Many nail salons and street stalls use substandard nail polish and glitter powder. Experts warn that prolonged use of polish containing excessive heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury on thinly filed nails allows harmful substances to be absorbed through the nails. This can cause chronic poisoning symptoms and severely disrupt female endocrine systems, increasing the risk of breast cancer.
Protection Tips: Choose reputable salons with nationally certified, high-quality products. To minimize chemical absorption, apply a nourishing oil as a barrier before nail polish. Women planning pregnancy,pregnancy, or breastfeeding should avoid cosmetics labeled with "phthalates" to prevent miscarriage or birth defects caused by these compounds.
Causing Skin Inflammation
The first step in manicures is typically removing cuticles and filing nails, making the nail surface appear neater and hands look more refined.In reality, this damages the cuticle's natural protective function. Without this barrier, nails become extremely fragile, making the underlying tissue prone to redness, inflammation, swelling, and infection. Severe cases can rapidly develop into paronychia (nail fold infection). Recurring infections may progress to chronic paronychia. To achieve a more realistic look with artificial nails, the nail surface is often filed down,leaving the fingernail vulnerable without its protective layer. This makes the nail susceptible to damage from acidic or alkaline substances, leading to frequent breakage, yellowing, or darkening, and compromising overall nail health.
Protection Tips: Soak the cuticles in warm water or gently wash them before lightly filing away a portion with a cuticle file, leaving some to protect the nail. When applying artificial nails, avoid filing your natural nails too thin—just lightly buff the surface to prevent damage.
Unsterilized Tools Lead to Cross-Contamination
Many nail salons today operate with minimal setup: a table, a chair, and a basic set of nail polish, brushes, and tools are often all that's needed to open for business.The tools provided to customers are often unclean. Items like towels, tweezers, and scissors are rarely replaced and disinfected after each use. The workspace and tools themselves are not properly sterilized, failing to meet hygiene standards. This lack of disinfection makes it easy to contract infections like tinea manuum, onychomycosis, or paronychia. The process of removing cuticles is particularly risky, as sharp tools can easily damage skin tissue.Without proper sterilization, cross-contamination is highly likely...
Protection Tips: Before getting a manicure, always inspect the shop's hygiene conditions. Check if staff wear masks, wash hands before each service, and strictly sterilize tools. If these standards aren't met, choose another establishment. If you're uneasy about the tools provided, bring your own manicure supplies.
Mold Growth on Acrylic Nails
Acrylic nails are currently very popular, involving the extension of natural nails with three-dimensional embellishments resembling "diamond inlays."The quality of acrylic powder varies. If poorly ventilated powder is used and the technician lacks skill, bubbles and gaps formed on the nails become breeding grounds for bacteria. After getting acrylic nails, consumers may experience inflammation in their fingernails, ranging from mild itching to severe redness and swelling. Fungal infections are a common risk following acrylic nail procedures.
Prevention Tips: Inspect the products used by your technician beforehand. Opt for reputable professional salons and experienced technicians, or purchase crystal powder yourself.