“The UV lamp and its light has harmful effects on the skin of the hands.”
Is there anything to be afraid of?
The gel polish manicure is one of the most popular treatments in beauty salons around the world. As its popularity grows, so do questions about the safety of its performance. Unsurprisingly, the constant development of beauty accessories and products has meant that scientists are keeping a close eye on them. The way we live and the number of factors our bodies come into contact with are also changing, so a great deal of research is being done to determine as accurately as possible their impact on our health.
At Inveray, we draw on the expertise of experienced scientists and technologists and follow the latest scientific research. In line with the brand philosophy, we want to offer you the best and safest products possible. That’s why we offer the latest generation UV/LED lamp, as well as a serum with marine bamboo that blocks the penetration of blue light (HEV) and UV-A into the skin of the hands.
However, let’s start with a question that has been breaking records in popularity recently:
Does gel polish manicure cause cancer?
This is all due to a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications entitled “DNA damage and somatic mutations in mammalian cells after irradiation with a nail polish dryer 1 To investigate the cytotoxic effect of UV lamp irradiation, the researchers analysed three cell lines: human skin keratinocytes, human fibroblasts and mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Each cell line was irradiated one, two or three times, with each exposure lasting up to 20 minutes. The study showed that radiation emitted by UV nail lamps can both damage DNA and permanently engrave mutations on mammalian cell genomes.2
“Our experimental results and previous evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV nail lamps can cause hand cancer and that UV nail lamps, like tanning beds, may increase the risk of early skin cancer. Nevertheless, future large-scale epidemiological studies are warranted to accurately determine the risk of hand skin cancer in people who regularly use UV nail varnish lamps. It is likely to take at least a decade to complete such studies and subsequently inform the public.”3
What does this study mean in practice? Is it something so new and surprising?
First of all, it raises awareness of the effects of UV light on the skin of the hands, which has actually been discussed for many years on the subject of skin exposure to sunlight, e.g. in summer when sunbathing. It draws attention to the fact that the nail lamp is an additional emitter of UV-A rays (if it emits this type of light wavelength) that we are dealing with.
Should manicure treatments with light-curing products then be stopped?
We will ask this question in a different way: should you stop leaving the house to avoid the UV radiation from the sun? Of course not, but if you want to protect your skin from the negative effects of this light, you should use the right sunscreen creams.
The same is the case with the use of curing lamps for gel polishes/builder gels. In creating the Inveray brand, we introduced a hand/foot product from the very beginning that should be used during manicure and pedicure treatments to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV-A and HEV radiation. We are talking about the Intensive Rebuilding Serum, which acts as a protective filter and BLOCKS the penetration of HEV (blue light) and UV-A rays into the skin on the hands. The active ingredient responsible for this effect is marine bamboo extract.
Marine bamboo is a plant that grows in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It has developed the ability to protect itself from highly harmful blue light (which penetrates the skin deeper than UV rays and accelerates photoaging). The marine bamboo extract we use in our products has a beneficial influence on skin that is exposed to sunlight and blue light (which is emitted by devices such as smartphones, computers, TV sets or LED lighting). It stops the most harmful radiation from reaching our skin, preventing damage to collagen and elastin fibers, which have an impact on the look of our skin. What is more, marine bamboo has anti-ageing properties, it smoothens and tones the skin and stimulates the production of collagen..
Don’t give up on your manicure! Choose a care manicure with Inveray
By constantly educating ourselves and keeping up to date with the latest research, we can choose products and manicures that will protect our skin from the possible adverse effects of UV-A and HEV radiation.
There is no need to give up getting a manicure, just to remember one rule: I do a gel polish manicure and pedicure – I use an Inveray Intensive Rebuilding that blocks UV-A and HEV penetration into the skin of my hands.
It is similar to a rule that has been used for years: go out in the sun – apply sunscreen.
1,2,3,Source: M. Zhivagui, A. Hoda, N. Valenzuela et al., DNA damage and somatic mutations in mammalian cells after irradiation with a nail polish dryer, Nature Communications 14, 276 (2023)
