It is common to find women these days with well-manicured nails very often, either with nail extensions, the usual easy to remove nail polish or gel which is becoming increasingly popular.
However, although gel manicures can be beautiful and long-lasting, they can be tough on nails. Gel manicures can cause nail brittleness, peeling and cracking, and repeated use can increase the risk for skin cancer and premature skin ageing on the hands, experts say.
"It is advisable to give the nails a break once in a while to keep them in their best condition,” says Alex Akineza, a manicurist in Kigali.
Akineza says nails sometimes give a warning sign that they may be tired through a condition known as chloroncychia, or green nail syndrome, characterised by green discolouration of the nail plate (greenish-yellow, greenish-brown, greenish-black), which is the result of a fungal nail infection.
"The infection may be seen in fingernails or toenails, which gives a colour range and may be persistent even after cleaning the nail,” Akineza says.
Artificial nails and gel, Akineza says, involve acids and other chemicals that can cause allergic reactions, fungal infections and other problems.
According to Alain Kamanzi, a student at University of Rwanda’s College of Medicine and Health Sciences, the removal process of gel polish and plucked nails can be destructive to nails.
"The process involves soaking in acetone (a chemical used in polish remover) and the aggressive buffing, scraping, and peeling of polish can injure the nail plate and later lead to inflammation,” Kamanzi says.
A manicurist may scrape the nail plate forcefully, making the chemicals used while cleaning the nail get absorbed in the body, which can contribute to body inflammation as well, Kamanzi adds.
Studies have established that chronic inflammation can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovascular disease such as cancer, diabetes, plus other conditions.
He adds that the gel polish itself hasn’t been associated with an increased risk of cancer, however, drying of the gel nail polish means photopolymerisation, a process during which a liquid absorbs energy from UV or visible light and undergoes cross-linking to become a solid.
"The fairly high level of UV radiation is known as the major cause of cellular damage and skin ageing, and plays a major role in the development of skin cancer, especially when the skin is bleached,” Kamanzi says.
Kamanzi recommends using sunscreen to avoid UV or visible light getting through the skin.
Experts urge to take a break for two to four weeks to allow the parts associated with the nails to go back to normal, and also for the nails to rehydrate and allow repair of the underlying structures. You can apply olive oil, coconut oil or cuticle oil to also aid recovery and build back some nail strength.