Is The UV Light a Skin Cancer Risk?
The nail industry received some negative press when an article was written regarding the safety of UV nail lamps in the salon. It states:
“The latest alert, published in the journal Archives of Dermatology, could heighten fears over their safety.
A 48-year-old woman in good health needed repeated surgery to remove several cancers from her right hand after having UV light treatment at nail salons eight times in one year.
A second woman, aged 55, also developed a tumor on her right hand after using UV lamps twice a month for 15 years.
In both cases, the tumor involved was a squamous cell carcinoma, a less harmful strain than deadly malignant melanoma.
Although they can be removed with surgery, in around four percent of cases the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
Warning: Fixing false nails using ultra-violet lamps may develop hand tumors
In a report on the two cases, Dr Deborah MacFarlane from the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, said: ‘The UV nail lamp is most commonly used to cure gel nails but is also used to cure acrylic nails and dry traditional nail polish. ‘But exposure to UV light is a major risk factor for the development of skin cancer.’”
-Mail Online, Health, Thursday May 28, 2009
What this report fails to mention is that excessive exposure to UV light is a major risk factor in developing skin cancer. To say that all exposure to UV light is harmful would be a misnomer. Consider this:
- Sunlight (consisting of UVA, UVB and some UVC rays) is the primary and most effective trigger to generate essential vitamin D for our bodies.
- Doctors prescribe ultraviolet therapy as a treatment for many ailments, including eczema, psoriasis and depression.
The point is that some exposure to UV rays can have positive effects on your body. Now the question is, “What is considered excessive?”
Let’s look at the average amount of UV nail lamp exposure for tanning bed users (bearing in mind that globally, tanning has been considered a major risk factor in skin cancer):
| # of Bulbs | Watts | Total Watts | Exposure Time/Visit | |
| Tanning Bed | 40 (Avg.) | 150W (Avg.) | 6,000W | 30 min. (Avg.) |
To sum this up, the average tanning bed user exposes themselves to 6,000 watts of UVA light for 25.5 hours in a year.
Now, let’s look at the average amount of UV nail lamp exposure for nail clients:
| # of Bulbs | Watts | Total Watts | Exposure Time/Visit | |
| UV Nail Lamp | 4 (Max.) | 9W | 36W | 6 min. (Avg.) |
| Difference | -36 Bulbs | -141 Watts | -5,964 Watts | -24 min. |
As you can see, UV nail lamp exposure is considerably less intense than tanning bed exposure and you spend a fraction of the time in the UV lamp.
While you can technically argue that ANY UV light exposure is a cancer risk, the reality is that UV nail lamps pose no more of a risk than normal, limited exposure to the sun – which has yet to be considered a major risk factor in skin cancer.
Don't just take our word for it, click here to read what other experts are saying.