F rom Kylie Jenner and Rihanna to Ariana Grande and Cardi B , celebrities are sporting long, acrylics – often heavily embellished with nail art – as an expression of their style. Nail fashion is now a booming industry with gel manicures and acrylic nails among the most popular current trends. While manicures might feel like self-care, they can ruin healthy natural nails – and might even cause unexpected health problems in a small proportion of people who get them.
For example, the nail glue used to attach acrylics to the natural nail is typically a mixture of alcohol, cyanoacrylate and photo-bonded methacrylate, with other ingredients including formaldehyde , which is a known carcinogen. The chemicals in the nail adhesives can cause skin irritation and dermatitis . Nail glue burns are also widely reported .
In some cases, nail glue spilled on clothing has caused injury by burning through the fabric and damaging the skin beneath, which can then become infected. Prolonged wearing of gels and acrylics can also lead to pseudo-psoriatic nails , where extra-skin – known as hyperkeratosis – growing under the nail resembles the red and crusty appearance of psoriasis. Many manicure enthusiasts with pseudo-psoriatic nails test positive for allergy to methyl methacrylate.
In some cases the allergy can be so severe that it causes the permanent loss of fingernails . Others suffer from peripheral neuropathy – tingling or numbness in fingers – sometimes permanently. There are .