The UV nail polish dryer used for your gel manicure could lead to cancer-causing cell mutations, a new study has found. The correlation between UV radiation and cancer is well known. Studies have shown that most skin cancers are caused by overexposure to UV radiation. It's not just increased exposure to the sun that can cause cancer, but even indoor solutions like tanning beds.

It now appears that the ubiquitous UV nail polish dryer found in nail salons around the world can also have carcinogenic effects. The study, conducted by the University of California San Diego, found that the use of these nail paint dryers can result in "cell death and cancer-causing mutations in human cells." It's a concerning discovery, given that this common salon fixture is considered harmless enough to even be sold on sites like Amazon for $30 or less. According to Ludmil Alexandrov, one of the authors of the study, “If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about.

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Your Gel Manicure Could Be Deadly

Nails drying under a UV lamp
Image: Cottonbro Studio/Pexels

UV nail polish dryers use UV light in the spectrum of 340-395nm, compared to tanning beds which use the 280-400nm spectrum. The study found that using these nail polish dryers for just 20 minutes caused between 20 and 30 percent of cell death, while three consecutive 20-minute sessions resulted in an alarming cell death rate of 65 to 70 percent. The researchers used three different cell lines, two from humans and one from mice.

It's not just the cell deaths that are concerning – the remaining cells also incurred DNA damage and mutations similar to skin cancer patterns in humans. The DNA damage doesn't repair over time, while repeated exposure to the UV nail paint dryers lead to the mutations. The initial research before the study found evidence in medical journals of people who frequently get gel manicures, like beauty pageant contestants, reporting rare types of cancers in the fingers.

At the moment, the results from the study are not definitive enough to issue a public warning about the dangers of UV nail paint dryers, and the researchers estimate that a decades-long study will be required before a conclusive answer can be provided. In the meantime, should you continue getting a gel manicure at your nail salon? “Our experimental results and the prior evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers may cause cancers of the hand and that UV-nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of early-onset skin cancer,” the study says. The good news is that there are plenty of non-cancer causing alternatives to gel manicures, including gel-finish nail polishes that don't require a UV light to dry.

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Source: UC San Diego