A new study from the University of California at San Diego (USA), published in the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications’, shows that the ultraviolet light of nail dryer lamps put DNA at risk. Specifically, it has been shown that just 20 minutes under the lamp is between 20 and 30% cell death. This exposure can even cause skin cancer.
Ultraviolet light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface with values between 280 newton meters (nm) and 400 nm. Of the three levels of UV radiation that exist –UVA, UVB y UVC–, the lamps used in nail salons to dry nail polish work by ultraviolet light Aa different light than the one our skin is used to.
To know the risk of these lamps, a comparison has been made with the tanning beds. In that comparison, the data shows that nail dryers use a spectrum of ultraviolet light ranging from 340 to 395 nmwhile in tanning beds it is of the same value as the electromagnetic radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, nothing to worry about. But as far as we know, no one has studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular level,” he warned. Ludmil Alexandrovauthor of the study and professor of bioengineering and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, according to InfoSalus.
What effects does the exposure of our hands to this type of dryer cause?
The study reflects some of the effects that this type of nail dryer can cause on our skin, both in the long and short term.
- With only 20 minutes under the ultraviolet light of these dryers, it can suppose between a 20 and 30% cell death.
- Three consecutive 20-minute exposures cause the death of between 65 and 70% of the exposed cells.
- Exposure to ultraviolet light also caused mitochondrial damage in the remaining cells, which can lead to additional mutations.
- It can cause skin cancer.
- Part of the damage caused in the DNA not repaired over time and therefore leads to other mutations after each exposure to the ultraviolet nail dryer.
Likewise, although these conclusions have drawn harmful aspects of this type of dryer, the researchers point out that it would be necessary another long-term study to draw further conclusions. “Such studies are likely to take at least a decade to complete and then report to the general public,” they conclude.
