New Study Shows UV Nail Dryers Cause DNA Damage, Cell Mutations After Just One Use

A new study is shining light on what many in the beauty biz have long suspected: ultraviolet (UV) nail lamps can have detrimental health effects. We’ve been reading studies for over a decade exploring (or denying) the potentially carcinogenic effects of “drying” our nails with UV lights. Now, the University of California San Diego is joining the conversation with a report showing that the lights used to cure manicures cause cell death and cancer-causing mutations with each use.

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The study was led by Ludmil Alexandrov, associate professor of cellular and molecular medicine and bioengineering at UC San Diego. He was inspired to launch the study after reading about a beauty pageant contestant who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in her finger.

“I thought that was odd, so we began looking into it, and noticed a number of reports in medical journals saying that people who get gel manicures very frequently—like pageant contestants and estheticians,” Alexandrov told Phys.org in a recent interview.

You would be hard-pressed to find a nail salon without these UV lights. They are a standard part of gel nail applications (and some at-home kits) and are also often used when setting the top coat of dip nails.

The UV light spectrum used in tanning beds has long been deemed carcinogenic. The light used to cure nail polish (and dental fillings), however, is on a different spectrum and marks the first time its effects have been clinically studied and published.

“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about. But to the best of our knowledge, no one has actually studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular levels until now.”

The UC San Diego study showed that damage occurred with as little as 20 minutes of UV light exposure. Just one 20-minute session caused between 20 and 30% of cell death. Three consecutive exposures led to 65-70% cell death.

“We saw multiple things: first, we saw that DNA gets damaged,” said Alexandrov. “We also saw that some of the DNA damage does not get repaired over time, and it does lead to mutations after every exposure with a UV-nail polish dryer. Lastly, we saw that exposure may cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which may also result in additional mutations. We looked at patients with skin cancers, and we see the exact same patterns of mutations in these patients that were seen in the irradiated cells.”

Maria Zhivagui, a postdoctoral scholar in the Alexandrov Lab and study co-author, was once an avid fan of gel manicures. Not anymore.

“Once I saw the effect of radiation emitted by the gel polish drying device on cell death and that it actually mutates cells even after just one 20-minute session, I was surprised. I found this to be very alarming, and decided to stop using it.”

To be fair, gel polish curing typically only takes a few minutes, so it may take longer for a nail salon regular to suffer long-term damage. The nail tech, however, may not be so lucky.

Alexandrov and his co-researchers noted a long-term study would need to be conducted to conclusively prove that it increased the risks of cancer. A study conducted back in 2014, also noted that “longer exposure times led to increased potential for cutaneous damage.”

But, if damage is already occurring in 20 minutes, do we really need more proof?