Allergic to Shellac?

[emmalebron]

I'm in need of some advice!

Here's the background....

I was doing shellac on a client for quite a while without incident when she suddenly stopped visiting. After a few months she reappeared. She told me she had bought bluesky shellac and a lamp and had been doing her nails herself!!! She said she had had an allergic reaction to it so had stopped using it and wanted to go back to shellac :-/

Recently...

So I have been doing her shellac over the summer without problem! Hands and toes! Today she comes in saying she has had an allergic reaction to shellac! The tips of her fingers from underneath the nails outwards are cracked and red!

The shellac was applied 3 weeks ago! Her toes are absolutely fine! She says that 5-6 hours after it being applied the tips of her fingers and the skin around her nails beds become red and itchy! She says it settles down after about 5 days but has started to crack the skin in the last day or so??!!

She isn't complaining or demanding money back but the whole thing sounds strange?!

I used the complete system!! Scrub fresh, CND shellac top and bottoms coats, she had tropix on and then I use solar oil to finish off with!! I didn't soak previous shellac off because despite me telling her not to, she picks it off!! I use a CND Shellac lamp and my bulbs hav a good 35 hours left! (She did comment that she had googled problem and asked if my lamp could have under cured shellac?)!!! I assured her lamps had sufficient time left and showed her!

Just seems odd the problem flares up, settles down then flares up again! I wonder if its a reaction to something else?? Her toes are absolutely perfect!! No reaction at all! Is that possible??

Any advice? Could I be missing something?

TIA

 

[Envy]

I'm afraid it is still possible to become allergic to shellac. Or in fact any product in the nail industry. Even nail polish

Her efforts with unregulated products may have actually been over exposing herself and setting her up for sensitivity due to the unknown ingredients. Once you become hyper sensitive additional allergies can easily form even if application and precaution are taken

Below is a lot of additional info that you may find useful in explaining this to her.

Science Topic: Allergies

Odds are extremely high that she will forever react to a broader range of nail ingredients now sadly. I've even seen clients who become sensitive to nail polish from years of over exposure ....
Hths

 

[emmalebron]

Thank you

 

[Bel's Gels]

I agree with Envy as it has happened to me.
A few times my fingers have had the exact same reactions as your clients. get very itchy and red, with blisters and after a day or so the skin tends to crack at the top of the fingers and then over a period of weeks it peels away.

Once you have a reaction to one product it tends to leave you open to getting reactions to more products. My guess would be that she has reacted to the Bluesky and now she is sensitive to any product with similar ingredients.

I have a reaction to monomers & some uv gel polishes.
I now use a clear monomer and can at least have acrylics nails done without the allergic reaction.

I have to be very careful when applying gel polish to myself. I do not get any on my skin and I am careful when removing the inhibition layer, I do this in one swipe so that is does not make contact with my skin.

Good luck, I hope in time it becomes better for your client.