Dr. Doris Day - Gel Manicure safety

Gel Manicures safety back in the news after new study shows UVA damage to skin:
1. Pros of UV lamp gel manicures: longer lasting, glossy professional looking manicures.
2. People may not be aware of what UV rays really are, and ow much damage they can do to your skin
3. UV-A rays penetrate deep into the skin and are linked to long term skin damage like skin cancer and wrinkles, but does 5 minutes per nail appointment really make a difference?
4. A brand new study published by Nature sows that just 20 mins of UV-A light exposure can cause severe DNA damage, mitochondrial damage, and cell death in human skin keratinocytes.
5. DNA damage shown by green markers (gammaH2A)
6. Assessment of oxidative DNA damage by green marker (CellROX)
7. Finally this last figure shows how many mutations happen per UV exposure.

The bottom line: Chronic use of UV nail drying lamps is damaging to human cells and may increase the risk of early onset skin cancer and premature aging of the exposed skin. Use protective gloves and consider alternative that don't use UV light for curing the gel. This also applies to the often light used to dry regular nail polish more quickly - let your nails air-dry.