Is Your Manicure Healthy?
My grandmother always used to say that the most important thing you could do to feel glamorous was to have painted nails and wear a bit of lippy. While I think she’d be a bit bewildered by the array of different manicure options around today, she certainly wasn’t wrong. But what are the risks of getting your nails done in the salon?
What Type of Manicure is Healthiest?
Classic Nail Polish
Image: @jinsoon
Pros: Least Damaging
Cons: Doesn’t Last as Long
Regular polish has largely fallen out of favour in recent years because it doesn’t last nearly as long as other options, but it is undoubtedly the safest option when it comes to modern manicures.
The biggest thing to watch out for is rough pushing or cutting of the cuticles during an in-salon treatment. This can cause inflammation of the skin around the nail, and leave you open to infection.
Something else to consider is the ingredients in your nail polish. Most major brands you’ll find in Australia are safe, but you may find you react to some of the harsher chemicals. Both these issues also apply to other forms of manicure, so tread with caution whenever you try something new.
Gel Manicures
Image: @pure_nailsbydani
Pros: Shiny and Long-Lasting
Cons: UV Exposure
These days, a gel mani is ubiquitous. It’s glossy, ultra long-lasting and available everywhere and in a range of colours. But your gel mani can be harmful, even for some not-so-obvious reasons that might surprise you.
Firstly, having manicures of any kind constantly can weaken your natural nails over time. Having thick layers of gel polish on your nails 24/7 means your nail beds can’t breathe, and you’ll end up with thin, breaking and discoloured nails. It’s good to give your nails a break between manicures if you can stand it.
Another risk associated with gel manicures is when it starts to wear off. When it starts to peel and flake, and you pick and peel off the gel (don’t lie, we know you do), you're probably taking some layers of your nail off with it, which takes months to repair. The buffing process before the gel is applied has a similarly damaging effect.
The most obvious risk that we’ve all thought about while our digits were under the lamp, is the UV light that gets blasted onto your fingers and toes to set the polish. Brief as it is, over time that intense exposure can cause serious skin damage—something we know all about here in Australia. Since it’s close to impossible to wear sunscreen while getting your nails done, that damage is unavoidable during a gel manicure.
Then, of course, there’s the removal process. Even if you get your gel polish professionally removed, it's not exactly good for your nails. Soaking your nails in acetone can dry out your nails and make them brittle, which isn’t helped by manicurists scraping the residue off with sharp tools.
SNS Manicures
Image: @snsaustralia
Pros: Long-Lasting, No UV
Cons: Potential for Infection
SNS, or dip powder nails, are made with a combination of powder and glue that creates a long-lasting bond on your nails. Fun fact: SNS is actually a brand of dip powder, in the same way that Kleenex is actually a brand but is used for naming all tissues. It has long been hailed as a safer option than gel, largely because of the lack of UV light, but it comes with its risks as well.
Some of the risks that come alongside SNS manicures are the same as for gel nails: The nail can't breathe and peeling them off takes layers of the natural nail with it.
However, the other risk that comes with SNS is caused by the powder. When you get your nails done at a salon, you're dipping nails into the tubs of powder: The same ones used for all customers. This can spread infection, including fungus and bacterial infections. These nasties can’t survive in nail polish, so it’s not a risk with other kinds of manicures.
It also requires a more intense removal process than gel, using an electric filer before the acetone soak, with an increased potential for damage.
Acrylic Nails
Image: @akikonails_nyc
Pros: No UV or Communal Dipping
Cons: Weakening of Nails and Potential for Infection
Acrylic nails are made by combining a liquid acrylic product with a powdered acrylic product to form a play dough-like product that can be moulded into a nail shape. Once that’s applied to your nails, it hardens and can be buffed and filed.
They are incredibly strong, as is the bond between the artificial nail and the real nail—stronger even than the bond between the real nail and the nail bed, which means you run the risk of tearing the nail off the bed. Aside from the pain, that exposed nailbed can open the door for infections to slide right in.
Acrylics can also be filled in as they grow out, rather than removed and replaced, meaning you could theoretically not expose your natural nails to air and light for a year. This would leave them weak and damaged, and you run the risk of an infection forming under the fake nail.
The verdict? Aside from traditional polish, all manicures carry similar levels of risk. Many of these can be avoided by making sure salons adhere to sanitary rules and taking breaks between manicures. The UV light in the gel nail process is almost unavoidable, so it’s probably best not to get gel nails done frequently and constantly.
While you’re here, check out the next beauty product you should purchase.