Submitted by MistWeaver80 t3_10no1mj in science
Similarly finger-nail salons are probably toxic chemical factories that expose workers and clients
The exposure of the workers will be chronic, which can lead to bad long-term health problems. I have seen this in guys that paint automobiles.
Clients will be exposed for short times every few weeks, which would reduce the risk.
The fumes can also be deliberately abused as inhalants...and lead to brain damage not to mention cancer etc
Like acetone? Production workers at small paint companies (where ventilation isn't nearly as good as compared to medium and large companies) are probably exposed to solvent concentrations - including formaldehyde - at least two orders of magnitude higher than salon workers.
Ethylmethacrylate (glue for acrylic nails) is the main culprit. That stuff reeks as well. I have personally experienced building up a tolerance to a smell but it's so pungent that you should always detect some amount of it.
At least most nail salon workers wear N95s. (The one I go to, they do, anyway.)
Heck, they did even before the pandemic. They know they shouldn't be breathing in acrylic dust.
Unfortunately N95 masks offer 0 protection against harmful fumes. Though perhaps as you say it's actually just invisible dust and then they would protect.
The ones who wear that are usually the ones at the nail station, where the primary risk is from the acrylic dust. They use a tiny dremel of sorts to drill directly into the acrylic and shape it, and that dust gets EVERYWHERE.
I've seen some of the acrylic nail techs wear goggles as well.
The ones who primarily deal in pedicures and such only started wearing masks during the pandemic. They still deal with harsh chemicals (acetone etc) but they can wear gloves to protect their hands at least.
Oh interesting, at least they wear masks. I always figured the fumes would be worse, but I didn't realize there was that much grinding.
Yeah I don't think I've ever had a set of acrylic nails put on by a nail tech who wasn't wearing a serious mask. I wonder if its legally required in California or something.
I wouldn't be surprised.
There's also a really neat story about the diaspora of Vietnamese nail salon owners, most of whom got their start in California at a technical college taught in Vietnamese, and how they came to dominate the industry around the US.
California's rules and regulations still dominate how the practice and business is taught in all the other states as a result.
also carcinogenic exposure to UV used to "cure /harden /set" the acrylic nails, people getting skin cancer in their fingertips, for real.
Different wavelength if you are using LED and perfectly safe.
Only bad if you use some outdated cfl thing…
wrong. Lamps that emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation are standard in some nail salons to speed-dry regular manicures and to set gel manicures. These lamps can be called UV lamps or LED lamps and both emit UV radiation, predominantly UVA rays which have been linked to increased risk of skin cancer
Those UV leds are cheap 400nm ones. That could be considered visible light. I mean it IS visible light.
You can cure the nail polish in the same 120 seconds by going out around noon in summer.
Soo unless you are avoiding the summer sun that much; LEDs won‘t make a difference.
The problem isn‘t UV LEDs it’s using 50W UV lamps where all of that energy is in the UV spectrum.
Rather than an LED lamp running on a 5V 2A USB supply..
Agree, I was a construction super and used to tell my wife if I told my guys to work in an environment toxic I could be arrested. (BTW, worked in Cali, where it is a criminal offense)
And commercial roofers, especially ones that deal with pvc and tpo cleaners, primers and adhesives, not to mention hot tar.
people can become alleric to latex due to constant exposure which is why nitrile became a standard. Nail polish is a lacquer like car paint.
I feel like there’s a super hero origin story lurking in here somewhere.
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There was a big study done because they noted that Asian women working in salons were dying of a really specific cancer. Turned out it was from the stuff in the mail products. I think it I learned about this from a series on HBO about the beauty industry... "Not so pretty"? They were saying that women from Asian backgrounds were being exposed to dangerous chemicals every day but not being warned. A lot died very early. It is a sad documentary. The same can be said for people working with textured hair. They use different products on the hair and some of these are maybe not as regulated or are brought in from out of the country and so haven't been through the same checks. It's good that this is coming to light more and more but bad that it's still an issue.
Acetone isn’t good for you and a bunch of shop’s problems still use it.
-someone who coincidentally also has a lot of unprotected acetone exposure doing fiberglass projects.
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Most hair-dressers I know smoke. So it’s probably that which will kill them, not the hairspray chemicals.
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