Can A Pedicure Cause Skin Cancer?

With summer here women everywhere are flocking to nail salons and having their digits pedicured. What woman doesn't like to look down at her feet and see a bright, cheerful color? We've blogged before about the dangers of pedicures at nail salons, but there is a new precaution women should be careful of: shellac and gel nail polish pedicures.
The benefits of having a gel or shellac pedicure is that it lasts much longer than traditional nail polish pedicures and never chips or peels. Sounds great, right? A staff member describes the process of getting a shellac pedicure:

"There are four coats of nail polish that go on your toenails, and after each coat, your feet are put in a contraption where UV light is shone on your feet. The light does get hot and sometimes irritates your skin. Each foot each coat sometimes stays in light for up to 90 seconds. While the pedicure lasts a lot longer, getting it off is very difficult. The only way to get the polish off is to soak your feet in remover for 5 minutes and scrape it off. Part of your toenail actually flakes off with it! It took me forever to grow my toenails again and they were thin afterwards."
But what about skin cancer? Well, if you get a gel/shellac every other week and you feet are exposed to high levels of UV rays for about 5 minutes a foot, you are putting yourself at risk. The skin around the toenail is especially sensitive to UV rays and is a common place for skin cancer to occur on the feet.
If you are going to get a gel/shellac pedicure, make sure you apply sunscreen to your feet before the nail polish is applied. Don't put it on before your appointment as you will soak in the tub and the sunscreen will wash away.
If you notice an odd spot on your foot and think it may be skin cancer, call one of our six offices to make an appointment.
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Podiatrists in CT
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