From French tips to glazed doughnuts, shimmering cat eye to high-shine chrome, getting your nails done is the beauty trend that refuses to fade. Gel polish, dip powder, acrylic overlays … whatever the method, the demand for durable, chip-resistant, manicured nails is so strong that salons now often outnumber high street bank branches in the UK.
But behind the glossy finish lies a more complicated story. Last month, the European Union banned TPO – an ingredient that helps gel polish to harden under UV light – after animal studies suggested it could harm fertility or a developing foetus. The UK is expected to follow next year. It’s not the first safety red flag: Hema, another common ingredient, was restricted in DIY nail kits in 2021 after a surge in cases of allergic contact dermatitis, a painful skin condition marked by redness, blistering and swelling. So how safe is a gel manicure? And what can you do to protect yourself?
Just a glance at the social media hashtag #gelallergy will show what an allergic reaction to Hema looks like. “People describe a broad range of symptoms: rashes, pain, blisters, bleeding, itching, changes in sensation in their fingertips,” says Dr Shari Lipner, a dermatologist nail specialist at New York-Presbyterian hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, US. She recently analysed 214 TikTok videos about gel allergies.
The consequences of developing an allergy to these chemicals – known as acrylates – are not necessarily confined to nail products, Lipner says: “Once someone develops an allergy to one acrylate, our immune system often recognises related chemicals, and cross-reactions are common. You could have issues with dental fillings, medical adhesives, joint replacements, insulin pumps or lenses for cataract surgery. You could also react to other cosmetic things. If you want to get false eyelashes or hair extensions, those could also contain acrylates. So it becomes a much bigger problem.”
Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) is a different type of chemical used in some gel nail polishes as a “photoinitiator”, triggering the UV curing process. If TPO does pose a risk, it is the nail salon workers, exposed to it and other photoinitiators day in and day out, who are likely to be the most vulnerable. “While photoinitiators are essential in UV-curable products, there is growing evidence of their potential toxicity,” says Prof Runzeng Liu of Shandong University, China.
His research in Chinese salons found photoinitiator levels in dust were about 100 times higher than in typical indoor environments, and chemicals on technicians’ hands roughly 200 times higher than in the general population. Liu is also concerned about “cocktail effects” from simultaneous exposure to multiple photoinitiators, which may be riskier than any single chemical alone.
Whether the TPO ban is strictly necessary remains debated. “The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety reversed its opinion on TPO, not because of direct evidence of harm in humans, as exposure from nail products is minimal, but because animal studies showed reproductive toxicity at high doses,” says Dr Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, US. She notes that toxic effects in animals occurred only at high oral doses, which is not representative of normal use.
The TPO ban does not outlaw gel manicures, only polishes containing TPO, and safer alternatives are available. “It doesn’t mean people need to stop enjoying their nail services. Instead, it’s a good reminder to find salons that follow best practices including proper curing, good ventilation and trained professionals,” says Dobos.
All the same, there’s the question of enforcement. Scientists at Vito, an independent research organisation in Flanders, Belgium, have developed a test to detect both TPO and Hema, and are increasingly being contacted by companies supplying nail polishes and other products to salons, eager to check whether their imported materials contain TPO. “Especially for raw materials bought outside Europe – which is the majority – the label does not always match the actual contents,” says Jan Jordens, a senior researcher at Vito.
In one case, Jordens’ team found that TPO was deliberately left off the ingredients list when a manufacturer requested a TPO-free material, though testing proved it was still present. In another, a product was labelled as containing TPO, but the supplier insisted it was TPO-free. Testing confirmed the label was wrong.
These inconsistencies could make it hard for European manufacturers and distributors to comply with the TPO ban – even though many are making genuine efforts to do so, says Jordens. He suspects the same problem affects DIY gel nail kits sold online. “It is even harder to control this small packet market, because millions of packets are delivered daily to personal addresses, and customs simply cannot control everything that is coming in.”
The EU and UK’s ban on the sale of Hema-containing nail products outside professional nail salons in 2021 does not seem to have resulted in a drop in allergic reactions. A recent audit by the European Environmental Contact Dermatitis Research Group found that, while only 1-2% of the general population has allergic contact dermatitis severe enough to warrant medical attention, Hema now accounts for roughly 2% of these cases – up from 0.9% in 2016.
And still, millions of people enjoy regular manicures without incident. For most of them, the main downside of a persistent salon habit is simply weak or damaged natural nails.
Removal of gels and acrylics gradually strips away the nails’ keratin layers – protein fibres that give nails their shape and strength and help to protect our fingers from damage and infection. So does filing their surface to help new nails stick.
“Over the long term, if you’re taking away that thickness and telling the body they don’t need to be as thick, it’s not going to ramp up protein production and restore the thickness of the nails,” says Adam Taylor, a professor of anatomy at Lancaster University. “You’re going to end up with brittle, unsightly nails that are not what you were going for in the short term.”
Leaving false nails – which includes gels – on for too long also risks trapping moisture beneath them, creating a breeding ground for fungus or bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa – a bacterium that causes green nail syndrome or “greenies”, characterised by unsightly nail discoloration.
While nail infections are usually relatively minor, they can develop into something more serious, particularly if your immune system is weakened or if you have other conditions such as diabetes. “Any indication of redness, tenderness, swelling, pain in and around the bottom of the nail is a big red flag to get your artificial nails taken off and consult a doctor,” says Taylor.
So what can you do to reduce these risks? Apart from going au naturel, the American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends gels that soak off with acetate rather than hard gels or acrylics that need filing off. They can still leave nails brittle or peeling, but because they flex, your own nails are less likely to crack.
It also suggests choosing salons that use LED lamps rather than traditional UV ones – they harden polish faster and give off lower doses of UV radiation, reducing the risk of skin cancer.
“If you’re putting your hands under UV light, I’d advocate wearing cotton gloves with the fingertips cut off to protect from UV, or at least wear sunscreen – factor 30 or higher,” says Taylor.
Skip cutting your cuticles, which act as a natural barrier against fungi and bacteria. Also consider giving your nails breaks between treatments to allow them to recover.
Lipner advises caution rather than complete avoidance, although she does avoid gels and acrylics herself, saying she’s “risk averse”. “I don’t think people need to skip nail polish entirely, but both salon and at-home kits carry some risks, so I advise my patients to consider them with their eyes wide open.”
Pick a salon where the technicians are wearing gloves, and you can see their training certificates, Lipner suggests. “You should also be asking some important questions: are your technicians trained in doing gel nails? Are your lamps new? Are they maintained?”
At home, follow instructions carefully, avoid skin contact, and watch out for adverse reactions: “If there’s redness, itching or peeling around the nails, that’s a red flag,” says Lipner.
As we talk over a video call, I glimpse a flash of red, perfectly shaped nails. She laughs: “It’s just regular nail polish.” But it serves as a quiet reminder: there are safer alternatives.
