Are nail lamps carcinogenic?

• 2 min reading time

It seems to come back every few years and now it's that time again. For the umpteenth time, all kinds of nonsense is being spread about nail lamps. This time based on an American 'research'. And unhindered by any knowledge, all kinds of websites blindly copy this incorrect information and scaremongering. Logical, because such a headline simply attracts more visitors to your site than 'UV lamps not harmful to health'.

What's wrong with this nail lamp research?

I just put the word research in quotation marks, because it shouldn't even be called a study. These so-called researchers didn't test the most commonly used lamps, nor a number of different lamps. No, they tested 1 specific lamp, with a wattage that is not standard. Why they specifically chose this lamp is unclear. Maybe they wanted a bad result?

It seems like it, because to be sure that they would get bad results, they kept the hands under this lamp for 20 minutes without stopping, a total of 60 minutes, spread over 3 days. Normally your hand is never in the lamp for longer than 1 minute without stopping. This so-called research is therefore not to be taken seriously at all. But then again, those researchers probably also want visitors to their website.

Doug Schoon

Studies that have been conducted seriously (including by Massachusetts General Hospital, Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and Doug Schoon) show that exposure to UV light remains well within the maximum daily limits. It also showed that the risk of skin cancer is many times lower than with exposure to sunlight. You would have to go to the nail salon every week for 250 years to get the same exposure as with a (low-risk) UV treatment for psoriasis. In short, nothing to worry about!

If you want to read more about the sense and nonsense that is spread about nail products, then follow Doug Schoon. He has a lot of knowledge and is really the guru when it comes to scientific research regarding cosmetics.

Misunderstanding about UV and LED.

LED is not a type of light, it is a type of lamp. And there are also LED lamps that are made to emit UV light. This type of LED lamp is used in nail lamps. So whether you have a UV lamp, an LED lamp or a combined UV/LED lamp, they all emit UV light, no exceptions.

In fact, LED nail lamps give off more UV light than traditional nail lamps. That’s why they harden nail products faster. In terms of UV exposure, it doesn’t really matter; they give off more UV light, but you don’t have to hold your hand in it as long.

All in all, all these articles are scaremongering. Clickbait, fake news, nonsense.

So keep going to the nail salon or keep applying a layer of gel polish to your own nails. As long as you follow the manufacturer's instructions, you don't have to worry.

Source: Doug Schoon