One of the most popular ways to get your nails done is now banned in parts of Europe. And an expert says that should give everyone pause. “I was counseling patients or trying to steer them in other directions or alternatives,” said Dr. Farah Moustafa, a dermatologist and the director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.That included Yara, who has been getting gel manicures regularly for about a decade. “I get them done every two or three weeks,” she said. “It makes my nails look very shiny and hardens them. It also lasts longer.”But when she noticed her nails getting really weak, she turned to Moustafa for advice.”She recommended that I stop getting gel nail polish done,” Yara said. Moustafa said she’s been worried about gel manicures for years, before the European Union banned the polish because of a chemical that may raise concerns about fertility. “The ban was based on some animal studies in which rats were fed large quantities of TPO and they were found to have fertility issues, and it was reproductively toxic,” Moustafa said. TPO stands for trimenthylbenzoyl diphenylphoshine oxide — a long name for a chemical agent that allows the nail polish to harden when exposed to UV light. That’s long been the appeal of gel polish: the shiny seal that makes the color last for weeks instead of days. There have been no scientific studies that definitively establish a link between TPO and health risks in humans. And a ban in the United States is seen as unlikely. Moustafa said, the chemical aside, the UV exposure has always worried her when it comes to gel. “The UV exposure is not good for your hands long-term and does increase your risk of skin cancer of the nail bed,” she said. “It’s like a tanning bed for your nails.”Moustafa suggests patients look at the labels before picking their polish or consider alternatives like dip powder or dazzle dry. For Yara, it was enough to make her hit pause, even though she admits she loves gel polish.”I’m going to try my best to stick with it,” she said. “I’ll probably do it occasionally when I have a wedding or something. But for now, day to day, I think I’m going to stick to regular nail polish.”
One of the most popular ways to get your nails done is now banned in parts of Europe. And an expert says that should give everyone pause.
“I was counseling patients or trying to steer them in other directions or alternatives,” said Dr. Farah Moustafa, a dermatologist and the director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
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That included Yara, who has been getting gel manicures regularly for about a decade.
“I get them done every two or three weeks,” she said. “It makes my nails look very shiny and hardens them. It also lasts longer.”
But when she noticed her nails getting really weak, she turned to Moustafa for advice.
“She recommended that I stop getting gel nail polish done,” Yara said.
Moustafa said she’s been worried about gel manicures for years, before the European Union banned the polish because of a chemical that may raise concerns about fertility.
“The ban was based on some animal studies in which rats were fed large quantities of TPO and they were found to have fertility issues, and it was reproductively toxic,” Moustafa said.
TPO stands for trimenthylbenzoyl diphenylphoshine oxide — a long name for a chemical agent that allows the nail polish to harden when exposed to UV light. That’s long been the appeal of gel polish: the shiny seal that makes the color last for weeks instead of days.
There have been no scientific studies that definitively establish a link between TPO and health risks in humans. And a ban in the United States is seen as unlikely.
Moustafa said, the chemical aside, the UV exposure has always worried her when it comes to gel.
“The UV exposure is not good for your hands long-term and does increase your risk of skin cancer of the nail bed,” she said. “It’s like a tanning bed for your nails.”
Moustafa suggests patients look at the labels before picking their polish or consider alternatives like dip powder or dazzle dry.
For Yara, it was enough to make her hit pause, even though she admits she loves gel polish.
“I’m going to try my best to stick with it,” she said. “I’ll probably do it occasionally when I have a wedding or something. But for now, day to day, I think I’m going to stick to regular nail polish.”
