Is your gel manicure giving you cancer?

There are a lot of reasons why people choose gel manicures and pedicures. For one thing, their chip-free guarantee means having perfectly polished digits for weeks; for another, those who suffer from weak, brittle or otherwise unhealthy nails feel they can have a new lease on beauty with gel nails. But the process does expose you to unnecessary UVA rays, which are exactly the ones dermatologists implore us to protect against all year long.

READ MORE: Nail salon safety: What to watch for at your next manicure or pedicure

Gel manicures are cured (or set) by putting your nails under a lamp that uses UVA radiation. These are the same rays that account for up to 95 per cent of the UV radiation that reaches the earth’s surface, and are responsible for premature aging of the skin. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, UVA contributes to and may even cause skin cancer.

Considering that when curing a gel manicure or pedicure, up to 50 per cent of the hands or feet could be exposed to these rays for up to 10 minutes, many have wondered whether they’re exposing themselves to possible skin cancer risk.

In a study published in JAMA Dermatology, researchers from Augusta University looked at a small sampling of nail salons to evaluate the potential danger of UV light exposure. They concluded that although not all UV dryers emitted the same amount of radiation, the low-energy exposure means it would require multiple visits to reach the threshold for potential DNA damage.

“Being exposed to such a low dose, for only a few minutes, on only a small percent of the total surface of the body — we don’t have any data on that, because the risk would be so small that it would be almost impossible to detect it,” Paolo Boffetta, the director of cancer prevention at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said to The Atlantic.

“Being outside on a very sunny day will make a much bigger difference, in terms of the amount of exposure people get compared to this sort of thing.”

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Plus, he says, the risk for DNA damage that can lead to cancer is greater in adolescence, so anyone getting gel manicures in their 20s, 30s or later may have an even more reduced risk.

But when Karolina Jasko, Miss Illinois USA, recently saw a dark line appear across the surface of her nail and showed it to her doctor, she was diagnosed with melanoma.

Dr. Carolyn Jacob, director of Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology, believes that Jasko may have been at higher risk because of a family history of melanoma, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen to those who don’t have the same medical profile.

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“Whether indoor tanning, UV lamp, outdoor tanning, all of those can cause aging of the skin and potential for skin cancers,” Jacob said.

That’s not to say that you need to swear off gel manicures, though. Doctors suggest slathering on sunscreen before going under the light, whether it’s a lotion or a powder. There are also UV-protecting gloves on the market specifically for gel polish setting, or you can fashion your own by snipping the tips off a pair of white cotton gloves.

As for Jasko, she’s using this as an opportunity to get the word out about how to protect yourself from the potential hazards of a UV manicure.

“Being Miss Illinois USA helps me a lot because I get to talk about it with large groups of people and I feel like I get to bring awareness.”