Are Manicures Bad for Your Nails?

Everyone would love to get a manicure done as it feels good when you come back from the salon with neatly polished clean nails. Those who are fond of maintaining healthy & painted nails, follow manicures religiously. With carefully trimmed nails, it makes you have a clean outlook on others.

People also tend to judge you based on your nails and that is why getting your nails done is important. It can help you feel and look great! But there is another side to manicure which may make you think twice.

Let us look in detail at it:

1. Risk of Fungal Infection

Your manicurist will thoroughly disinfect the tool used but fungi are said to be tenacious. They may hide out inside polish brushes, your technician’s hands, etc.

2. Nail Beds can Get Permanently Damaged

While you relax and enjoy your manicure, your manicurist may trim your cuticles without asking you. And if they go too far, they can damage the living skin which may cause a wavy and uneven nail bed. Ideally, your manicurist should gently push your cuticles using a cuticle stick.

3. Gel Manicures have the Risk of Skin Cancer & Premature Aging

Of course, gel manicures look good! They are tougher, dry quickly, and even last longer. But UV lamps that are used for quick drying may be invisibly damaging on a cellular level. It is said to be an intense exposure that can skin damage.

4. Not all Manicurists have Mastered the Art of Filing

Manicurists work fast and that is how they are trained. But filing nails quickly can damage your tips. It can cause cracks, splitting, or peeling further down the line. Make sure your manicurist files your nails in a single direction and uses a clean file with a fine grain.

5. Weakens Your Nails

Regular manicures can weaken your nails. The only way to remove that last layer of gel polish is only by using a caustic acetone remover. Over some time, this tends to weaken your nails. Acetone tends to dry out keratin which is the rigid protein with which your nails are made of. Dry keratin can peel, become brittle and finally break.

6. Permanent Stains

If your manicurist forgets to put the base coat on, then your nails may end up getting permanent stains. Base coats are not only used to make the color pop but also to protect your nails & the surrounding skin from the powerful dyes in the colored polish. So make sure to get the base coat done!

7. Nails Get Rough

We now know that acetone and keratin just don’t get along. And with repeated exposure, this nail polish remover can break the top layer of your fingernails. Eventually, your nails will end up getting a rough surface. Probably, you won’t notice this freshly after your manicure. You will feel the difference when you go natural.

8. Allergy Alert!

Though it is quite rare to uncover an allergic reaction during a manicure, it can happen. Manicurists do use a lot of chemicals that you may be exposed to. It can be nail adhesive, acrylics, or even acetone. There are chances that you may be allergic to these.

9. Toxic Trio

You should ask your manicurists if the products they are using in the procedure contain toluene, DBP, or formaldehyde. Or, simply ask about the ‘toxic trio’. These chemicals have been linked to birth defects, asthma, or even cancer. You should be more careful about the products that are being used on you.

10. Beware of Bold Shades

You may pick up a nail infection from a nail salon and the manicure that infected you may end up covering up the growing infestation. Probably, if you are wearing a bold nail color then there are chances that the fungal infection may go unnoticed by you.

So having read the above risks involved in getting a manicure done at the nail salon, you should probably think about ‘how to take care of nails’. You now have a sound reason when you say to someone ‘Why I stopped getting my nails done at a salon. It is easy to make out the difference between healthy fingernails vs unhealthy ones. And talking about ‘how to get healthy nails naturally’, you should religiously follow the below nail care tips: