It seems like a good practice to keep nails trimmed, polished and healthy. But there are hidden health hazards lurking in the nail salons, some apparent, some not so obvious. In this case, what you don’t know can kill you because there are some serious health and safety problems that can stem from manicure parlors that try to cut corners and use improperly trained staff.
Questions have emerged about the safety of certain acrylics used when affixing artificial nails to real ones and gel nail polish formulas. The chemicals that hold the artificial nail in place have been reported to cause allergic reactions and damage skin and real nails located underneath.
There are also concerns about certain chemicals. There is one particular concern with methyl methacrylate (MMA). The chemical is banned by United States government regulators as poisonous for humans, but the United Kingdom and other countries still use it, and some U.S. salons may import it and use it illegally.
Gel Polish Concerns
Methyl methacrylate isn’t the only chemical concern in United States salons. Both the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, a trade organization of salon owners, have issued studies on the dangers of common salon nail chemical uses.
Of the chemical studied, gel polish has raised some of the biggest red flags. One of the most-requested treatments in salons, gel polish offers the long-term wear of acrylic nails but is easier to remove and doesn’t produce the same underlying damage. The coating for gel polish is thinner than acrylics, dries faster and stays shiny without chipping for weeks. In a busy world, that time-saving treatment is highly attractive to busy working women.