Beauty salon workers have chemical exposures that can be compared to working in a garage or refinery. “The radiation emitted by UV nail dryers can cause hand cancer. UV nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase skin cancer risk”
At the beginning, stars used them, then it became a popular practice, spread all over the world. It is the nail look sector: fabulous manicures that rebuild you, with beautiful colors, fingernails and toenails, making them permanently beautiful and resistant to chipping. Pearly nail polishes of any color you want, complex and iridescent colors, streaks with the most sought-after designs for perfect nails that last much longer than conventional nail polish.
The global nail polish market size alone was valued at around USD 15.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to expand from 2023 to 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. In 2017, there were more than 56,000 nail salons and 440,000 nail technicians in the United States alone. In 2022 the total turnover of the cosmetics industry in Italy it reached 13.3 billion euros, an increase of 12.1% compared to 2021.
Especially for girls and ladies, having the semi-permanent nail polish redone by the beautician (cost ranging from 35 to 75 euros) has become a widespread practice. The gel polish is applied adhering to the natural nail to be then photopolymetrized by ovens in which the fingers are insertedmore or less covered by protections (today ovens can also cost very little, 15 euros, but there is a wide range of choices).
The products used to perform nail care services contain many toxic and potentially dangerous chemical compounds, including benzene, acetone, toluene, formaldehyde and acrylates, components that are not fully regulated.
It has been found that doing your nails with these gel polishes and UV dryers can cause DNA damage and mutations in cells, all the way to skin cancer. A study published some time ago in the journal Nature Communicationsconfirms the reason for the concerns of dermatologists when they hear about gel manicures.
“Although this report demonstrates that radiation from UV nail polish dryers is cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic,” the study writes, “it does not provide direct evidence for an increased risk of cancer in humans.” But he explains in detail: “Previous studies have shown that increased mutagenesis will likely lead to an increased risk of cancer. Additionally, several anecdotal cases have shown that hand tumors are likely due to radiation from UV dryers for enamel in young women. Taken together, our experimental results and previous evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV nail dryers can cause hand cancers and that UV nail dryers, similar to tanning beds, can increase the risk of early skin cancer early”. Regularly using UV nail polish dryers can lead to skin cancer even if you don’t have deterministic proof.
The researchers exposed the human and mouse cells under UV light, finding that a 20-minute session leads to 20% to 30% of cell death. Exposure from beauticians will certainly be protected but a 100% defense of the skin is not possible.
To this it must be added that several American studies, on the beauty salon workersmainly immigrants and social strata more humble, they explained that the operators suffer chemical exposures that can be compared to those who work in a garage or in an oil refinery or those who work in automotive shops. They are workers who receive little attention but are still exposed, every day, to serious health risks in the workplace.
Even the products sold do not always report the correct percentages. A 2018 study conducted in the State of Michigan found concentrations of toluene (it is classified as a harmful but not mutagenic substance) in excess of 100 parts per billion, which is about 30 times higher than outdoor city levels.
That same year California passed a bill that asks manufacturers to provide ingredient labels on any professionally manufactured cosmetic product after July 1, 2020 and sold in the state. The campaign for this reform in defense of nail salon workers has been largely led by advocacy groups such as the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative.
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