Gel nails can damage your DNA

New research shows that ultraviolet lamps which are used for drying gel nails they can damage the DNA of skin cells with frequent use. It is important to focus on the latter. For people who do this manicure several times a year, it will not be risky. But it is true that it has become fashionable to change more or less every fifteen days, depending on how long the nail has been growing, and here it would be interesting to have some considerations.

There have been other studies in the past that have concluded that these lamps are safe. However, potential damage at the molecular level was not analyzed. For this reason, a group of scientists from UC San Diego put under your light human and mouse cell cultures.

As a result, indeed, some cells die, while others are damaged with signs similar to those cancer. It should be noted that his experiments are not tantamount to the experience of sticking one’s hands into ultraviolet lamp. However, for the authors of the study, they justify conducting epidemiological studies on long lasting effect of gel nails

Is gel nail extensions like sunbathing?

Nowadays, we are finally used to the thought of the importance of using sunscreen to protect our skin from ultraviolet radiation. It is true that the ozone layer, even with its hole, protects us from the most dangerous. However, some of them, which can eventually cause skin cancer if we don’t protect ourselves, continue to seep in.

The same goes for celebrities. solariums. So why has it become fashionable among us to put our hands in a small ultraviolet lamp without asking ourselves if there is any danger in this? Well, the truth is that some scientists have wondered. And their conclusion was that there is no risk. In fact, they are positioned as a safe product. Not only in Beauty Salons. In fact, anyone willing to pay for it can have it at home. The reason is that the UV spectrum of nail gel lamps is different from that of tanning beds. Also, the lamps they contain are less intense. However, a study was published in 2013 that indicated that the radiation dose from these lamps was more than four times that of the sun.

Faced with this tangle of conflicting data, scientists at the University of California, San Diego decided to take a new approach. They won’t focus on the process dry gel nailsand directly analyze the effect of lamps on skin cells.

20 minutes under UV lamp

To conduct this study, its authors took cultures of human and mouse skin cells. Both were placed under ultraviolet lamps for two periods of time. 20 minutes per hour. In addition, they performed this procedure during three days in a row.

So they saw that with two 20-minute sessions, they died. 20% to 30% of cells are exposed. And after three days they succumbed to nothing more, nothing less than 70%. As for those who survived, their DNA was damaged with damage that, in the whole body, could cause skin cancer.

It is important to clarify here that, in general, a gel nail extension session usually does not go beyond only 10 minutesunder an ultraviolet lamp. In addition, they are not continuous, but are performed in small doses, with rest breaks. And never three days in a row.

For this reason, even the authors of the study insist that it cannot be guaranteed that this type of manicure is dangerous. Yes, it’s true, as explained in Scientific Alertone of the authors of the study, Maria Zhivagiwho regularly got gel nails decided to stop going to the nail salon when she saw the results.

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Doubts about gel nails at the epidemiological level

Despite the differences from the usual procedure for applying gel nails, these scientists believe that they should be done long-term epidemiological studies. That is, for a while, keep an eye on people who regularly get this manicure to see if they get skin cancer.

There are two cases reported in 2009 where women no family history got skin cancer while doing gel nails regularly. However, it is impossible to determine whether this was a mere coincidence. It would be necessary to conduct a study with a large number of people in order to Try to find a correlation.

There should be no panic at this point but it is true as prevention is better than cure, those with gel nails are advised put sunscreen on your fingers. Although it is not designed for this, its purpose is UV protection, so it can be useful. This is especially recommended for those who do this every two weeks, although anyone who is about to put their hands in a UV lamp can take this precaution. It’s not worth the trouble, it’s not risky, and it certainly can be of great benefit. It used to be said that in order to shine, you have to suffer. This is a saying that should be thrown away in absolutely every sense, but especially in this one.