condition sounds very painful. I’m so sorry you’ve had to suffer through it. Eight months is a long time to heal. Hopefully others will take warning from your experience. You can keep an eye out for cancer by watching for moles and discolorations. Most likely you’re okay, but it is good to be aware. Do be gentle with yourself. All the best.
I got a no chip manicure for the first time about a month ago. It looked fine and didn’t hurt until after I got the gel removed. The removal process was horrible and the nail technician had to scrape off the gel, even though my nails were soaked in acetone for about 30 minutes. The scraping and hard buffing of the surface of my nails was cringe inducing and it hurt. The shape of my nailbed has changed and my nails curve slightly upward now. I hope they grow back in normally when the whole nail grows out. Also, I have slight pain in the nailbed and fingertips of a couple fingers. I do not recommend this for anyone and I will never get a no chip manicure again. I’m even questioning whether I will put regular polish on my nails again.
Ouch, Lisa! My fingers hurt reading this! I’m so sorry—I hope your nails heal okay. Thank you so much for sharing wtih our readers.
after safely removing the gel manicure with soak. My nail bed are very warm and aching. My nails were hard and in great shape, now they are thin and soft. I did the gel nails stop the chipping, Can I protect better or is this gel manicure not for me?
Doesn’t sound good. I don’t think I would risk another gel manicure if I were you. If you’re seeing these results the first time, I imagine it will only get worse. Your choice, of course. I don’t think you can really put anything on the nails beforehand to completely protect yourself. You can ask your manicurist, but they are interested in providing the service, so you may get a biased answer. There is news of a new “organic” gel nail out there—you still have to use the UV dryer, which creates risk, but at a lower power setting than usual. Find more information here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10803935.htm
About a month ago I went to a nail salon and got a gel nail polish manicure. Well ever since then I’ve had pain in my fingers and hand. Every night I wake up in pain. I can’t bend my fingers they are always swollen. I work with my hands, I’m a hair stylist…… Now it’s very hard for me to even work. When I got the manicure the nail tech kept on pressing the uvray light because he wasn’t ready for the opposite hand. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been to the hospital and was just given pain meds. They don’t even work. I need to seek a lawyer now. God help me! I’m in pain as I’m typing this my fingers are swollen.
Oh wow thank you for the in sight
I do my own gel nails and have experienced pain in my fingers after doing my nails so now after reading this I shal go get it checked out if it happens when my next gel manicure is due again thank you for making me feel sain 🙂
Thanks for writing in, Kiley. If you’re experiencing pain and it started with gel manicures, I would advise you to stop. You don’t want to damage those nerves. Be careful!
I’ve been getting gel manicures for a few months now. The salon I go to calls them shellac manicures. I thought these were the greatest thing until recently. I went to get my nails redone a couple weeks ago and in the process, the lady nicked the skin near my nail on my index finger. I didn’t think much of it other than “ouch”, but mistakes happen so I didn’t think much of it. Within a few days, my finger started hurting really badly and has continued to get worse. I thought it was just a bruise at first but the pain has consistently gotten worse. It’s sore and slightly red, but not swollen or anything terribly noticeable on the outside. I didn’t equate the pain with the nick from the manicure until tonight when I decided to do some research and came across your page. I will be going to see my doctor now to get it checked out and hope everything is okay.
Hi, Airianna. Thanks for writing in. I’m glad you’re going to get the sore checked. It does sound like it may be connected to the manicure. Getting a cut in your skin like that allows the chemicals to penetrate more deeply than they may normally do. Good luck getting to the bottom of it. Would love to hear what your doctor says.
I never ever thought that a manicure could cause pain!!
I was already recovering from a pinched nerve in my neck that caused numbness in my hand and thumb especially when I was tense or stressed. Two weeks into my manicure, I was experiencing pain in my right thumb and the numbness. Even with pain relievers I was waking up with pain. I never dreamed it was from my gel manicure! This morning it dawned on me that I wonder if my polish was doing something. I peeled off my thumb nail polish (my right hand was already coming off because of my dishwashing and my weekend grocery store job)..and the pain relief began immediately. I decided to look this up so I could find out whether I was imagining this issue, and there was this website!
Is acrylic polish harmful as well?
Laurie
Hi, Laurie. It’s shocking, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing your story as we need to spread the word about this. As for acrylic polish, I recommend avoiding those with toluene and other potentially harmful chemicals. Check out my recommendations here. http://cincovidas.com/go-natural-with-your-nail-polish-and-ditch-the-toxic-fumes/ I hope you feel better soon!
I just tried my first hard gel manicure today and have frustrating, but not debilitating pain under the nail. It seems to worsen from temperature changes – I wonder if the flesh is expanding and contracting w/ the temperature changes (going from 95degree weather to chilly AC) and the gel is such a hardened surface that it cannot flex? Anyone else felt similar reaction?
Hi, Kimber. I shudder to hear your story. Yet another victim of the gel manicure. I don’t know if the temperature changes indicate expansion and contraction. I would be more likely to guess that your nerves may be extra sensitive to the temperature changes if you have suffered temporary nerve damage, as have so many other women. Please do check with your dermatologist, and consider remedies for nerve damage such as those listed on my post, here: http://cincovidas.com/chemo-side-effect-neuropathy%E2%80%94some-tips-to-help/.
I wish you the best and a fast recovery. Please do let us know how you’re doing.
I had gel nails months ago -maybe almost a year. After the procedure my nails began to hurt. I have had constant pain in my nail bed and cuticle area ever since . I asked if anyone ever complained of that. the answer was no! I tried to put it out of my mind . BUT ,it is there and sometimes get worse. Now I am worried. Where do I go ? Can this be stopped or is it damage that won’t go away?? Could I be in danger of things getting more seriuos?
Just last week I went to a nail salon that I have never been. A friend goes there and wanted me to try it. A few days ago I notice that my little finger was swollen and hurting as if it was broken, but oddly it was just the end of the finger. A few years back a friend contracted a serious bacterial infection in his foot after getting a pedicure. There wasn’t a noticeable/ outward infection, so he brushed it off until he couldn’t walk on it a few days later. He went to the ER and was told if he had waited another day he might have lost his foot. The infection had entered his blood stream and infected his heart. He was put on antibiotics that were intravenously going to his heart for over a month. With that knowledge, I didn’t want to take any chances. I went to the dr hoping I had broken my finger… No such luck. It is infected. There is no outward sign of infection except for swelling. So please don’t ignore swelling and pain because it could lead to serious infections if not treated quickly. Thanks for having this article with the ability for others to share their story.
Hi, Cynthia. Oh, thank you thank you for sharing your story. I’m so sorry you had to go through the infection, but your story will hopefully help others avoid the same fate. Choose your salons very carefully, and if you’re immune system is down, you’re tired, or stressed, reschedule your appointment for a time when you feel strong and your defenses are up. Thanks again and I hope your finger heals quickly!
After having my nails treated with gel nail polish I. Started to have very bad pain in my finger nails as well as fingers causing me so much pain that I felt I could cut my fingers off!!! Two weeks after having the polish removed the pain has almost gone and feel normal. I thought the polish was 100%. Safe but now realise I was wrong. I shall never wear this or any similar again… 4/3/2013
Oh my gosh, Amanda, that sounds awful! What a terrible experience to go through. Thank you so much for writing in. Hopefully your words will help other people avoid the same suffering!
I loved the way my gel nails looked when they were finished. I was in the swimming pool 4 days a week for aqua fit classes, polished stayed on no chips nothing, nails were long and strong. As my nails grew longer the price increased up to $65 every 2 weeks not including tip. So I said bye the the gel nails and opted for traditional manicure. Once all that gel was off my nails I saw paper thin nails. I cried when I saw my natural nails. The length broke all off the nail bed was stained almost neon yellow and it took weeks for that to come off. They actually told me that was my natural nail color when I questioned the staining. Bull Hockey!!! My nails would not grow and they stayed thin they didn’t look like human nails anymore. I stopped all visit to the salon and it took 18 months of my own TLC for my nails to get to where they were prior to getting gel nails. I soaked and messaged my nails in a mixture of olive, sweet almond and coconut oil every night before bed. I wore protective gloves to bed. I used a nail protein treatment, took chlorella, spirulina, collagen supplements, stopped all dehydrating drinks such as coffee and soda opting for water with lemon. That was when my nails got happy all over again. I learned how to take care for my nails myself no one can do a better job than me. I use vegan polish and nail treatments and they are prettier than ever so are my hands. Sorry so long bottom line don’t bother, not even for special occasion don’t bother they aren’t worth the pain and suffering. One of my coworkers had to have the gel removed with a tool that looked like a chisel because the gel would not fully come off using acetone. They had to hit the nails so hard that she ended up with sore bruised nails for a few weeks. Don’t bother. Then the cancer risk gosh there is enough toxins we have no control over but nail care is not one of them.