THINKING ABOUT GEL POLISH? YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY THIS HAPPENS [ALLERGIC REACTIONS & OVEREXPOSURE]

Allergic reactions caused by overexposure are getting more and more common. Everyone who uses gel polish should know how to lower the risk of it happening (IT'S POSSIBLE!)
Please read his this important article

Check out IKON.IQ brand for hypoallergenic products. Very trusted source, very knowledgeable about skin allergies in regards to gels

Can we be allergic to acetone?
Our bodies actually make acetone.
The chemical structure of acetone doesn’t trigger the immune response largely because acetone is found naturally in our body as a by-product of food metabolism.
It would NOT be good to for our bodies to become allergic to something that is naturally found in our bodies.
Only certain kinds of substances can trigger allergic reactions.
Acetone and all of its closely related chemical cousins don’t cause allergic reactions, because they don’t have the proper chemical composition and shape.
Acetone can cause skin dryness, which some misinterpret as allergy. Skin dryness and flaking is likely only skin “irritation”, which is different from an “allergy”.
Doug Schoon, Author of Nail Structure and Product ChemistryOur bodies actually makes acetone.
The chemical structure of acetone doesn’t trigger the immune response largely because acetone is found naturally in our body as a by-product of food metabolism.
It would NOT be good to for our bodies to become allergic to something that is naturally found in our bodies.
Only certain kinds of substances can trigger allergic reactions.
Acetone and all of its closely related chemical cousins don’t cause allergic reactions, because they don’t have the proper chemical composition and shape.
Acetone can cause skin dryness, which some misinterpret as allergy. Skin dryness and flaking is likely only skin “irritation”, which is different from an “allergy”.
Doug Schoon, Author of Nail Structure and Product Chemistry

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::: MANICURE CLASS WITH ANNA (BASIC TOOLS + EFILE) NAIL TECH VERSION:::

[lauraeliseblanchette-wrigh]

Oh my goodness Thank you so much for addressing this problem . During the pandemic I got into doing my own nails and I had no idea this could happen. I was creating all kinds of beautiful nails I was trying to break into this as a hobby passion of mine invested so much money time and unfortunately I developed an allergic reaction . Not knowing what was happening I kept re exposing myself . Finally went to dermatologist realized I had an allergic reaction . Then I began researching into products and investing more into products I thought I could maybe use and the problems persisted. Now I’ve decided to just take a break from all nail products until I can properly heal again my natural nail beds . It’s getting better slowly but I thank you so much for addressing this because about a year ago there weren’t any videos about this topic in-fact it was very difficult to find anyone to discuss the issue. Now I’m starting to see more and more people come forward addressing this issue. So thank you again . I’ll let you know how I do I’ve decided not to enhance or use anything for at least six months l. Not even press ons with regular glue as I seemed to be able to tolerate a bit better . Anyhow I’ll definitely check back and let you how I am . ❤️Praying things will get better and I’ll be able to find a product I can eventually work with .

[artisticagi]

12:00 led bulb lamp curing gel vs traditional uv bulb
14:50 how they determine if it’s cured
17:00 wipe the uncurled layer off with 90% alcohol

[mitnehmerrippe]

I just wanted to make a small addition: there is no amount of low exposure or level of curing of gel that will protect you 100% from developing an allergy to acrylates (on top of no level of exposure ever being safe again once sensitized, of course). A well-cured gel just reduces the risk. A badly cured product makes it *more* likely by increasing the number of pathways and size of exposed skin area that these acrylates can contact to cause an immune response *somewhere* - but there’s still so many ways it can happen even in a fully cured gel, and not just from soaking it off or filing it off into dust and that dust settling on your skin, even if those make it so much more likely due to increase of contact surface.

Even a fully cured (and properly cured) acrylate that’s not currently being removed can cause allergies - hence why people with properly cured gel nails don’t necessarily get allergies around the nail as the contact pathway in that area is made less possible from solidifying the product, but they can still get acrylate allergy just as much on other areas of the body that touch the fully cured gel. That’s for example allergic eczema on their eyelids from rubbing their eyes with their fully cured nails, or their lips when they put Vaseline on them with their gel nails (Vaseline being a hypoallergenic material that almost no-one reacts to, so not a likely culprit at all), or eczema on their ears from putting their hair back behind their ears so many times a day with their gel nails etc.

Hell, allergic eczema of the ear canal is so common nowadays because surprise, those in ear earplugs many people use to listen to music or use as a headset since the rise of portable music players and modern multimedia phones? Contain acrylates! Responsible producers like apple will tell their customers about the acrylates in their headphones on their website so you don’t end up accidentally messing up your ear canal if you already know you have that allergy, and not all acrylates are the same risk, but every contact can cause a new development of an allergy anyways. That is to say: your headphones are most likely better hardened than your gel nails and can still give you allergies; so don’t ever dismiss the posssibility of a newly developing allergy to gels on the basis that they’ve been properly cured.

Also, as a side note: if you do have a known acrylate allergy, you want to tell this to your dentist as well. There are modern tooth fillings made from acrylates and an acrylate allergy can lead to repeat/chronic lip inflammation, inner mouth and tongue sores as well as inflamed gums if gums touch the filling in those cases. Not all acrylates are equal (having an allergy to one doesn’t mean you’ll be allergic to all hundreds upon hundreds that there are in use, and the ones used at a dentist are usually very different and way less allergenic from the ones you use on your nails!), but your dentist should know regardless just to monitor for signs - because like Anna said, an allergy to one acrylate increases your chance of getting sensitised to even more things, including other acrylates.

[CAEO]

I have had allergic reactions to hair dye in the past, which just got worse every time I dyed my hair. I also tried all the natural, more gentle dyes as well. The very last time I dyed my hair (2 year’s ago) my body started to go into anaphylactic shock. If I hadn’t of taken a large dose of anti-histamine before my appointment with the hairdresser, I would have ended up in hospital. All allergies need to be taken seriously, including allergies on our nails. Thank you Anna, for shinning light on this subject. Love your channel 😊

[thatssopinky]

I just recently found a way to do press on's with my extremely sensitive nail allergy.

Background:
After 10 years of getting acrylics, I became allergic (I found out in 2017). My allergy has progressively got bad. I cannot get acrylics of any kind (no polygel or dip powder), gel polish, press on nails (allergic to the nail glue), and most recently found out that I can't get lash extensions- and I found out the hard way by ending up in the ER. I also can't even get a pedicure b/c I can't even be in the same salon where people are getting acrylics or using gel polish because I developed an allergy to the particles in the air and inhaling them (and I went in with a mask during COVID).

I was SO hopeless because I can't do anything "girly". I actually found and tested a method that uses nail guards to cover and protect the nail, to which I had NO reaction to and found a way to do press on's and make them last (2-3 weeks!). Key here is to not allow it to touch your skin or nail without the barrier PLUS take your time doing it. I recommend the nail guards for anyone who is also not allergic and just gets their nails done regularly, to prevent an allergy from forming and to protect their natural nails.

Things needed:
- Nail File
- Acetone/nail dehydrator
- Cotton Balls/Cotton Pads
- Orly Bonder (Rubberized Coat) or any bonder of your choice (some bonders have acrylates in them so check ingredients to ensure they don't. Orly does not contain any acrylates of any kind)
- Dashing Diva Nail Guard Kit (this is optional, please see more in Things to know section below- bought at Sally's or Online on their website. I believe Amazon also has them as well)
- Nail adhesive tabs (I like the Kiss Tab To Go Super Adhesive Tabs)
- Nail Glue of your choice (I like Kiss brand but I also saw that Dashing Diva also has the Fast Bond nail glue that I heard was good too)
- Press on nails of your choice

Steps:
1) Slightly buff nails with nail file. Also, slighty buff the inside of the press on nails too (the area that matches up to where it will go on over the nail)
2) Dehydrate nails with acetone and cotton pad/cotton ball. Do the same with the press on nails where it will go over your natural nail.
3) Use 2 coats of Orly Bonder over each of your nails. Ensure that it dries fully. 1 coat for me did not cut it or create that rubbery base coat that I needed.
4) Apply a strip of Dashing Diva Nail Guards to your nail. One side will stick to your nail, the other side will NOT be sticky. File down as needed to fit your nail.
5) This is where the adhesive tabs come in- apply the adhesive tab to your nail. I try to focus it on the middle, as they usually do not cover the entire nail for me.
6) On top of the Adhesive tab, apply a tiny dot (not even a full drop) of nail glue in the middle of the adhesive tab/nail, ensuring that it does not touch your skin, the cuticle, or would spill over your nail onto your skin. Let the drop sit for a second and slightly get tacky so it doesn't move a lot when you press the nail down.
7) Apply the nail on top of the adhesive tab with the tiny drop of glue. Press and hold the nail for about 30 seconds.

THINGS TO KNOW:
• I RECOMMEND DOING A PATCH TEST BY DOING 1 to 2 NAILS AND WAITING ABOUT 24 HOURS TO SEE IF YOU GET A REACTION. YOU WILL NEED TO APPLY THIS VERY CAREFULLY AND AVOID GETTING PRODUCT ON YOUR SKIN, AS YOU SHOULD WITH ALL NAIL PRODUCTS.
• Optional: After applying your Orly rubber based coat, you can apply one tiny micro drop of nail glue on your nail and then the adhesive tab over it to secure the tab to the nail. Ensure that if you use the nail glue, it goes in the middle of your nail and is a TINY drop (I mean like micro) so that it does not come in contact with your skin or cuticles. However, I would recommend patch testing with this method.
• The Dashing Diva Nail Guard contains acrylates copolymer. Most people are allergic to the monomers as opposed to the copolymer- if I am not mistaken and based on what I read, the copolymer is the finished version of it as opposed to the monomer which is the unfinished version of it (I am in no way a chemist nor scientist so please read up and don't quote me, lol). There are a lot of products that we use that contain acrylates copolymer (lipstick, mascara, eyeliner, skin care products, sun screen and even some popular face washes- I searched the ingredients of my face washes and most of them had them in there!).
EWG (Environmental Working Group) has information on acrylate copolymer and will rate and list all products that contain it here:
• I tend to do my press on nails at night, after I clean and shower to ensure that they have plenty of time to set over night without getting wet, having to wash your hands and do too much moving. They last WAY longer that way.
• I like to prep my hands by exfoliating them about an hour or 2 before and moisturizing my hands with a good cream or lotion (like CeraVe) and giving it time to set into my skin to create a good barrier. I have even heard of some people soaking their hands in olive oil and then washing them to balance out the moisture. Prepping your hands is a must.
• If you don't want to do all of the steps above, you can just do the prep, apply the bonder, adhesive tab, and drop of nail glue on the adhesive tab and then the press on nail. That method worked good and the nail lasted me over 2 weeks as well, I wash dishes everyday and of course, shower, and bathe my kids. The nail didn't come loose at all. The dashing diva strips really protect the nail though.

I hope this helps those of you who are in desperate need to be girly again and be able to get your nails done! Also, I hope this helps a nail tech who has a client that comes across the same issues I did. I am considering making a video covering this and going over all of the steps.

[CNT.]

This video was very good to watch, thank you! I would like to do natural manicures like you do on your channel instead of gel at home since the only training I have is from watching YT. I have a few issues in the past from natural mani that I would like to ask about:
1. Yellowing nails. The natural polish always makes my nails yellow colored even with non yellowing top coat and then I’m embarrassed of the stain. I don’t want to buff it off every time and thin my nail.
2. Longevity lasts 1-3 days. I am a healthcare provider and wash my hands way more often than a regular person. All this water exposure can create lots of chips on a fresh mani by the end of a long day.
3. Nail break age. My nails grow when they have a hard layer protecting them otherwise they easily break frequently. They seem to be thin, flexible and peel sometimes. Hardeners make them completely crumble so I’ve learned never to use them.
The only thing I can think of is to keep them very short and possibly covered with a protective coat of natural polish as your own nails are and seen in your natural nail videos. I like a small amount of length just past my finger tips to elongate and look elegant however these are some issues that have stopped me. Any advice and thoughts? Thanks so much! ❤

[dikulaa]

I started getting those blisters on my fingertips and after researching i believed I had some sort of eczema. Then i did my nails and more blisters showed up and thats when i started researching allergic reactions to manicures and here we are. Had no idea this was possible thank you for your video!

[carolw]

Hi Anna, I love your videos and ironically my interest in nail care all started when I was diagnosed with a nail polish allergy. I had a skin patch test done by a board certified dermatologist and discovered I am allergic to tosylamide epoxy resin which is often found in many “air dry” nail polishes, such as Dazzle Dry, many OPI and Essie products (but not all) plus many more brands especially in the base coats. For example Essie Expressie does not have it but their original line does. One must read the labels carefully if allergic to a particular ingredient. So I would highly encourage anyone who suspects they may have an allergy to nail polish of any kind should get patch tested. They will also test for many other common allergens including many gel polish ingredients. Insurance should cover this type of testing.

[samanthamillard]

Seeing these pictures confirms what I suspected— I’m allergic to the dip polish I was getting. It took a few applications for the allergy to fully develop and for me to figure it out. The nail techs never acknowledged that it was happening or suggested what might have caused it. I can actually do gel (at the salon) but my nails suffer if I do it too many times in a row. So I appreciate the great information you have and am taking much better care of the skin around my nails now. Thankfully I don’t think I have permanent damage.

[Kiki_CraftsUk]

Anna, I love you for making this video. A friend of mine had a reaction to gel polish and was told it was herpes virus (😱) and had this happen three times before she gave up gel polish altogether.
More people need to be aware of this issue and I thank you for putting it out there ❤️

[atouch]

I will forever love you for creating this video. This exact thing happened to me, and you explained it so eloquently and easy to understand. I so appreciate you giving us the hard truth because Omgoodness gel polishes have been so beautiful, but I definitely got to the point where it hurt just to pick up or hold things and it finally hit me how serious this was. Took the gel off and it finally slowly started to dissipate. Thank you again, this video is a life changer on gel polishes. Sad but needed bubble bursting 😢😅.

[christinesmith]

Just to add my experience….I had gel nails for a few years, never used anything but Shellac but I eventually had this same reaction. I asked if the lifting could be from Shellac and was told “no, she’d never seen it.” I assumed the itching and blisters were from an unclean instrument but always wondered. Stopped doing Shellac after it happened a second time. So glad to have my suspicions confirmed. I’m sad not to be able to have gel nails anymore because my nails are so full of ridges but grateful to know for sure that it’s not worth the risk. THANK YOU!!!
I’ve watched your video on ridge fillers but if you could do any more to research the most effective (and safe) ones I could use with regular polish I’d really appreciate it.
THANK YOU again for your wonderful channel and help! 🥰

[emmasmith]

Thank you for this video, I'm trained and use professional products but have unfortunately encountered this when trying to save myself some money :( For anyone trying to recover from this:

- Stop using all harsh chemical and nail products
- Trim the nails as short as possible to avoid further damage
- Use quality nail oil and moisturiser religiously
- If you have any doubt of an infection see a doctor!

Treat your nails like open wounds, they are incredibly susceptible to infection!

[susanm]

Thank you for your honesty and professionalism. I use only a gel base under regular polish, but I am going to now invest in a CND lamp and CND base, to avoid potential issues. Thank you, Anna! today using your affiliate link, of course!!!

[rosasduftsucht]

Thank you so much for talking about this ❤️

I had a very very bad allergic reaction a few years ago after I ignored itchy nails and a few little blister and was just switching the products for new brands. After months and a lot of gel experiments later I was finally allergic to every gel nail product under the sun and even some resin based superglues and crafting UV-resin. And my last allergic reaction was so bad, that my hole fingers were bloody and peeling almost to the Palm of my hands. I need to search for old pictures to send to you, so you can show people how much worse it will get if you just keep going.

Please do Not ignore those warning signs, it is Not worth the risk!
And thx again for sharing this, if I would have Seen this a few years ago it would have saved me so much pain and money!

[michelleisabel]

I’m just starting to watch but so glad you are covering this . I have gone through this numerous times in my life, acrylics, bio sculpture, dip powder, gel polish - at salons. Not the salons fault at all, I’m just super allergic. Last summer was the worst - my nails were in way worse shape than hers and I was afraid they would be deformed forever. I had to go 4 months with nothing on them and it took until January before they were finally grown out and strong again. Now I just polish them at home myself with Vinylux and they actually look prettier natural than they did with extensions. Looking forward to the rest of the video.

[Elizabeth-xijx]

Thank you so much for this video! Great information. I am a regular user of traditional nail polish and some friends and family had been encouraging me to try gel- I think I'll stick to lacquer :). I also know from courses I took in college that at least in the United States, cosmetics fall into a strange legal gray area. They are not foods or drugs, so their ingredients are simply not regulated. Even disclosure of ingredients or warnings about health hazards are not required for this category of products. We should all be very cautious- thank you for the warnings and for sharing photos of what this can look like :0

[giu.m]

I had this happen to me. Before the pandemic I did a “course” on how to do gel polish on yourself and thought I knew most things I needed to to start doing it on myself, so I started doing it. During the pandemic I started doing my nails more regularly and I developed this type of allergic reaction. Thankfully I went to the dermatologist and she prescribed a cream and I stopped using gel polish. I’ve tried doing my nails again after two years and the allergy appeared again. I even went to a salon that used different products and got the allergy again. I obviously stopped using them. But then tried doing my friends nails with two or even three gloves on and I still got the allergy!!! I finally got rid of the products and will never use gel polish again. Kinda sad because I loved it, but I’m thankful that I caught it early and didn’t get any permanent scars or problems. I loved the dedication you put into this video and how well you explained everything! I wish I had seen this earlier, had no clue! This needs to go viral!!! 🤍

[allisone]

Thank you Anna for all your advocacy work to help protect us from poor practice.

I was so against gel and acrylic and their processes and then circumstances led me to begin going to a new salon and using gel.

I guess you could say, my work in the garden and home means I’m quite hard wearing on my nails and in order for the nail not to split horizontally, I ended up with hard gel and not even realising the consequences. This was never explained to me! I guess I’m frustrated that the technician didn’t tell me how it would be removed if I wanted to stop - I guess she thought I wouldn’t stop.

I’ve tended to go for a dark colour and then when the polish and builder gel was removed, I was shocked how dirty my nails were, even though I would use a nail brush several times a day. Then in order to get the dirt out, my now softer nails would split whilst I cleaned them in the salon and so the never ending hard gel process would continue.

I had the hard gel removed last week as I wanted to go back to natural nails. My nail plate is scratched and the free edge is white, so I guess there’s some separation?

I’m now using a natural polish brand that describes itself as containing natural ingredients, I’m in the UK. I can share details of this brand and/or ingredients, if you wish? I’d be glad to know your thoughts on the ingredients.

I’ve been using CND oil, Vaseline and Neutrogena hand and nail cream for the last week, all of which I already have, but due to binge-watching your channel, I’ve ordered jojoba oil, wheat germ oil and cerave lotion and a glass cuticle remover. I already use a glass file. I’m keen to use an oil that can penetrate regular nail polish through to the nail bed.

Apart from the scratched nail bed and a little hardness of the sidewalls, the condition of my proximal nail fold is ok, but I know I’m going to have to wait up to 6 months for the nails to grow out in order for the nails to get back to how they were before I started using gel every 3 weeks since last November.

The last 6 months is a reminder to me never having gel or acrylics again 😳

I love your channel, it is so helpful. Thank you for all you do 😘

[rebeccag]

I am really enjoying these SOLO videos. Your experience and vast knowledge really shine through. I don't mind the length of the video when you discuss these somewhat difficult problems in such a serious and caring manner. You are the real star of The Salon Life.