To gel or not to gel? One woman’s journey.
It started on Facebook, as many first-world tragedies do. It was 2010. One moment I was staring in half-focus at the organic burrito a friend says is the best thing she’s ever eaten. An instant later, I snapped to attention. Former fearless EIC of EcoSalon, Sara Ost, had posted a picture of the Manicure to End All Manicures. Her colorful nails looked like they had each been individually sculpted by DaVinci—they were uniform, strong, and bold.
Who did your nails, NASA? I texted Sara. She replied, mysteriously: It’s a gel.
A gel manicure. This was the first time I had heard of such a thing, and I was completely hooked. A gel polish, also known as a shellac, is best described a nail polish on steroids. Gels dry quickly, don’t smudge, and last much longer than a regular manicure.
I have yet to indulge in a gel. Instead, I’ve spent much of my time with my nose pressed up against the windows of nail salons, staring lovingly at the perfect parade of nails like Gwyneth Paltrow stares at gluten-free scones. Though I covet the look of gel-perfect nails, I can’t bring myself to get them.
And here’s why.
Chemicals and Cancer
Could the perfection of the gel be toxin-free? I was dubious. Curious to learn about a safer gel manicure, I contacted several less-toxic nail polish companies that are “3-free,” meaning they are free of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene and formaldehyde. While none of the lines carried a gel, not one would go on record to comment on them.
Does this mean there’s a great conspiracy theory about the toxicity of gels? No, but it did make me suspicious that they weren’t the cleanest tool in the makeup shed. Dr. Susan Taylor is a dermatologist who recently investigated gel manicures. She reports that gel polish may contain methyl acrylate, which can cause contact dermatitis. Further, cancer-causing butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA) is also found in some gels.
If You Gel: Ask your nail technician about the gel ingredients and proceed according to your comfort level.
Your Personalized Hand-Tanning Bed
Gel manicures often require that the user sit with her hands under a UV lamp for an extended period of time to set the nails. Do you want your hands to look like they belong on a New Jersey reality TV show doing Jell-O shots? Probably not.
Dermatologists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Texas Medical School recently presented an article on nails lamps. According to the Washington Post, “It appears that exposure to UV nail lights is a risk factor for the development of skin cancer; however, this observation warrants further investigation.” Others say the research is flawed.
If You Gel: Use sunscreen for your trip to the nail lamp. Sure, studies are conflicted, but is it really so hard to slather on some safe sunscreen? Your nail technician will probably even rub it on your hands for you.
Acetone, Be Thy Slayed
To remove a gel polish, fingers or sometimes, entire hands are soaked in acetone for 10 to 15 minutes. As the Washington Post shares, some technicians use “acetone-soaked cotton pads inside Band-Aid like wraps for removal.” In other words, get comfortable with acetone.
When I was in high school, I had to collect bugs for a science project. A classic Tracy Flick-style student, I was out hunting big bugs in a cornfield like Teddy Roosevelt in the Rockies. How I was instructed to kill the doomed insects? I sealed them in a glass jar with a tissue soaked in nail polish remover, aka acetone.
But the bugs have gotten their karma revenge on me. Because now, whenever I strip my nails of polish, I might as well be looking at the ghosts of laughing dead bugs buzzing around my fingers. Skin Deep gives acetone a rating of a “3”, a “Fair,” which means that its risk is between low to moderate. For some, that’s likely safe enough. For me, it means the bugs have won forever.
If You Gel: Only soak your fingertips in acetone, and don’t let the technician soak your entire hand. Since acetone is very drying, make sure you moisturizer as much as possible to avoid brittle nails.
photo credit: trec_lit via photopin cc