UV nail lamps have recently become available for sale to home consumers. With their increased popularity health concerns have been raised over their safety. The question is: do the bulbs emit a high and therefor unsafe dosage of UV light?
First, a quick explanation on how a UV nail lamp works
The UV lamp is a basic light emitting tool. Its job is to provide the energy that sets everything in motion. The interesting technology is actually in the gels that harden almost instantaneously when exposed to UV light. The gel is made up of simple molecules that act as building blocks. When exposed to UV light, they react and transform into strong chains. UV gels are applied to the nail just like a traditional polish but with one significant difference: they can be cured in less than 30 seconds under a UV nail dryer.
Safety Testing
The majority of UV nail lamps use two, three or four UV bulbs. The bulbs are designed with internal coatings that specifically filter UV-B light, which is considered to be much more damaging to the skin than UV-A.
The leading practice involves using four 9 watt bulbs that emit a total of 36 watts. This type of dryer was tested by experts (reference Doug Schoon, M.S. Chemistry, Chief Scientific Advisor, CND) after reading claims that UV nail lamps are equivalent to tanning beds.
They conducted independent laboratory testing on a variety of nail lamps including the four 36-watt model that is found in 90% of all nail salons. (Reference Lighting Science, Inc., of Phoenix, AZ.) Instead of hands, sensitive UV detectors were placed inside the dryer to measure the emission of UV-A and UV-B light. They confirmed that the filters built into UV bulbs remove almost all UV-B.
What did the tests find?
When used as directed UV nail lamps are as safe as any brief exposure to natural sunlight. During a single application on two hands, the exposure to UV-B light is equivalent to spending an extra 17 to 26 seconds per day under the sun for two weeks. Compared to driving a car, the study found that you are more likely to recive more UV light in a vehicle than under the UV gel nail dryer.
Seeing is believing
UV Gelish nails make other nail polishes obsolete. Unlike a regular polish, gels last 2 to 3 weeks without chipping or flaking. They dry in under 30 seconds and when you are ready for another look, you do not have to file the nail in order to get them off.
You can get professional results for a fraction of the cost by doing your nails at home. To find out how easy it is to do, watch these how to videos by Brendita's Body Works.
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