• Behold: The third installment of Ask Our Beauty Director. This month, WH Beauty Director Brian Underwood is addressing the scary connection between gel manicures and cancer.
• New research raises alarming concerns that UV-emitting nail dryers can cause cell mutations consistent with skin cancer.
• Top dermatologists answer all of your questions about this buzzy topic, including what you can do to keep your nails polished and minimize your risk.
  

Antiperspirants that cause Alzheimer’s, hair treatments that up your cancer risk, sunscreen ingredients that enter your blood stream and potentially mess with your hormones. Alarming headlines like these are enough to make anyone freak out—and swear off cosmetics and beauty treatments altogether.

Now, a recent study has shined a spotlight on another oft-debated topic: Can frequent gel manicures increase a person’s risk of cancer? The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that the UV-emitting lamps used to “cure” gel polish may cause cell damage that can lead to skin cancer, adding to a growing body of research suggesting a gel mani-cancer connection. It’s a frightening prospect for sure—and one that many nail aficionados likely have lots of questions about.

Meet Our Experts: Dana Stern, MD, a dermatologist who specializes in nail health and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, Mona Gohara, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University

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For the answers, I turned to three board certified dermatologists who specialize in skin cancer and nail health. Here, they detail what you’ll want to know about this new research and offer sound advice for lowering your risk and keeping your nails as attention-grabbing as you’d like.

How do gel manicures work?

Like any other manicure, a gel follows some basic common principles. Your nails and cuticles are trimmed and groomed to your liking, and a base coat is applied before polish, with a topcoat swiped on after. In between coats of polish, your hands are placed under a UV dryer (many salons now use LED dryers; more on that later) for up to 10 minutes so the color can undergo a curing process, which helps to impart a long-lasting, chip-resistant finish.

The polish itself contains molecules that react with UV and LED light to harden, thus giving gel manicures their renowned staying power. “Soak off gel polish is made of methacrylates, which are able to be cured with UV light, so the molecules link up and form stronger chemical bonds,” says Dana Stern, MD, a dermatologist who specializes in nail health and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. This also means the polish cannot easily be removed at home—most folks head back to the salon after a few weeks to have it professionally taken off, a process that includes soaking nails in acetone and using tools like a scraper or nail drill to send any residual polish packing. As you can imagine, it can be tough on your tips.

How have gel manicures been linked to cancer?

In the recent study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California at San Diego exposed both human and mice cells to UVA radiation from nail dryers for intervals ranging up to 20 minutes and found the exposure led to cell damage consistent with the kind that can lead to skin cancer. The evidence is compelling: “This research essentially provides the data behind the warning that many dermatologists have been giving patients in regard to gel manicures for years,” says Mona Gohara, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University. “We know that UV light causes mutations in DNA repair mechanisms in skin cells, including melanocytes, hence melanoma. The science isn’t new, but it’s the first to confirm that nail dryers can cause damage.”

It’s important to note, though, that the scientists conducted their research on cells in a lab, not living, breathing humans, so the findings aren’t conclusive proof that the effect would be 100% the same in real life. Or, as Stern puts it: “While this report demonstrates that radiation from UV-nail polish dryers is cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic, it does not provide direct evidence for an increased cancer risk in human beings.”

And any rock-solid connection would be tough to prove, says Joshua Zeichner, MD, associate professor of dermatology and director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “The problem is, there are so many individuals all over the country going to nail salons and they’re seeing different dermatologists, so there’s not an easy way to track incidence of skin cancer in salon goers,” he explains. “Plus, we know that exposed hands and forearms are exposed to a lot of UV light anyway—this is an area at a higher risk for skin cancers generally.”

Your own behavior likely also plays a major role in your personal risk, Zeichner adds. “Getting a single gel manicure is probably not going to be that harmful,” says Zeichner. “But if you’re getting one every three weeks for twenty years, that’s different. The problem is, we just don’t have any retrospective studies to find out what the real-world risk is.”

If you can’t give up gels, follow this safety advice

To respond to the growing concern, many salons are opting against dryers with UV-emitting fluorescent bulbs in favor of those with LED light. But Stern is quick to point out this fact doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the clear, as the wavelength discharged by LED lamps is, in many cases, unclear. “LED is often touted to be “safer but most experts agree that UVA light is required to effectively cure gels. Therefore, the light emitted by any light that can cure a UV gel must be in the UVA spectrum, even if it is referred to as an LED device.” In fact, one Australian study measured the radiation emitted by 8 of these so-called LED devices and found that they were all emitting light in the UVA range.

Instead, all our experts recommend the following: Wear fingerless UV-protective gloves and slather your hands in a broad-spectrum sunscreen (make sure it’s water-resistant since manis involve a lot of soaking in water, says Zeichner).

Stern also urges people to be aware that, when combined with UV light, certain medications like doxycycline can increase your risk of sunburn and the lifting or separation of the nails from the nail bed, a condition known as photoonycholysis. “If you plan on getting a gel manicure, ask your doctor if any of your medications can cause photosensitivity or phototoxicity,” she says.

Also, you have other options if you want a manicure with staying power

These days, at-home long-wear polishes are ubiquitous—and the formulas are more advanced than ever (I picked some options for you below). There just make sure to use a base and top coat and to cap your nails (brush a little color on the underside of each tip) to prevent chipping. If you’re looking for a similar salon option, dip powder manicures offer a long-lasting effect with no UV curing, says Stern. (Essentially a colored powder acrylic is mixed with a glue-like resin and then topped off with an activator polish that cures in the air.) A solid—pun intended—alternative, for sure.

4 No-UV Gel Polishes

Essie Gel Setter Top Coat

Brush this on over your favorite shade to make it tough as nails.

OPI Infinite Shine 2 Long-Wear Nail Lacquer

A wearable neutral that promises up to 11 days of chip-free wear.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish

Glossy? Check. Chip resistant? Check? Long lasting? Check. You’ve met your new fave.

Essie Gel Couture 2-Step Longwear Nail Polish

In myriad trendy shades, this polish line also has real staying power.

Brian’s bottom line

I get it—some of you may not way to forgo gels for good. Fair. “Treatments like these can be a pick-me-up that really helps people get through tough times,” Zeichner says. And despite these alarming reports, the United States Food & Drug Administration, which regulates devices meant to dry gel nail polish and artificial nails, considers them to be “low risk” when used as directed.

Still, low risk isn’t no risk. So, if you’re concerned, avoid gels altogether or use some of the mitigation strategies above. I promise, you can have traffic-stopping nails without a side of cancer. It just takes a bit of thoughtful consideration.

Brian Underwood is the beauty director at Women’s Health. He is an award-winning journalist with more than 15 years of experience covering beauty and lifestyle for several national media outlets and previously served as beauty and wellness director at Oprah Daily. His work has appeared in Woman’s Day, Life & Style Weekly, Good Housekeeping, and many more. He also serves as a member of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s gala committee and lives in New York City with his daughter.