A Risk that may be in Your Hands

Raise your hand who does not feel happy to have their nails done well?

Since the world has developed the consciousness of beauty, the nails have become a target that won't stop growing:

Nail polish was originated in India, from henna, during the Bronze Age. Polishing the nails has developed and reached the ancient Chinese civilizations, which started to produce nail polish with egg whites, flowers, wax, gold, silver and precious stones, especially for members of the royalty. The ancient Egyptians wore clay and henna. Color differentiation was essential: red for royalties and pastels for the lower classes.

Nail polish and their varied compositions never went out of style, but it was only in 1920 that the modern varnish was formulated from nitrocellulose, an explosive adapted to produce a shiny film, then called a lacquer. In 1957, a dentist named Frederick Slack invented extension nails using dental acrylic that requires ultraviolet light to be hardened and cured.

Here between us: it's a delight to do the nail and not bother to bump into something or sit again and again every week to redo it.

That's the promise of the gel polish.

But like every promise, there is the positive side and the negative side.

The drying process of the gel polish with ultraviolet light A (UVA) has been investigated because of it possible association with cell damage and photoaging.

Researchers suggest that UVA may be even more mutagenic than UVB. While UVA penetrates well into the dermis, almost all UVB is absorbed into the epidermis, with only a small portion reaching the dermis. UVA predominantly induces oxidative stress and formation of free radicals, while UVB confers direct damage to DNA.

There have been two cases of squamous cell carcinomas on the back of the hand associated with frequent exposure to UVA by the process of nail polishing.

How to avoid this risk then?

Although the number of cases is small, there is a growing alert to the insecure use of this process, and so it is indicated by the Skin Cancer Foundation and researchers around the world that sunblock in the hands or gloves with UVA / UVB protection should be used during the appliance. It is also worth noting the importance of the use of goggles against ultraviolet light.

Currently, there is no regulation that controls the sale of the equipment, its radiation, frequency and wave of the light, or period of safe use, which may, supposedly, trigger health damage. Therefore, it is suggested that customers be aware of and demand safety equipment, including that the gel cure devices made of LEDs with shorter exposure time, rather than fluorescent bulbs.

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Wang, J. V, Korta, D. Z, & Zachary, C. B. (2018). Gel manicures and ultraviolet A light: A call for patient education. Dermatology Online Journal, 24(3). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5hx4g5v4

DINANI, N.; GEORGE, S.. Nail cosmetics: a dermatological perspective. Clinical And Experimental Dermatology, [s.l.], p.1-7, 21 fev. 2019. Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ced.13929.

SHIHAB, Nahla; LIM, Henry W.. Potential cutaneous carcinogenic risk of exposure to UV nail lamp: A review. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, [s.l.], v. 34, n. 6, p.362-365, 25 jun. 2018. Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpp.12398.

ISRAEL CANCER ASSOCIATION (Israel). שימוש במנורת ייבוש ג'ל לציפורניים. 2015. Disponível em: <https://www.cancer.org.il/template/default.aspx?pageid=8363&fbclid=IwAR3PD90RnBc_a1ocyapFhFCnDd206zAtvWTJnWxld8wunFT4tBfz3pnKU9E#.XKXQoINU48U.facebook>. Acesso em: 10 abr. 2019.