Are your manicures putting your skin at risk?

Yesterday‍‌‍‍‌ was quite a busy day for me and my family, we had different places to go but before returning back home I wanted to have my nails done so I did that and the color looked nice, at least that's what I think, I'll let you guys be the judge of the final thing.

I didn't choose one color, had a mix so it looks cooler

I did have a lot of options to choose from though.

But this was what I was feeling

But anyways that's not even the main thing about today's blog. Later in the evening I did a little research online about getting the jel and acrylic nails and I came across a strange fact online that made me curious to find out if it was true. It said that the lamps used for gel nails emit UV light, which is also the type of light from the sun that is harmful to the skin. I definitely wanted to know if it was true so went online to read more and even watched a YouTube video that was quite interesting.

Long ago, some of the studies found out that these lamps might be the reason for damage of skin cells after they've used for a very long period. In 2023, a research paper stated that ultraviolet nail lamps could change the skin in such a way that might become harmful later on. And another research article pointed out that the risk factor is very low if your nails are done occasionally and not all the time which is kind of my case by the way, but in the case of regular nail sessions, the risk becomes high.

The light that comes out from these devices is called UVA. It can be the reason for skin aging faster as well as harm to DNA in some cases. No skin cancer has been linked to just a few nail sessions, yet there are doctors that are recommending protecting your hands anyway.

What they suggest as a safe way is to use sunscreen on the back of your hand before exposing it to the lamp for safety reasons. You can also opt for gloves with the removed fingertip area. Few salons may also have LED lamps which emit almost no UV light so it seems like a better option if you're trying to play it safe.

I still think my nails are great but now I have more knowledge about it, I will have to be more careful next time and put on sunscreen before my manicure. That way I'll keep my skin nice while making the nails look fashionable.