so i do my own nails, been doing them for about four-ish years.
i first started with polygel, but the kit i bought came with a very small wattage so it never cured and i then developed contact dermatitis, so i gave up on polygel, then i tried actual acrylic nails, but its A LOT harder than it looks so i just stuck with press-ons, until we found acrylic dip.
i loved it! but i couldn’t get my nails to stay on. (i had no idea what prep work was, plus my nails were extra oily)
then we find out about gel x! (it’s what i use currently) i was fascinated by the process. nail polish that acts as glue when used with a uv light? AWESOME!
well because gel x was new, there wasn’t much about it and the chemicals in the products was heavy.
they would trigger my contact dermatitis like crazy!! i would get the hives, itchiness, and even crustiness at the tips of my fingers and cuticle areas.
back to press-ons i went, with a few acrylic dips here and there.
a few months ago, my mom found liquid latex at the dollar store, so she grabbed it for me, and it worked! i was able to use gel x again!
i then went into facebook groups about gel x help and found out brands are going to the hema-free route. since hema (i forget the chemical name) is a very common allergen/toxin, most brands are or are going into, hema free.
curious, i bought a glue from a hema-free brand. i didn’t get itchy or even red! i got to do my nails and even make some intricate designs without the allergy triggering!
well cut to last night, my mom had bought gel polish off of temu a few years back, (yes we now know that’s not the safest) i wanted to get a beautiful purple design but the only purple i had was the temu brand.
i woke up today with irritated, itchy, red hives over 6 out of 10 fingers, and even a little blister in between my thumb and index fingers.
i spent 6 hours on those nails and had to take them off not even twelve hours after💔
id also like to mention that i could have triggered it by using the solid gel. i wanted to make white flowers, so i mixed in white polish with that gel, and as i mixed in the white, the “non-sticky” solid gel became very sticky. almost like slime on my fingers. (i didn’t use gloves, like an idiot)
i do think it was the temu polish since after taking off those nails, i’ve felt better, still itchy, but it’s incredibly less unbearable.
moral of the story; do your research, keep yourself safe, and dont think you’re invincible to contact dermatitis