Acrylic/gel

[Charlottelouise2293]

I trained up doing acrylic nails and love doing it but I have now developed a really bad reaction to the monomer and now can't wear acrylic nails and when I do them on other people have to wear thick gloves. Would it be worth giving gel a try on my nails I hate no having nails on and willing to give anything ago and if not any other suggestions? Thank you

 

[The Geek]

Gels are usually more likely to cause allergic reactions than L&P, though this is just a general rule of thumb. Have you tried working with nitrile gloves?

 

[Bel's Gels]

I trained up doing acrylic nails and love doing it but I have now developed a really bad reaction to the monomer and now can't wear acrylic nails and when I do them on other people have to wear thick gloves. Would it be worth giving gel a try on my nails I hate no having nails on and willing to give anything ago and if not any other suggestions? Thank you

I agree with The Geek, gels can be worse.

I also have allergies. Try using HEMA free monomer. Look for HEMA or Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate on MSDS. Try to use products without it as it's one of the most common allergens in nail products. Make sure you check EVERY product... even primer.

I also use barrier cream and cotton gloves with nitrite gloves over those.

 

[Lilymayc]

Gels are usually more likely to cause allergic reactions than L&P, though this is just a general rule of thumb. Have you tried working with nitrile gloves?

I've also developed an allergy to gel from getting uncured polish on my thumb during application I've brought nitrile gloves and the dermatitis seems to be getting better but acitone still seems to be penetrating the gloves. When soaking off gel the acetone is still burning my sore skin through the gloves, any advice please?

 

[Leggibone]

I've also developed an allergy to gel from getting uncured polish on my thumb during application I've brought nitrile gloves and the dermatitis seems to be getting better but acitone still seems to be penetrating the gloves. When soaking off gel the acetone is still burning my sore skin through the gloves, any advice please?

Have a look for chemical resist gloves (I thought we used nitrile at school) the types they use in labs for handling acids and such, also barrier creams will help your sore skin a little from getting exposed to everything.

 

[user 25446]

You need to use nitrile gloves that are at least 8mil thick. Even then, all nitrile gloves have a finite time before the protection barrier breaks down - between 10 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on glove manufacturer and thickness. One option is to wear two gloves per hand - so called double gloving.

However, the real problem is that you have developed an allergy. So the best course of action is to get your GP to refer you to a dermatologist who can make a patch test - this will identify which chemical ingredients you are allergic too. With this info, you can look for products that don't contain these. This may include HEMA as mentioned above, or it may not.

If you find alternative products, you will need to change the way you work or there is a high risk of developing an allergy to new ingredients. That means double gloving, wearing clothing that avoids dust contact with the skin, and ideally buying a good dust and chemical vapour air filter system. You should also make sure that your mix ratio is correct - a major cause of allergies is uncured acrylic dust.

Once an allergy develops, it is for life and additional allergies become easier to develop. So just changing to new products without changing how you work, will only solve the problem for a while.