Published on July 30, 2014

Who doesn’t love getting their nails done, but every gel manicure comes with a price. Evidence suggests that use of UV lights to dry regular or gel polish can increase your chances of getting skin cancer. While, some say that use of UV light during manicures won’t cause cancer. Those of you are concerned about excessive exposure to UV should apply sunscreen to their hands. Or opt for nail salons that use LED lights as you don’t have to put your hands under them for a long time.

Certain salons use nail polish that contain cancer-causing chemicals like butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA), dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde. These chemicals are believed to be cancer causing agents, thus make sure you read the label carefully.

Gel manicures involve filing down the nail and an unskilled nail technician can cause nerve damage. Ensure that your nails are in the hands of an experienced and skilled nail technician.

It is extremely easy to get an infection in a nail salon, considering the scrubbing and buffing of nails done in there. Many health experts advice against getting one’s cuticles cut in a nail salon as it increases the risk of infection. Thus, either take your own nail file and buffing tools to salon or ensure that equipments used by the salon are cleaned after every use.

We all have had days where going to the salon seems tedious and we end up peeling our nail polish off. However, this practice can harm your nail plate and can cause infection.

Using acetone to remove gel polish can weaken nails as it is a harsh chemical. Thus avoid using acetone as much as possible.