I have had many emails recently, especially over night, concerning the MMA issue in the UK. Some of the questions posed to me made it quite obvious to me that UK techs generally are not as versed on the topic as your US conterparts are. I just typed a long reply to one UK tech and thought it would be helpful to post it here for everyone to get better aqauinted with their newest enemy and how to deal with it on all fronts.
Debbie
Webmaster
http://www.beautytech.com
New York Licensed Nail Specialist 1994
MMA has been a large issue in the US for many years. The issue is
ONLY with the LIQUID form of MMA, in powders and in other products such as gels is not a problem, it is the liquid form only.
Yes you are absolutely correct when saying there are alternative products. The safer alternative in the case of acrylic liquids would contain EMA -- Ethyl (not Methyl) Methacrylate
What you are reading in primers is not MMA but rather MAA (Meth Acrylic Acid). Resins are almost always purely cyanoacrylates in nature.
Here are reasons why MMA is bad for nail enhancement applications:
1.
MMA is solvent resistant - MMA does not soak off easily or in a reasonable length of time, causing undue exposure to acetone while soaking. Most Non-Standard salons (NSS*) will simply RIP the nails off or pry them off causing extreme damage to the natural nail plate. If a weakened nail plate or damaged nail plate is already present, (normal is when MMA is used) the exposure problems while soaking off MMA become a larger concern, not to mention the ill effects and pain of ripping off the enhancements. EMA should take about 20 minutes or less to soak off, while MMA will take two or more hours to remove by soaking in acetone.
2.
Very hard as a cured substance. To remove, or maintain an MMA enhancement, a drill (electric file or e-file as we call it) will most often be used. E-files, used by a technician who has been fully trained, are not dangerous or harmful to the natural nail plate. However, many who use this tool are untrained and have been known to cause excessive damage to the nail plate - rings of fire - by drilling into the nail plate, sometimes THROUGH the nail plate into the nail bed (sometimes this causes permanent damage). Additionally, when a nail enhancement of MMA is banged or knocked, it has little to no flexibility and will break severely, often taking the nail plate with it. EMA is formulated to be flexible, the enhancement will break, sometimes the nail, but not usually damage the nail plate.
2.
Poor adhesion - To make MMA adhere well to the nail, overly rough preparation methods are used. The nail plate is "roughed up" with a coarse file, creating in effect, a shag carpet look to the nail plate, giving the MMA something to adhere to. This process thins and weakens the nail plate allowing more chemicals to be absorbed through the weakened nail plate during application and curing time. All acrylic enhancements, while hard enough to file in 1-4 minutes, continue to cure for as long as 36-48 hours after application.
All 3 of the above items will cause weakened and or damaged nail plates, something we surely do not want to do.
4. The US based FDA (Food & Drug Administration), as far back as early 1970's, has stated and still states that MMA is a poisonous and deleterious substance and should not be used in liquid acrylic monomer for nail products.
"FDA continues to believe that this substance, when used in cosmetic fingernail preparations, is a poisonous and deleterious substance". 3/2000
-----------
Banned is not really the proper term here in reference to MMA. . It is PROHIBITED in many US states. Yes some states use the term banned, but prohibited is really the correct terminology especially if there is a law, rule or policy enforce within a state's legal system.
Websters and American Heritage dictionary both define prohibit as: To forbid by authority.
If you want to get some serious education on this subject you should visit
http://www.beautytech.com/articles BeautyTech Articles and scroll down to the Nail Technician Articles section. There you will find dozens of articles, links to US government information and TV and newspaper articles. As well helpful information about how to discuss this with your potential & current clients. There are links also to several printable flyers and pamphlets to hand out to clients and an informational article about the differences between MMA & MAA (courtesy of OPI)