Can gel polish be carcinogenic?
Can gel polish be carcinogenic?
What a clickbait title, right? But let me make it clear from the outset, the question in the title is not at all sensationalist and has a basis in reality, and then some!
My name is Laci Gyimesi, I'm the owner of one of Hungary's best known nail ingredients brands. My person may be of interest only from the point of view that I have a direct insight into the development processes of gel polishes and other nail materials, and thus into the ingredients used in the products and their possible health risks.
So in answer to the question of whether a gel polish can be carcinogenic, the short answer is no.
But then why am I alarming you with a question about carcinogenic gel polish?
The reason is that there is a slightly longer version of my short answer, which reads as follows: gel polish, properly defined in the EU, cannot be carcinogenic (at least according to the current state of science).The problem is that there are currently a lot of gel polish on the market in Hungary (and the EU) that do not comply with EU legislation and do not meet any minimum requirements to ensure that the product does not contain any prohibited ingredients that are harmful to health.
In fact, there are many ingredients and additives which have been classified by the EU Commission as dangerous or harmful to human health and which are therefore PROHIBITED in cosmetics, including nail products, and therefore also in gel polishes. These banned ingredients are often carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (toxic to foetus, fertility) harmful chemicals, so they are no joke at all!
These ingredients have been banned for a reason, their presence in a gel polish or other nail product poses a huge risk to the health of the wearer, as the gel polish is applied to the nails of the customer by the nail technician.
And these products can be absorbed through the nail plate, as confirmed by a very recent international study from February 2024.
The problem is compounded by the fact that most nail technicians are unaware of whether or not the product or brand they are using complies with EU regulations and is therefore a safe nail material, as they can rightly assume that what is on the market complies with all legal requirements. However, the reality is far from this and it is slowly becoming clear that there are more gel polishes of untested quality and with dubious ingredients on the market than there are legally available.
One reason for this is that almost anyone with a knowledge of English can import gel polishes and nail polish building materials from China, because there is no requirement (yet) that the products must first meet EU requirements, meaning that everything can freely enter the country unchecked.
And since the advent of the big Chinese online marketplaces, the situation is even worse, because now anyone can order directly, and so a mass of uncontrolled gel polish and other nail building materials are flooding into the EU and Hungary.
So, as you can see, the question is not without foundation and the stakes are high: your own health!
So far, no one has taken the responsibility to speak out on the subject, but honestly, there is nothing surprising about that, we were the first to speak out about HEMA-free gel varnishes without any marketing hype. (If you haven't seen the video about it yet, click here!)
But we also care about the health of nail technicians and their clients, which is why we launched our Safe Nail Products programme, which includes educational content to increase the knowledge of both professionals and clients who use nail and gel polish, so that they are aware of the potential risks and are given credible, reliable information to make responsible decisions about which products to use/wear.
Go to the Youtube video knowledge base!
I'm Laci Gyimesi, CEO of Mystic Nails and the primary spokesperson for the Safe Nail Materials program, and this is my fact-finding video that goes into a little more detail on the situation outlined above:
