QuestionQUESTION: Hi Maggie - I have been wearing nails again now for several months.... I am a nail biter and really wanted my nails to look nice... but I am really having a bit of a problem. I saw another person had posted the same issue with itchiness and peeling of the skin. I am having a severity of these symptoms, I believe. I have been trying to figure out what specifically I am alergic to. At first I was getting Acrylics, and it happened. Then switched to gel, as I thought it was just the acrylic. Seemed to get quite a bit better with the switch, but now has gotten even worse than before. Then I thought it is something they are using for cleaning, or maybe it is the acetone. So yesterday, I even took my own bottle of alcohol, and fingernail polish remover, acetone free..... I was certain this would fix my problem, and to my great surprise, it DID NOT. I am just as itchy today.... and since I peeled really bad the last time, my skin is sensitive anyway... Then my thought today, was maybe it is the ultraviolet lamp... maybe it is cooking my skin there and giving me a deep burn????? But I think maybe I am just grasping for straws.... I think the answer is that I will have to stop wearing them... Do you have any advise??? The hydrocortizone cream helps briefly but not really... benedril helps very little.... it is so annoying......... :0(
ANSWER: All nail enhancement products are in the same basic family of chemistry. Acrylates. They are all types of plastic. Once you develop an allergy to one type of acrylate, there is a strong chance you may react to any other type of acrylate you come in contact with.
Nail products are applied in a chemically active state, then they cure (harden) after they have been applied. This means you get exposed to the chemicals in their active state. Once the product cures fully, the resulting polymer compound is inert-- no longer active. This is why holding a plastic cup to drink from, or touching any other type of plastic-- doesn't result in the same reaction.
Gels rarely cure completely under the UV light; there's a sticky residue left over that has to be removed, usually with alcohol or acetone, before the nail is finished. This sticky residue can cause allergies to flare up because it is difficult to remove with any sort of cotton or other material without it touching the skin in the process.
Allergic reactions to nail products are increasingly proliferate because there are so many salons out there that either don't understand their product chemistry, or don't care. Many salons, especially ones with extremely low prices, use acrylics that contain MMA in the liquid. MMA is not only unsafe for cosmetic use, it's illegal. But it's still out there. (for more info on MMA try my website: http://www.artofnailz.biz or my myspace page-- I recently put up a blog entry about MMA-- http://myspace.com/nailsbymaggie or www.beautytech.info)
MMA is extremely harsh and has a very high incidence of causing a reaction, but once you develop that allergy you can't get rid of it. From there, many people discover that they are also sensitive to other types of acrylates-- which is why changing products doesn't help.
Another problem is that too many salons are using incredibly sloppy application techniques that result in getting primer and acrylic liquid all over the skin. This just takes a bad situation and makes it worse.
The good news is that there are products available that almost never result in reactions. Silk or fiberglass wraps, or a "tip and dip" system that uses cyanoacrylate resin to build the nail. Cyanoacrylate resin, although still an acrylate, has a very low rate of resulting in sensitivity and it's worked for everyone who's come to me so far.
That's not to say it's a sure thing, however. Some people are even too sensitive for this product, if you are allergic to Crazy Glue, then this one is out also and you might have to resort to natural nail manicures.
One new product to hit the professional market recently is called "Mani-q" from a company called Young Nails. Mani-q is a very thin and flexible gel product that is based on rubber. It isn't really designed to sculpt with, but makes a great overlay for natural nails that can help grow your own nails out.
Just a little FYI on the side, the term "hypoallergenic" doesn't guarantee that it won't result in an allergic reaction. "hypo" just means "low" and hypoallergenic products mean that they are highly unlikely to create new allergies-- not that they can't. It also means that if you already have an allergy, even a hypoallergenic product can make it flare up.
Don't worry about the UV lamps used in salons either. You get more UV radiation from driving around in your car with the windows up. Unless you have Solar Urticaria (are allergic to sunlight) you have nothing to worry about from our UV lamps.
Try some careful Googling or crack open an old-fashioned phone book and call around to local salons and ask lots of questions about their services and products and see if you can find someone who has a good understanding of product chemistry or maybe offers one or more of the services I mentioned. There are lots of different brand names for wrap or dip products but there's only one "Mani-Q."
Good luck!
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QUESTION: That was very informative. thanks!! So I think I will work on soaking these off, in a couple of weeks, and may just try to do manicures for a while.
Is Mani-Q a do it yourself type product??? If so where to buy??
Jennifer
AnswerNope, Mani-q is salon only. It is a UV cured rubberized gel, so even if someone ever does develop a knock-off product it'll still be fairly expensive since you'd have to invest in the lamp as well.
As of yet, Young Nails is the only manufacturer and Mani-q is only product of this type.
Call around and see if there's a tech in your area using it yet!
