Tech Talk n°6 Are curing lamps safe?

Do you wonder how safe curing lamps are in the salon? In this Tech Talk we give you a clear answer!  Birgit - Product Development Manager at ProNails - explains whether UV curing lamps are safe to use.

Recently, the press has spoken negatively about the safety of UV lamps used in nail salons. Are curing lamps safe to use? We sometimes notice a certain ‘fear’ on the part of salon customers with regard to UV radiation, often also due to unclear information disseminated via social media and the press.  

 This suggestion comes following a report by researchers at the University of California San Diego on 17/01/23: ‘DNA damage and somatic mutations in mammalian cells after irradiation with an enamel dryer’. While acknowledging that the tests have four important limitations, the report concludes that it provides no direct evidence of an increased risk of cancer in humans.
 
Recent studies state that the use of UV light for curing gels in salons provides no direct evidence of an increased risk of cancer in humans. Research has shown that lamps in salons are safe because the exposure time is very short. Especially when using the ProNails all-in-one B-System!

All ProNails systems, especially the time-saving B-System, offer minimal UV exposure.

WHY?

1. FIVE FINGER polymerisation 
The ProNails Smart Light has a power output of 36 Watts and is designed to cure all ProNails products in just 30 seconds. All ProNails base gels, coloured gels and gloss gels can be applied on all five fingers at the same time, with only one curing time.

2. Start SOFT Smart Light  
Builder gels are often applied finger by finger. All ProNails builder gels cure in 30 seconds SOFT in the Smart Light. This means that the light is reduced to 40% at the start of the curing process and gradually increased over time, with an overall reduction in UV exposure of 50% during the entire 30-second curing cycle.

3. B-SYSTEM gels reduce UV exposure 
ProNails B-System gels are all-in-one gels that save time and require fewer application and curing steps, reducing the total UV exposure per service. The BFLEX and BSTRONG all-in-one gels cure in 30 seconds SOFT in Smart light, combining the base and builder in one step and eliminating the need for an additional layer of gloss for natural looks, allowing a total UV exposure of 2.5 minutes/hand.

Conclusion: even the slowest nail technician, using ProNails Original gels (base, builder, colour, gloss) and curing finger by finger, will not exceed a total exposure time of 10 minutes per hand.

• Does walking to the car after the nail service expose you to more UV radiation than the nail service?
• Various medical services, such as radiation for the treatment of psoriasis, have a higher UV exposure than healing lamps.

We can assure you that this is not absolutely necessary! But to reassure your customers, you can do the following two things:

• You can use a physical UV blocker by applying a glove. In this case it is a good opportunity to apply a nourishing hand mask glove during the nail service.
• Or you can apply a chemical UV screen by applying anti-ageing hand cream on the back of the hand during treatments. This is also a great opportunity to sell these customers a 50 ml anti-ageing hand cream, because as soon as they walk out the door they are also exposed to UVA rays on all exposed areas of the skin.

Previous studies and statements on the safety of salon UV lamps

1. Study (2020) by Chelsea Schwartz - Harib Ezaldein & Miesha Merati ‘Ultravoilet Ligth Gel Manicure: Is There a Risk of Skin Cancer on the Hands and Nails of Young Adults?’. The study focused on research of young patients with skin cancer on the backs of their hands. Conclusions: No difference between non-nail service users and chronic UV nail service users.

2. FDA

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), UV nail lamps are safe when used in nail salons. A statement on the FDA website concludes that ‘... The FDA considers nail care lamps to be low risk when used according to label directions.... To date, FDA has not received any reports of burns or skin cancer attributed to nail lamps.’

3. Study by Dowdy and Sayre (2017)

Some people are exposed to UV radiation during their profession. To protect these people, such as dentists, there are occupational exposure limits. These are much more intense than exposure to a salon lamp.

36 minutes of daily exposure to UV nail lamps was below the occupational exposure limits for UV radiation.
Emissions from nail lamps ranged from 0.5% to 2.2% of the permitted monthly occupational exposure limits.

4. Study by Markova and Weinstock

UV light is also used in the medical field to treat certain skin diseases.

Research has found that the risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer is many times lower than the risk associated with exposure to natural midday sunlight and that it would take 250 years of weekly manicure sessions to equal the theoretical risk of a single UV light treatment for certain skin conditions such as psoriasis, concluding that it is highly unlikely that any salon client, regardless of the level of nail lamp use, would exceed safe levels of UV exposure.

5. RadTech

RadTech, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the safe use of ultraviolet and electronic technology, supports the FDA's statements pointing to studies conducted by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brown University's Alpert School of Medicine showing that ‘typical nail salon exposures are well below the limits of the allowable daily UV exposure.

Salon curing lights are safe! We at ProNails guarantee that all our curing lamps comply with strict European legislation. Research has shown that salon lamps are safe and that the exposure time is very short!