Preventing allergies

Image source: scratch magazine

the problem

Irreversable allergies are happening in the nail industry from overexposure to products – NOT designed for skin – coming into contact… with skin. This is the one and only problem.

A BBC article has highlighted the main culprit as DIY home gel kits.

“Dr Deirdre Buckley of the British Association of Dermatologists is urging people to stop using DIY home kits”

Let me just take one for the DIY’ers…

Almost ALL nail technicians started out as DIY’ers – so lets unpack the real problem and discuss the simple solution.

lack of regulation

New Zealand has literally no regulations for the nail industry so nail tech’s, dermatologists, podiatrists have been eager for this to become regulated.

The problem with regulation is – who will run this operation of visiting, assessing and licencing nail salons? who will pay for this regulation and all the admin required to be in place? How much will this cost the nail tech’s, salons, or taxpayer to be regulated and avoid a few stupid people (one per week in the UK being seen by Dr D. Buckley) doing – what they’re gonna do anyway!

And I beg to argue – how has the UK’s strict regulations in the beauty industry helped them with their current epidemic of allergies to nail products?

Also how far do we go with regulation?

Just salons? the competence of individual nail technicians? regulating and restricting the sale of nail products?

Are large salons going to licence individual nail technicians everytime they hire/fire someone? Day spas? what about home salons? who’s going to ensure they are working to protocols on a client by client basis?

How about a penalty system where clients can personally sue their nail tech’s or salons for reactions?

Then nail tech’s and salons will both need some hefty liability insurance upgrades.

If we regulate the sale of nail products, is it customs job to stop nail products being shipped in internationally from trade me, ebay, amazon, aliexpress etc

The simple solution

Referring back to “the problem”

Products designed for only being in contact with the nail plate – are coming into contact with skin and causing contact dermititis and lifelong allergies to nail products.

Why is it so hard to keep the product off skin?

Nail technicians and salons have been around for centuries and we are now, in 2023 suffering an epidemic and influx of allergies to nail products.

What are we doing different?

Okay – so yes, products previously only available to salons and nail technicians, are now available for the public to purchase at their leisure.

Education – this is the missing link.

DIY kit sellers, must start providing education. It can be absoutely free! but it needs to include a competancy test and be completed before the customer can purchase the products.

https://youtu.be/7VtNMx3N0vs