Katie Barnes on… preventing burns from flammable nail products

With such an increased report in allergies and accidents occurring with nail products from not just home users, but ‘professional’ nail technicians, I believe that there needs to be a call for better education on the situation.

Creating beautiful nails is an art but one of the most forgotten and important elements is understanding and respecting the chemistry and chemicals used to create these.

When used correctly and safely, there should be no issue, but in the wrong hands of a non-professional or uneducated tech, there can be extremely dangerous consequences. Think about what you have in your cupboards in your home. Do you have hair spray, bleach, deodorant and cleaning spray? If you’re an average homeowner, you will probably have a wide variety of flammable liquids under your roof. Nail products in the salon are no different.

So many members of the public and even techs themselves, can have a blasé attitude to our career and snub it as ‘just a bit of nail polish’. What harm can that cause?

Nail polish, even though sold to the general public, is a chemical that is hazardous when instructions and safety warnings are not followed correctly.

A few years back, ABC News reported an incident where a consumer was removing nail polish with nail polish remover at home and the remover started a flash fire and the lady in question suffered third degree burns on 50% of her body. Another story has recently been circulating social media and national press about a lady who was soaking off her L&P acrylic enhancements at home with acetone in a bowl. A candle was alight nearby and the vapours of the acetone caught fire. She suffered serious burns to her hands and arms, which now require skin grafts.

There have been several incidents in the industry of late to support the concern that some techs have little understanding or appreciation for how highly flammable many nail products can be. At a well-known competition, a substantial number of lighters were confiscated from techs, even after being warned how highly flammable nail products were and that the event would not be insured, putting the lives of each person in the area in danger for potentially an extra point or two. I also recently judged an online competition in which a competitor encapsulated gunpowder and lit the 3D Gel element of nail on a model for a photograph. Both gunpowder and gel are highly flammable, and this could have had serious consequences.

While unfortunately we are limited on how much we can educate the general public, technicians can take action and ensure that we are protecting ourselves and our clients from potential and unnecessary dangerous situations.

Many of these products come with safety warnings, but some ignore these. There are warnings on products for a reason and the more obscure they seem, you can guarantee these have been put in place because someone has done it. Unfortunately, some cosmetic products are exempt from warning label requirements so the first step in carrying out a COSHH assessment will be to obtain Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for all products you use. It is essential that SDS are obtained from suppliers. It is paramount that before using any product, all techs obtain and study SDS sheets to be aware of any potential hazards, to protect against and prevent them. While it can seem tedious, it is essential to follow COSHH legislation, which you can obtain from HSE.

Scaremongering of the nail industry is a favourite with the press and the nail industry products will be to blame but it is not the products, it’s the uneducated users that are to blame.

The household items I mentioned earlier, we often use at home every day are highly flammable and they are hazardous when used incorrectly and safety precautions not followed but these products aren’t blamed when accidents happen, it is the users.

Once you have studied the SDS sheets, you will be able to understand the potential hazards for each product and how highly flammable they are.

Each SDS will state the following important information:

• How the product is hazardous (i.e. extremely flammable)
• Flash point
• Conditions to avoid (i.e. heat, hot surfaces, sources of ignition, flames and direct sunlight)
• Hazardous decomposition products (i.e. in combustion emits toxic fumes)
• Exposure hazards (i.e. forms explosive air-vapour mixture. Vapour may travel considerable distance to source of ignition and flash back).
• Extinguishing methods (i.e. alcohol resistant foam, water spray, carbon dioxide)
• Advice for firefighters
• Personal precautions (i.e. eliminate all sources of ignition)

A flash point is the lowest temperature at which vapours of the product will ignite, when coming into contact with an ignition source. The lower the flash point, the easier it is to ignite the vapour. For example, acetone is considered extremely flammable and has a flash point of -20°C and is more flammable than EMA Monomer which is considered highly flammable with a flash point of 16°C. When a fire with these products occurs, it is not the liquid itself that is actually burning, it is the fumes and vapours that are burning. It’s like when you put petrol in your car and you smell those fumes; that’s what ignites, not the liquid.

This means that it is essential not to have any naked flames nearby or in the same room or even extending to surrounding rooms when using and storing these products, this includes candles, cooking and smoking.

While I can appreciate that lighting a candle may help to reduce odour or set ambience, it is one of the biggest causes of flash fires with nail products. To help remove odour (by removing the vapours in the air), appropriate ventilation should be researched. Removing enhancements can seem boring, with many clients oblivious and tempted to pop outside to smoke whilst their fingers are wrapped in acetone, which is highly dangerous.

By researching and understanding comprehensively these hazardous products and following these warnings and precautions, you will be ensuring both tech and client aren’t put in unnecessary dangerous, potentially life changing situations, that could have easily been avoided by knowing your product knowledge inside out.

Love Katie B x

www.katiebarnesacademy.com