Very recently I have developed a painful rash, blisters and swollen fingers. From what I have read online this appears to be common amongst nail techs but how do I control it and avoid it. As i refused to stop working after the first breakout I now have holes in my fingers which are very concerning. The rash appears on the exact fingers that are in direct contact with the file, I have ordered tape which is supposed to be great for protecting the fingers and new non accelerator & latex free gloves. Ivee been to my gp and he has provided numerous steroid creams, barrier creams and hydro-cortisone creams none of which has helped, he has put a referral through for an apt with a Dermatologist but I am terrified he will state the obvious in that I need to avoid nail files and or dust :/
Dust or file allergy, please help
- Thread starter riddlesh
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LaurenSparkles
Well-Known Member
Hi
If you search through my threads you will see that I suffer daily from this, the
Pictures ain't too pretty.
However iv never heard anyone say being allergic to dust. I would say it's possibly not this as it would also aggravate your breathing.
Until you can eliminate the ingredient you are allergic too you need to wear tape & gloves.
For me, I'm allergic to everything so I just have to do this all the time.
I currently have open wounds on 2 fingers
xx
If you search through my threads you will see that I suffer daily from this, the
Pictures ain't too pretty.
However iv never heard anyone say being allergic to dust. I would say it's possibly not this as it would also aggravate your breathing.
Until you can eliminate the ingredient you are allergic too you need to wear tape & gloves.
For me, I'm allergic to everything so I just have to do this all the time.
I currently have open wounds on 2 fingers
xx
Shellac newbie
Well-Known Member
I get contact dermatitis. I think it's isopropyl alcohol and uncured gel that does it to me, I've been extra careful recently and it's stopped flaring up as much x
I developed an allergy a few months after I started using the gel polishes. I've been dealing with this for 4 years now and I've tried everything you can imagine. I was tested with OPI Gelcolor, Shellac and Gelish. I had reactions to all of them. I am now going to a top doctor who specializes in Occupational Contact Dermatitis. I had to stop working completely because my hands were so bad I couldn't even do pedicures. It was also affecting my breathing and my nose felt like it was burned inside. My doctor said it takes a good 6 weeks for the skin to heal, I never stopped long enough to allow that to happen. Unfortunately I don't get sick time or any type of disability so my bosses submitted a workman's comp claim for me. They are behind me 100% with this, I hope that helps. It's very hard to get this type of case approved but I feel 100% confident that they can test me all they want and they will draw only one conclusion that it's the gels. The new doctor will be testing me for specific ingredients in the gels and hopefully I can find products that I won't be allergic to. I've been doing a lot of crying over this because I love doing nails and do t want to stop. The only way to stop the allergy is to avoid it 100%. Even the file dust from the gel causes a reaction if it gets on my skin.
Thanks for letting me vent, Kelly [
Thanks for letting me vent, Kelly [
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MelHairAndNails
Well-Known Member
What a shame Hope you get to the bottom of it! I suffer from occupational contact dermatitis and have done for the last 7 years, when I first started hairdressing. Now I do nails too, my clients notice it more and I'm forever hearing 'ooo your hands look sore'. Unfortunately my doctor hasn't been as good as yours sounds to be? She just told me I'd have to suffer until I gave up my career in the industry.
Hope you get to the bottom of it! I suffer from occupational contact dermatitis and have done for the last 7 years, when I first started hairdressing. Now I do nails too, my clients notice it more and I'm forever hearing 'ooo your hands look sore'. Unfortunately my doctor hasn't been as good as yours sounds to be? She just told me I'd have to suffer until I gave up my career in the industry.
Those of you that have believe you may have contact dermatitis to gel, I invite you to send me a PM with your name and post address. We will send you a free sample of our gel that was designed with low allergy risk ingredients. Other nail techs who developed dermatitis using other gels, had no dermatitis reaction to our gel.
But I also want something from you. I want to write a magazine article on this. So I need photo's of your contact dermatitis and some basic info like how long you have been a nail tech and if you are using gel, acrylic and/or gel polish. I will send you my email after you contact me and we sent the free gel sample.
====
Health issues in our industry are the problem of shorter and shorter education offered by manufacturers to reduce the entry price to becoming a nail tech. I feel for you ladies. All of this is avoidable with knowledge of how to work safely.
In Sweden the majority of basic classes for manicure and gel, or manicure and acrylic is still 15-20 days - but that covers issues like product chemistry and the risk of overexposure causing health problems like contact dermatitis. The manufacturer and distributors know the risks of course, but few will mention it to avoid scaring you off.
You can become overexposed by skin contact with gel (especially sticky brush handles), acrylic or dust. The first level of protection that every nail tech should use is a dust mask, nitrile gloves and cover your skin areas where dust may land (long sleeves and an apron that covers up the chest area - we sell these)
The next level of protection is to invest in a professional ventilation system. There are two main types:
Extraction system: this has a wall mounted fan outside the building that sucks air from a pipe over your table to the outside. This system has a higher initial cost, but no filters need to be replaced. It is most cost-effective when you have 4 or more tables.
3-stage filter system: this is either an under the desk unit with vent/grill in the desk top sucking the air down into the unit, or a standalone box with a pipe to the desk. I have yet to see an under the desk system that I believe really works, but they look prettier... The standalone system can also be moved from desk to desk, useful if you have a small salon and a separate training room.
A 3-stage system consists of three filter stages:
1. Pre-filter - this captures the visible dust
2. 2nd stage - captures the invisible dust
3. Active carbon filter - captures and neutralises the chemicals in the air.
It's actually the invisible dust and the chemicals in the air that are more potentially dangerous!!
Cheapo filters only do 1. They are junk. Clean dust free clothes is not the same as being safe.
Some desktop filters and under the desk filters also claim to do 2. and 3. The problem is this - active carbon reacts relatively slowly to neutralise the chemicals. So if the active carbon filter is "thin", the air will whizz through without being cleaned. That air will need to go around and around to become clean, and during this time more chemicals are being released in the air. So you continue to breath this stuff in.
I have been told by a company that designs 3-stage filters for nail salons, that at least 5.8kg (around 12.7lb)** of active carbon is needed to be effective. So the filter in the unit we use that does stages 2 and 3 is big - approximately 10" x 10" x 15". When a carbon filter is that deep, the air passes through a lot of carbon and can then be properly cleaned.
Note: A carbon filter that weighs 5.8 kg (12.7 lbs) is able to remove 0.5 to 1 kg of chemicals from the air. That's means approximately 500 customer services, before it has to be replaced. A carbon filter that weighs only 0.25 kg would therefore have to be replaced every 12 to 27 customers which is impractical and too expensive for most salons.
** (I believe that they were the first company to make a 3-stage filter system specifically for nail salons. They remain the only company that has had their filters tested by an independent laboratory. These reports show that the filter removes 99.97% of all dust and chemicals in the air).
The image below shows some of the health risks caused by invisible dust and chemicals in the air:
A good 3-stage filter like this will set you back around £1200. There may be less expensive versions in the UK that work on the same principle and have been manufactured by industrial filter experts (rather than furniture manufacturers as is often the case for under the desk units). But as far as I know, none have been independently tested so it's not possible to know how effective the products are.
But £1200 is peanuts compared to the money you will make during your career in nails, losing your health or being forced to leave a career that you love. And bear in mind, that once you develop an allergy to a specific chemical, you have it for life, plus you will be more sensitive to other chemicals. This means that even if you find a different gel/acrylic or gel polish that doesn't cause the dermatitis for a while, unless you use gloves, dust mask and a good ventilation system then you will eventually become allergic to that.
Finally, in addition to using the nitrile gloves, I have also read good reports of a product called Gloves in a Bottle which is a shielding cream that acts like a barrier for your skin. It may be worth trying as an extra level of protection under the gloves and on your forearms. I don't have the address of the supplier in Europe, but if you PM me then I will find out.
But I also want something from you. I want to write a magazine article on this. So I need photo's of your contact dermatitis and some basic info like how long you have been a nail tech and if you are using gel, acrylic and/or gel polish. I will send you my email after you contact me and we sent the free gel sample.
====
Health issues in our industry are the problem of shorter and shorter education offered by manufacturers to reduce the entry price to becoming a nail tech. I feel for you ladies. All of this is avoidable with knowledge of how to work safely.
In Sweden the majority of basic classes for manicure and gel, or manicure and acrylic is still 15-20 days - but that covers issues like product chemistry and the risk of overexposure causing health problems like contact dermatitis. The manufacturer and distributors know the risks of course, but few will mention it to avoid scaring you off.
You can become overexposed by skin contact with gel (especially sticky brush handles), acrylic or dust. The first level of protection that every nail tech should use is a dust mask, nitrile gloves and cover your skin areas where dust may land (long sleeves and an apron that covers up the chest area - we sell these)
The next level of protection is to invest in a professional ventilation system. There are two main types:
Extraction system: this has a wall mounted fan outside the building that sucks air from a pipe over your table to the outside. This system has a higher initial cost, but no filters need to be replaced. It is most cost-effective when you have 4 or more tables.
3-stage filter system: this is either an under the desk unit with vent/grill in the desk top sucking the air down into the unit, or a standalone box with a pipe to the desk. I have yet to see an under the desk system that I believe really works, but they look prettier... The standalone system can also be moved from desk to desk, useful if you have a small salon and a separate training room.
A 3-stage system consists of three filter stages:
1. Pre-filter - this captures the visible dust
2. 2nd stage - captures the invisible dust
3. Active carbon filter - captures and neutralises the chemicals in the air.
It's actually the invisible dust and the chemicals in the air that are more potentially dangerous!!
Cheapo filters only do 1. They are junk. Clean dust free clothes is not the same as being safe.
Some desktop filters and under the desk filters also claim to do 2. and 3. The problem is this - active carbon reacts relatively slowly to neutralise the chemicals. So if the active carbon filter is "thin", the air will whizz through without being cleaned. That air will need to go around and around to become clean, and during this time more chemicals are being released in the air. So you continue to breath this stuff in.
I have been told by a company that designs 3-stage filters for nail salons, that at least 5.8kg (around 12.7lb)** of active carbon is needed to be effective. So the filter in the unit we use that does stages 2 and 3 is big - approximately 10" x 10" x 15". When a carbon filter is that deep, the air passes through a lot of carbon and can then be properly cleaned.
Note: A carbon filter that weighs 5.8 kg (12.7 lbs) is able to remove 0.5 to 1 kg of chemicals from the air. That's means approximately 500 customer services, before it has to be replaced. A carbon filter that weighs only 0.25 kg would therefore have to be replaced every 12 to 27 customers which is impractical and too expensive for most salons.
** (I believe that they were the first company to make a 3-stage filter system specifically for nail salons. They remain the only company that has had their filters tested by an independent laboratory. These reports show that the filter removes 99.97% of all dust and chemicals in the air).
The image below shows some of the health risks caused by invisible dust and chemicals in the air:
A good 3-stage filter like this will set you back around £1200. There may be less expensive versions in the UK that work on the same principle and have been manufactured by industrial filter experts (rather than furniture manufacturers as is often the case for under the desk units). But as far as I know, none have been independently tested so it's not possible to know how effective the products are.
But £1200 is peanuts compared to the money you will make during your career in nails, losing your health or being forced to leave a career that you love. And bear in mind, that once you develop an allergy to a specific chemical, you have it for life, plus you will be more sensitive to other chemicals. This means that even if you find a different gel/acrylic or gel polish that doesn't cause the dermatitis for a while, unless you use gloves, dust mask and a good ventilation system then you will eventually become allergic to that.
Finally, in addition to using the nitrile gloves, I have also read good reports of a product called Gloves in a Bottle which is a shielding cream that acts like a barrier for your skin. It may be worth trying as an extra level of protection under the gloves and on your forearms. I don't have the address of the supplier in Europe, but if you PM me then I will find out.
Last edited:
After 18 years sneezing and blowing my nose whilst doing nails (acrylic, gel and
Gel polish) I'm finally hearing that it is the products causing the problem.
I take an antihistamine most days. . My hands used to suffer but I started using gloves from Asu Nails in Dublin.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app
Gel polish) I'm finally hearing that it is the products causing the problem.
I take an antihistamine most days. . My hands used to suffer but I started using gloves from Asu Nails in Dublin.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app
The beauty lady
Well-Known Member
I too get a servere reaction jue to dust. It doesn't start straight away but normally wake my self up in the night due to itching and pulling bits of skin from under my nails. I tried tape but it didn't help with regards to the Palm of my hand so I use surgical cream latex gloves that are powdered inside to help sweating. And once I have finished filing or being in contact I will wash my hands and moisturise before stating polish application. X
Hi just wondering have u ever had any success in controlling this problem as I suffer terrible
Unfortunately the original poster hasn’t been back to Salon Geek since creating this thread 4 years ago.
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