How dangerous are UV manicures?
May 18, 2018 5:42 AM   Subscribe

I was at the gym this morning and saw on the ticker tape at the bottom of Good Morning America a brief mention of dermatologists warning that UV lights used during gel manicures increase the risk of cancer. How dangerous are they? Should I stop having gel manicures?

When I got home, I googled for more information, and saw many articles from the past couple of days parroting the same story of one woman who was diagnosed with melanoma at age 18 and believes it was caused by the UV lights used for gel manicures. I am not ashamed to admit I am having trouble parsing out what is legitimate science here and what is being written for shock and the almighty click. Can you help me understand just how dangerous these UV lights are, if I should stop getting gel manicures altogether, if it's safe to do so after applying sunscreen (or some other protective measures?), or what? Have there been any studies done about this? Thank you, MeFi!!
posted by srrh to Health & Fitness (9 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Here's something from Harvard Health that says gel manicures every two weeks probably won't increase your chance of cancer.

Here's something from WebMD (I know, I know) that says basically the same thing, and gives pointers on how to mitigate the already small risk.

An article in The Atlantic.

And a statement from the Skin Cancer Foundation that says, basically, use sunscreen before getting a gel manicure.

Did that one woman get cancer from using the UV lights? Maybe. Probably? But there's a skin cancer risk with pretty much everything and someone has to be the one who makes the statistics work. I don't say that to be cruel, I really don't. And if you're getting them every week I'd reconsider that. But you're probably fine.
posted by cooker girl at 5:57 AM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]


Some reading for you:

Shipp, Lyndsay R., et al. 2014. "Further Investigation Into the Risk of Skin Cancer Associated With the Use of UV Nail Lamps," JAMA Dermatology 150(7). doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2013.8740

"...considering the low UV-A energy exposure in an average manicure visit, multiple visits would be required to reach the threshold for potential DNA damage. Although the in vivo risk from multiple manicure visits remains untested, our data suggest that, even with numerous exposures, the risk for carcinogenesis remains small. That said, we concur with previous authors in recommending use of physical blocking sunscreens or UV-A protective gloves to limit the risk of carcinogenesis and photoaging."

MacFarlane, Deborah F., and Carol A. Alonso. 2009. "Occurrence of nonmelanoma skin cancers on the hands after UV nail light exposure," JAMA Dermatology 145(4). doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2008.622.

"It appears that exposure to UV nail lights is a risk factor for the development of skin cancer; however, this observation warrants further investigation." Nb: This piece relies on two(!) case reports, so take it with a big ol' grain of salt.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 6:05 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Take some comfort in the links above, but if you want total peace of mind, buy some UV blocking gloves. They have the fingertips cut off so the tech can still work - you would pull them on after all the other parts of the manicure, just before the actual painting starts. There are a bunch on Amazon, and I'm sure you can find them at beauty supply stores.
posted by superfluousm at 6:41 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]


I stopped doing gel and moved to powder for this reason.
posted by k8t at 7:18 AM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Even if they aren't going to give you nail cancer (is that a thing?), it can't be good for the aging of your hands. I feel like people don't consider their hands until it's too late.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:22 AM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]


As an example, I got a gel manicure and then went to the beach. My hands got totally deeply sunburnt. That's not a good sign.
posted by k8t at 1:19 PM on May 18, 2018


I don't know the answer to this. But I do know that some nail salons (particularly the more expensive ones, I'm guessing, though I could be wrong about that) use gel dryers with LED lights instead of UV lights for this very reason. I would ask your salon what kind of lights are in their dryers. Granted, they could lie to you about this, but I imagine most would be honest. You could also check the brand of dryer used and look it up on the internet yourself and see the type of light it uses.
posted by whitelily at 3:22 PM on May 18, 2018


The LED lights would be UV LED lights. LED isn't a wavelength, it's just a type of lighting technology like incandescent or fluorescent.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 7:14 PM on May 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


If you don't want to deal with UV gloves, can you just put a sunblock on your hands after all the hand-lotiony/filing part of the mani is done, just before the painting part? The nail tech would have to wipe down your nails with acetone after you apply sunblock to ensure they're clean, but if you're a good tipper, that should be a non-issue.

(I really like the Banana Boat Sheer Touch sunblocks. You can find them up to SPF 30 in most stores, I get it in SPF 50 on amazon. It doesn't feel like sunblock AT ALL, it truly feels like a nice lotion. And it works! I burn easily, but I've never burned when using that stuff.)
posted by AlisonM at 3:33 PM on May 21, 2018


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