Are nail salon UV lamps a skin cancer risk?

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The ultraviolet lamps used in some nail salons to dry and cure nail polish deliver the same hazardous rays as tanning beds, but it would take many manicures to actually cause damage, suggests a new study. After testing 17 different lamps in nail salons, researchers calculated that it would take between eight and 208 visits – depending on the machine – to damage skin cells in a way that raises cancer risk. “I wouldn’t tell a patient to stop going unless they were going multiple times a month,” lead author Dr. Lyndsay Shipp from Georgia Regents University in Augusta told Reuters Health. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a risk factor for most skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.