Radio & chemotherapy & acrylics

[blossom]

Sadly one of my oldest clients has vaginal cancer and has phoned me to say she's just started radiotherapy this week. They've not mentioned her acrylic nails yet but I'm sure there's a reason why you're not suppose to have them on?

She also starts chemo this week.

She's adamant she still wants her nails infilling etc. I told her to ask this week at hospital. She said as the cancers not in her hands or arms she think it'll be ok!?!

Any advice from those in the know? Thanks

I've searched but can't find the info.

 

[Trinity]

Chemo can cause onycholisis, quite badly and quite quickly, like it causes hair loss, nails are made of keratin too so they suffer.

She might be fine, I'd pre-warn her and take it on an appointment by appointment basis. If/when it starts you'd be better removing any enhancements and keeping the nails as short as possible to prevent total loss.

Gel polish is a bit of an unknown quantity as it's still relatively new. Personally, I'd work on an individual basis, if the client was good with things like aftercare, and likely to let you know if she had any problems then I'd try gel polish. If she was unlikely to keep on top of things then I'd stick to normal polish. You'd need to be super gentle with removal of gel polish, I'd use extra cuticle oil before wrapping and let the remover do as much work as possible, very little orange wood stick work.

Encourage lots of solar oil use, but be prepared for her to not be able to stand the smell, some strong scents can be over powering.

 

[Molly B]

Hi Blossom

Sorry to hear about your poor client.

I used to work in a wig and beauty salon for cancer patients and alopecia.

All chemo therapies are different and affect the patients in different ways. Some ladies would not lose hair yet in some ladies the nails would fall off.

What was recommended was oiling and moisturising the hands and cuticles and applying a dark colour polish. Unfortunately I don't know what the reason for the dark polish is.

The brand of hand balms and cuticle oil that was stocked was called Jennifer Young and Lindi. The also do skin care. Lindi only came as I was leaving but I met Jennifer and she is a lovely lady who has made products with the input of cancer patients and their nurses. She is very particular to what she puts in her products and they are beautiful to use.

The brand of nail polish that was used was called spa ritual available from nsi as apparently it is vegan and "5 free".

I really hope your client can continue with nails it's so important to some people. I remember the odd time we would be asked to call out to the hospital just to tidy and polish the nails as it can make a person feel so much better. Good luck Blossom your client is in good hands with you anyway xxx

 

[squidgernetball]

I've had a client very poorly with cancer. All through chemo and radio therapy she has had gels on - no extensions. She dyed her hair pink and had purple nails. They were in fab condition all the way through and removal on a regular basis meant we could keep an eye on them.

I've also heard about dark varnish. I think it's to do with protecting the nails. Chemo can make them super sensitive and sometimes sensitive to sunlight, and dark varnish protects them. I don't know how true this is. But nails can also look horrible and discoloured during treatment and dark colours cover this and can help cancer patients still enjoy their nails. Sadly (although we've never had the conversation) my clients cancer won't be getting better so if purple nails make her smile I'm happy to oblige x

 

[alburys]

You may like to read the information here http://www.beautydespitecancer.co.uk/blog/2013/nail-damage-during-treatment-for-breast-cancer Jennifer Young has a range of products which have been developed after she was consulted by her local hospital to assist patients going through chemo. I attended a lecture she gave at the Excel show in February. She also runs specialist training courses for nail techs wishing to learn more about manicures for those undergoing treatment. The black lines on nails are caused by the Chemo drugs hence the recommendation for dark polish. There are several different kinds of Chemo and the side effects vary. Some ladies become more concerned about what nail polish contains (understandable) and so will want to opt for '5 Free' or '7 Free' polish. I believe Shellac is 7 Free but you should check their website. The use of removers can be drying so nail oil application and balm daily (several times if possible) is advised - but we should all be doing that right? I trained in nails 5-6 years ago now just after one of my sisters received her diagnosis of breast cancer. I managed to prevent her losing several of her nails through the use of silk and Gelish application. Made sure to be extra careful re hygiene and would be best to keep a dedicated set of implements if possible for such a client to give her reassurance. No cutting of cuticles etc. Having her nails (hands/toes) done gave her such a boost.

Susan
No affiliation at all with Jennifer Young or her website just a good source of the correct information!

 

[blossom]

Great advice everyone thank you all.

My lady has thin nails that break on their own, I've been seeing her 10 years and we've done a few different things but she always has tips with l&p and a pale pearl polish.

I'm a bit concerned though, how do you tell if discolouration on the nails is caused by some kind of infection or by the chemo? I don't want to make anything worse for her the poor love.

Next time I see her she wants new extensions - should I try and talk her into overlays and just keep them quite short? She will moan! She likes what she calls a filbert shape, almondy and quite long!!

I'm a bit concerned having the extra weight of having acrylics might make her nails come away from the nailbed! I will see her every couple of weeks but what signs should I look out for?