Can gel manicures lead to skin cancer? #shorts #science #SciShow

Should you be wearing sunscreen when you do your nails? It turns out that if you wear gel nail polish, the lamps that cure your mani give off UV light, just like the sun. So while we don't know for sure if it's enough to cause problems, throwing on a little SPF is never a bad idea.

Hosted by: Savannah Geary (they/them)

Emma Dauster: Writer
Kelly Hills: Fact Checker
Amy Peterson: Script Editor
Faith Schmidt: Videographer
Stefan Chin: Script Supervisor
Savannah Geary: Editor, Associate Producer
Daniel Comiskey: Editorial Director
Sarah Suta: Producer
Caitlin Hofmeister: Executive Producer
Hank Green: Executive Producer

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[duncanbryson]

Separate but related. I was burnt on a beach despite being under a parasol. It was the side of my torso that got it. It took me a minute to realise that the sand caused it. The grains of sand had been acting like thousands of mini reflectors 😢

[_rrwwcox]

As others have said, the soaking, washing, and solvents used to prep the nails would certainly remove any sunscreen. And any sunscreen that got on the nails during the process would likely ruin the polish, so sunscreen isn't a viable solution. Maybe some kind of guard that shields the skin while exposing the nail would work...?

[qwitchyy]

They make little fingertip-less gloves for this that can mitigate at least some damage!

[AmandaTroutman]

They make you wash your hands before the gel application... so even if you did, you'd have to reapply after washing your hands but they'd likely balk at the extra oil being on the nail....

So don't get gel manis frequently.

[yuvalne]

Finally, some good coverage of that research. I've seen so much panic surrounding it, and much less talk about the fact they used a super strong lamp and a 20 minute at a time exposure (it's usually ~5 per session, and even less with such a strong lamp).

[Darkwiccawillow]

If that study is the one I’m thinking of then; their study methodology was beyond flawed. The first of many problems was they used a lamp with highest wattage they could find. They also exposed the skin cells to a CONSTANT hour under the lamp, gave them an hour long break then did another constant hour under the lamp. They did that whole thing for 3 DAYS IN A ROW! 😡

How it works in real life, not biased studies, is one coat of polish = 1 min under the lamp. Unless you are getting/doing some intricate nail art your hand is going to be under the light for 5 or less mins. Gel manicures are meant last for 2 weeks. I don’t even use Gel polish but that study really makes me angry. I have zero problems with this short though 😊

[Annie_Annie__]

When it comes to gel nail polish in a salon, I don’t know if sunscreen would work well given all the hand washing.

But I work with UV resin and I always either put sunscreen from my hands up to my elbows, or I wear long sleeves with black nitrile gloves any time I’m working with the resin or, especially, the UV lights.

I also take care not to point the lights toward my face, and when it’s left on for a bit, I put a kitchen towel over the lamp to block the light.
If I need an indicator for when it’s done, I either set a timer on my phone or use a reflection from the lamp rather than the light itself.

Gotta protect skin _and_ eyes.

[massimookissed]

Time for California to slap a sticker on it.

[Livetoeat]

How are you supposed to put sunscreen on your fingers when your fingers are dipped and wiped and rubbed the whole time by the time you get your nails completed, you can't put it on then either, so what are you talking about?

[PirateFrodoPotter]

Me, watching this while my (regular nail polish) manicure dries: 👀

[Francescadbg]

I’ve only done it once but they wash your hand prior to them doing anything.

[amberroark-steen]

I was worried when I saw this video in my feed because I looked at that study and was a little disappointed in the way they made it sound- obviously UV rays aren’t good for you, but the lamp they used was not typical of most nail salons and their exposure time was 10 times what actually happens during a normal manicure. But this is why I love sci show! Accurate and sensible. 😄

[analargaespada]

Well, good thing I use sunscreen daily no matter it’s grey or if I’m going out. Sunscreen is underrated. USE IT!

[dltabrav]

60 seconds under a UV lamp is not the same as hours under the sun...😂

[BlueRoseFaery]

I’m very sensitive to UV and I can’t stand gel manicures. I got a little curing lamp & some gel polish from Amazon because I love painting my nails but they don’t last long. I couldn’t use it without my fingers feeling like they were on fire, I tried open finger gloves & sunscreen but it didn’t help much. So I’m not surprised by this at all.

[theladycata]

I recently got a gel manicure for the first time and I got worried when I started itching because I thought the lamp was somehow burning me. Eventually I realized it was my literal sun allergy reacting to the UV, which I hadn’t considered before it happened. I’m still not too worried about the amount of exposure from a manicure, but it’s interesting to realize how similar those lamps are to tiny suns

[scottnunnemaker]

I mean probably, just about everything can lead to cancer

[Vintagesonic]

Wait, sun screen is to prevent skin cancer? I've always thought it was to avoid getting burnt.

[Enne-]

How often is "frequent gel manicures"??

[Seasonal_Soundscapes]

I stopped getting gel manicures once I started noticing more brow spots appearing on one of my fingers. One was near by knuckle but the next was on the side close to the nail. I figured it wasn’t worth the potential risk and just stick to regular nail polish instead of I want to pain my nails now