Gel manicures are bad. What do we do now?

Few beauty rituals are as satisfying as a manicure. Especially one with a gleaming finish, its mirror-like quality unperturbed and chip-free. But the secret to that industrial-strength finish is trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO), a substance now coming under major scrutiny.

In September, the European Union reclassified TPO as a CMR 1B substance, “meaning potentially carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction”, explains Victoria Brownlie, the chief policy and sustainability officer at the British Beauty Council. The chemical reacts with LED or UV lamps to cure the polish. It also prevents the finish from yellowing. The ingredient is popular because it’s cheap, fast-acting and widely available. 

A good gel should ideally soak off easily

The EU’s ban on use of TPO hasn’t reached the UK but Brownlie says it’s anticipated that it will follow by 2027. TPO is still widely available in the US but it’s likely that brands will reformulate their products to be globally compliant. The decision is based on a study that fed rats high quantities of TPO – hardly comparable, critics argue, to use on nails. But TPO is especially risky if it touches the skin, says nail artist Cherrie Snow. “A good manicurist will get close to the cuticle but never cure the product on the skin.” She also flags the dangers of ingesting or inhaling TPO, “particularly for nail technicians who are exposed to the chemical dust and vapours from uncured products”. 

“There’s no need to panic,” adds Claire Aggarwal, CEO of nail brand Bio Sculpture UK. “But if something’s been banned elsewhere, you probably don’t want to keep using it.” Bio Sculpture offers more than 200 TPO-free polishes that claim to last at least three weeks and improve nail health. (One HTSI editor has had a Bio Sculpture manicure for five weeks without a chip.)

Professionals are also watching methacrylates such as HEMA (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), which may trigger reactions when uncured products come into contact with the skin. “It’s becoming too complicated to make it safe,” says Gaëlle Lebrat Personnaz, founder of vegan gel nail polish brand Manucurist. 

Danae Gooch, a manicurist at DryBy salon in London, has noticed an uptick in clients enquiring about natural products. White, blotchy nails, for example, are often a sign of dehydration from acetone or over-removal. “A good gel should ideally soak off easily,” says Gooch. “If you have to chisel it off, that’s a red flag.”

For Manucurist’s Lebrat Personnaz, TPO was on her blacklist from the very beginning. “It’s difficult to find an alternative that performs in the same way. Ours lasts about two weeks – it’s thinner, more natural-looking.” But yes, it chips. 

Some, however, claim they’ve cracked the recipe. Luxury nail salon Townhouse is launching a TPO-free nail polish this year. “Customers shouldn’t notice any difference in look or feel – just safer ingredients,” says creative director Juanita Huber-Millet.

And for anyone still worried, Gooch advises dropping in a few questions before your next session, namely to see if there’s TPO or HEMA in the gel products. If a technician doesn’t know what they are, you’re probably not in safe hands.