UV light nail polish dryers can cause cancer, new study shows

A new study has shown that ultra-violet (UV) light can kill cells and cause mutations that are typically seen in skin cancer.

The study, which was conducted by the University of California San Diego and the University of Pittsburgh in the United States, revealed that UV light in the machines produces radiation four times stronger than that emitted by the sun.

The study analyzed cells into two different conditions of UV exposure; cells with acute exposure had 20-minute sessions under the UV dryers with an hour break between, while those with chronic exposure had 20-minute sessions under the UV dryers for 3 consecutive days.

The researchers found that the 20-minute session of exposure to the UV dryers resulted in 20 to 30 per cent cell death, while three consecutive  20-minutes sessions of exposure resulted in 65 to 70 per cent cell death.

In the remaining cells, the exposure resulted in mutations that are typically seen in skin cancer.

The study authors also noted that many cases of rare cancers developing in fingers are from people who frequently get gel manicures using UV nail polish dryers, like pageant contestants and estheticians.

Ludmil Alexandrov, a bioengineering professor at UC San Diego and one of the study authors, said in a statement that: "We saw multiple things: first, we saw that DNA gets damaged. We also saw that some of the DNA damage does not get repaired over time, and it does lead to mutations after every exposure with a UV-nail polish dryer.”

“Lastly, we saw that exposure may cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which may also result in additional mutations. We looked at patients with skin cancers, and we see the exact same patterns of mutations in these patients that were seen in the irradiated cells.”