Nail plays an essential role in some patients’ appearance, styles and elegance. Billions are spent immeasurably on nail salon services across the western countries mainly, and the Arab world is joining in lately. It is fastest growing industries in the whole world, particularly for women of all age group, though men should not be discounted in the population who enjoy this relatively affordable way of getting pampered, indulged and spoiled.

A Safe Indulgence

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitting nail lamps have become an expected commodity of any nail salon services. Nail salons offer manicure and pedicure treatments, acrylic, UV gel and silk or fiberglass coatings with extensions, acrylic and UV gel sculpted extensions, and the list goes on. The increasing use of gel nails and sculptured nails has led to a rise in incidence of (metha)crylate allergy among nail technicians. Methacrylate is a raw material that is used for adhesives, coatings, in the application of artificial nails, and in the gel nails, by polymerization technique that is disjointedly by UV light. They are quite volatile, strong irritants, and are unstable chemicals. Skin problems arising in nail salon workers include hand and eye dermatitis, stomatitis, periungual dermatitis, onycholysis with nail shedding which can follow subsequently.

These lamps are used to speed dry regular manicures and they are called ultraviolet lamps and some call them light emitting diode (LED) lamps. Both emits ultraviolet radiation mostly ultraviolet A (95% ultraviolet-A and 5% ultraviolet-B) which penetrate the skin deeply and cause premature skin damage, aging, wrinkling, brown spots, and ultimately breaks the Deoxyribonucleic acid molecule (DNA), the main genetic material of human body, the break of this strands within the cells leading to skin cancer.

Diffey generated a mathematical model combining age and UV exposure and compared the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from typical sun exposure with the risk of inducing SCCs from UVA nail lamp exposure. He accomplished that the risk was very negligible and established that the risk could be reduced almost to zero by wearing fingerless gloves when nails are being treated¹.

But Not Without Risk

On the other hand, Markova and Weinstock compared the risks of UV nail lamp irradiance with narrowband UVB (nbUVB), an established very low-risk procedure. They calculated that one would require more than 250 years of weekly UV nail treatments to incur the same risk as a single course of nbUVB (approximately 15–30 treatments for 5–10 weeks). This is effectively insignificant UV exposure with no increase in risk of SCC². Moreover, a photobiological safety analysis of UV nail lamps demonstrated that the amount of exposure experienced by consumers of UV photocured manicures was trivial.

Recent studies evaluated potential irradiation scenarios and concluded that UV nail polish drying lamps pose only a small risk to clients. However, these studies lacked randomized light sampling from commercial salons. Considering the low UVA energy exposure in an average manicure visit, multiple visits would be required to reach the threshold for potential DNA damage³.

The Question Remains

Nail salons predominantly utilize fluorescent UV lamps although some use light-emitting diode (LED) lights. LED lights, though pricier, necessitate a shorter exposure time comparing relatively to UV radiation. Whether this technology is safe to both parties, it remains a question.

References:
1. Diffey BL. The risk of squamous cell carcinoma in women from exposure to UVA lamps used in cosmetic nail treatment. Br J Dermatol. 2012 Nov; 167(5):1175-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.11107.x. Epub 2012 Oct 5.
2. Markova A, Weinstock MA. Risk of skin cancer associated with the use of UV nail lamp. J Invest Dermatol. 2013; 133(4):1097-9. doi: 10.1038/jid.2012.440. Epub 2012 Dec 6.
3. Markova, Alina et al. Risk of Skin Cancer Associated with the Use of UV Nail Lamp. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 133, Issue 4, 1097 – 1099