Is nail extension harmful or helpful?

Manicure services in our country every year become more and more popular among the female population. According to market research data, a woman spends an average of 5,000 rubles a year to bring her nails in order and maintain them in a presentable state. And this is only the lower limit of indicators. The list of services of nail salons is very diverse, but nail extension is considered the most profitable procedure. Any modern salon is unthinkable now without providing this service, as it is in high demand among clients.

Having beautiful and well-groomed hands became the same need as regular haircut and a visit to a beautician. Hands are the business card of any woman, and in order to look as good as others, people are willing to spend money. The idea to build up artificial polymer nails came to us from the United States of America, where this technique has been successfully practiced, having firmly entered everyday life 50 years ago. It is much easier to care for artificial nails, and for those ladies whose nail plate is not perfect by nature, or when thin and weak nails cannot be grown to optimal size, the extension is simply a silver bullet.

The procedure of artificial nail modeling has a number of undeniable positive properties. Let us consider in more detail what is this benefit:

• the use of polymeric materials allows you to increase the length of the natural nail, significantly strengthening the nail plate itself;
• With the help of certain techniques, it is possible to correct the shape of the nail if there are any hereditary defects or traumatic consequences, and it is impossible to correct them in another way;
• ideally performed extension procedure even helps to visually adjust the shape and length of the fingers;

• the problem of broken and bitten nails is radically solved, moreover, artificial nails discourage their owner from addiction, because you want to admire beautifully executed marigolds and not nibble them;
• polymer nails help many women get rid of the complexes that they often have in connection with ugly nails;
• Sometimes an artificial nail plays the role of a kind of implant in case of extensive damage to the nail, when it takes time for it to grow and not cause pain.

The beauty industry is largely obliged to the birth of nails from polymeric materials to dentists. By a trial and error method, the manicure masters came to the conclusion that dental materials based on acrylic are most suitable for modeling nails. The first drugs to build steel acrylic powder and liquid for its polymerization. Today, in addition to acrylic, a special gel, shellac, and fiberglass are used to model the nail plate. Each material has its own characteristics, not only by the method of application, but also by the characteristics of the finished result.

To determine which material is better is clearly impossible. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, acrylic nails during their creation require more time and skill of the master, but in the process of work you will have to endure the unpleasant smell of a polymerizing liquid.The nails which are increased by gel have the feature - polymerization at this material happens under the influence of ultraviolet rays, and you will not experience unpleasant smells at procedure on yourself.

The procedure for expanding the nail plate, in addition to its merits, has some drawbacks, of which you, of course, need to know, before making a decision - to make such manipulation for yourself or to refrain from it. Most often, troubles arise not through the fault of polymeric materials, but due to the insufficient qualification of craftsmen who perform the buildup. In the process of work, the master must take into account many nuances, and for this he needs to undergo specialized training in order not to harm the client unknowingly.

If non-compliance with the technology of extension and the use of low-quality polymeric materials, the consequences after performing a low-quality procedure can be very different. We list the most common.

• Infection of the nail plate. Loose fit of the polymer to the nail plate leaves a small gap, where when washing hands gets moisture and dirt. Sometimes it happens that the nail plate is forgotten to be disinfected before applying the polymeric materials. All these reasons are culprits of reproduction under an artificial covering of bacteria and algae. Externally, this situation is manifested by the appearance of green or black spots under the accrued nail.

• Thinning or injury of the nail plate. Before applying the artificial polymer composition, the nail should be slightly polished with a file in order to remove excess fat and level the surface. And during remedial work it is often necessary to cut down the remains of polymeric materials. If you overdo it, the nail plate can be thinned, it will become soft and thin, like paper. Sometimes self-taught masters can tear off your artificial nail with forceps while removing the layer of your nail plate. You will not feel pain, but your nail will be noticeably thinner and softer.

• Injury with excessive length of the nail. If the ratio of the size of the nail bed and the length of the artificial nail is incorrect, you can get a very significant injury in the form of a deep break in your nail plate during the wearing of polymer nails. If the so-called lever of the free edge of the nail is too long, then at the slightest carelessness it will break a part of your nail plate from the opposite side. There have been cases that your nail just plucked from the nail bed. This is a very painful injury, as the person has nerve endings under the nail plate.

• Washed down nails. Often, to simplify the procedure of removing polymeric materials from the nail, the masters of the manicure business use electric machines with various nozzles in the form of a so-called cutter. Cutting the material, the master can damage your living nail, sawing the transverse furrow on it. This happens quite quickly, as the cutter removes much more than a single file in one pass. In addition, with this procedure, the nail plate heats up very quickly due to friction, and you may feel pain. Nails damaged in this way will recover for a long time, they are prone to breaking and cracking, and transverse grooves will cause peeling of materials during extension, which is very harmful for a living nail.

• Traumatic damage to the cuticle. In preparation for the extension procedure, the master should process your cuticle. Most often it is removed by cutting with special tweezers. Injuries while very likely.

• Allergic manifestations. Such troubles can happen in the case when the master begins to mix products for modeling various manufacturers, arbitrarily begins to change the proportions and consistency of drugs or violates the technology of work. For example, there is a rule - do not touch the chemical components of the skin and cuticle, in violation of which may cause irritation of the epidermis or even a chemical burn.

These disadvantages can be avoided if you do the work qualitatively, without violating the technology of using materials. As a rule, troubles most often occur among self-taught masters who work at home from themselves or from a client.

Since the advent of nail modeling services with polymeric materials, supporters and opponents have appeared. Various myths and conjectures have developed around this topic about how harmful it is for the health of the body to use artificial chemical materials. Manufacturers of polymeric materials provide explanations and comment on the truth and speculation from a scientific point of view.

• Polymeric materials for modeling spoil their nail plates - such conclusions are often heard from the mouth of a layman. The American chemist Shun Douglas, the author of the scientific work entitled “The Structure of Nails and Chemical Products”, spoke on this occasion. He writes that not modeling materials spoil natural nails, but masters. And it’s hard not to agree. It happens that customers do not distinguish modeling with polymers from usual gluing of plastic tips, which can be bought in a stall selling low-quality cosmetics. Tips can be colored, with drawings, a glue tube must be attached to them. Glue badly sticks tipsy, but well damages the nail plate. Sometimes, in order to firmly glue tips, they use universal glue for housekeeping, which glues everything - from paper to metal.

• Materials for polymer extension cause oncology - this myth was debunked in the 70s in the USA. As already mentioned, the ancestor of polymers for nail modeling were materials used in dentistry. Over time, they were replaced by more plastic products, since those used for filing were too hard and led to breaking off or chipping of the nails. However, the basis of these materials is the same. Agree that the materials that are used by dentists, have passed hundreds of tests and studies, confirming their innocence to oncology.

• Pregnant women should not be in contact with polymeric materials. Let's turn again to the research of Douglas Shun from the USA. According to research data, it has been found that polymers are no more harmful than ordinary nail polish. And although they contain components of toluene and formaldehyde, which are harmful to the fetus, their amount is present in such micro doses that there is no danger either for the mother or for the child.Of course, the master (especially if the client is pregnant) during the procedure must comply with sanitary and hygienic standards - wash your hands, do not eat at the workplace, close the lids of containers with chemicals.

• Dust from polymeric materials is harmful - this is the opinion. Professionals say that nails are created with a brush, and not with a nail file. The higher the skill and professionalism - the less you have to saw and get dust. Inhalation of any dust is harmful to our lungs, so it is necessary to apply precautions - wear a respirator and clean your workplace in a timely manner.

If you become the owner of extended nails, you must remember to treat them carefully, so that they do not become a source of injury to you. Artificial nails do not need any special extra care, but the skin of your hands needs it. Professionals advise to soften the skin of the fingers and the area of ​​the cuticle by rubbing in special oils or cream. This should be done daily, and the procedure takes only 1-2 minutes.

After 3-4 weeks you need to come to the correction. It is categorically not recommended to do correction or removal of nails on your own. And if you have a detachment of material or a breakdown, you need to get to the master as quickly as possible to eliminate this problem, since it can lead to more serious consequences.

On whether nail extension is harmful, see the following video.