It is well-known that ultraviolet rays cause skin cancer and damage DNA; however, very little safety research has been conducted on the lamps used in nail drying devices in beauty salons. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Pittsburgh in the United States has revealed evidence of the damage that the radiation source used in these devices may cause to our hands. The light from the lamp in the nail dryer easily penetrates the skin and leads to unknown effects.
The lead author, Ludmila Alexandrov, stated, "There hasn't been any molecular understanding of what these devices do to human cells, and the results of the experiment suggest that the ultraviolet light emitted from nail drying lamps can damage the DNA of human cells." When samples of human cells were placed inside a nail dryer for two sessions of 20 minutes each, about 20 to 30 percent of the cells died. The remaining cells showed signs of DNA damage and mutations associated with skin cancer.
While these results do not provide direct evidence of an increased cancer risk, they indicate a significant level of risk. In 2009, two healthy women who regularly underwent nail decoration procedures and had no family history of the disease were diagnosed with skin cancer.
