UV Nail Lamps, the Types and Science behind them
Two styles of UV lamps are generally used in salons, the traditional lamp and later forms of LED type. Both these works pretty much the same, except they are designed for different types of nail products. Please make sure the type of light you get, is compatible with the nail product you are doing to use. Gel UV lights are not universal, there is no one light for all types of gel. This is why for safety, it is hard to procure these lamps if you are not a nail professional. You sort of need to know what you are doing.
But you still want to do your own nails ????????????????
To be on the safe side, have a look at our Polygel Nail Set. As a beginner, if you are not sure about the type of UV light you are buying and whether it is designed to cure the type of gel you are using, you will be safer buying a nail set. It will come with the correct type of light for the gel within the set. Then in future, you will just re-stock the same type of product – you see?
Getting technical, just for a while . . .
Without getting too technical, the way Gel nails, their application and curing works is this: you get a bunch of chemicals, these chemicals are designed to polymerise or “cure” under UV light – UVA to be specific. So UV light are designed to emit, and most of them do emit only UVA rays for the sole purpose of curing the gel solution in to a solid form that will stay in position until removed. It is very important that you cure the nails for the right amount of time, people might want to add an extra minute or two to the clock – just to be on the safe side so the gel is properly dry. This is dangerous, you are exposed to UV rays, which is like the sun. There is danger is over-curing the nail as well. So stick to the recommended time. Also, do not assume that a small, mini version UV light – travel size edition will emit mini or small edition UV rays. They are just as potent and dangerous as the big machine.
Safety and Health Concerns
There is a school of thought that believes UV rays emitted by gel curing machines can cause skin cancer, let us just discuss the point and let you the user make an informed decision. The American Academy of Dermatology published this article discussing the effects of UV light exposure during the installation of gel nails. After reading that, note that scientific studies have been conducted on UV lights used in salons and they concluded that UV lights are safe to use, they emit very little UV rays which can be equivalent to spending an extra 20 to 30 minutes outdoors every week. The study which scientist tested many types of UV lights commonly used at salons also revealed that, the amount of exposure you get is between 0.5 and 2.2 % of permissible monthly UV exposure.
With all that said and done, i always recommend our clients cover the back of their hands with a cloth and apply a little sunscreen. The UV lamp is like exposing your hands to the sun. In addition, do not change your nails often requiring multiple UV light exposure per week, too much of anything is never a good thing.
In Conclusion
The risks associated are real, take good care of yourself, do not over do nails, do not over cure and if you have some sunscreen, put it on before your next nail appointment. Enjoy the variety of gel finish nails that are available on offer, look your best, be a boss.
