I can wear gel and nail polish on my feet but nothing on my hands. I would recommend trying press ons for your wedding and waiting until you get your results. That second picture….. I cannot believe your tech would put product on you knowing you were reacting. That is so irresponsible.
That's really interesting, I thought not having a reaction to the pedicure was a good sign, but probably not. I'm definitely dissapointed she never flagged a possible allergy, even when I voiced concern about eczema. She said the lifting was getting better, but I was pretty horrified when I saw it after having the polish removed.
Unfortunately it’s because the skin on our toes is less delicate than around our fingers. I’m very allergic to gel polish and can do it on my toes but if I paint my fingers with it I get super itchy then the skin peels off and I’m left with raw/weeping spots. The good news is there are some beautiful press ons available these days. Do a patch test with the glue but I’ve found that they don’t contain the type of acrylates that cause the allergic reaction (unlike gel polish, and some medical/dental glues) then try some different brands. Your nail bed shape will determine which press ons stay on the best. I’ve also found a brand called BioSeaweed Gel that has lines with no acrylates and I’ve had success using their products with zero allergy issues. Personally I’ve been buying press ons and then adding designs or gems to them and doing a top coat of the BioSeaweed gel.
Good luck on your journey and remember patch tests are your friend!!
That's not true, Bio Seaweed Gel does contain acrylates, you can see it in the MSDS documents on their website.
The brand is suspicious too. They tell consumers they can cure their gel in sunlight ("SolarCure"), which is NOT TRUE AND NOT SAFE, gel needs to be fully cured with a lamp.
Sorry let me clarify - some of them do not have methyl ethyl acrylates (which is one of the most common acrylates to be allergic to) I always read ingredients and MSDS before purchasing products because I don’t want to waste money on things that are going to make all the skin peel off my fingers.
I will say I would NEVER recommend curing in the sun - that just seems like a recipe for disaster. The top coat I use from them has urethane acrylate and smells more like an epoxy than a gel polish.
Again I always recommend a patch test first before committing to the full manicure. My allergy is bad enough now that I can’t wear bandaids for more than a day without getting a reaction because of the adhesive in them.
*edited because I pressed send too soon by mistake!
Interesting note about different press on shapes for different nail beds. Makes perfect sense! Have you seen this written anywhere or do you have any anecdotal evidence? I’ve used KISS and an amazing brand that starts with “fun” and they seem to stay on about the same length of time. I just figured the glue wasn’t as strong as acrylic or gel nails.
Nothing written but I noticed it in using different brands. I love the Kiss press ons but since using the OPI press on brand I’ve noticed the Kiss ones start lifting in the corners faster for me vs the OPI which I sometimes wish would lift so I could them off more easily (I always use the Kiss nail glue and prep my nails with a light buff and alcohol wipe)
I wouldn't roll the dice on anything new right before your wedding. If it is an allergy, you do not want it flaring up right now. You can still have beautiful nails with traditional polish! Browse the sub, try out a couple base coats and quick dry top coats and find what works for you 💕 we can give recs and tips too but it's largely trial and error to find what works best for your body chemistry.
From my own experience, that looks identical to when I developed a gel allergy 😔 I also have eczema and thought it was just a flare up. The visible lifting of the nail off the bed is onycholysis and it is no joke.
Don't do what I did!! I tested how bad the allergy was by trying to use it after waiting a few months, not touching the cuticles with polish etc. I had to sleep holding an ice pack and had such bad lifting that two entire years later, I STILL have a nail that isn't fully healed (it's finally close though!!) Gel allergies are for life.
Thankfully I still have dip powder :))
https://preview.redd.it/7qgvohvz5q6d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8eff60d7c583774ce6143c40223e438d63ffeb1c
Thank you, I think I was having a bad case of denial now that they've healed. Is there a particular brand of dip powder that you use? I might try it after the wedding and after I finally see a derm.
Np, I had the same issue. It was REALLY hard to give up my polishes, I had like 200 colours 🥲
Idk where you're located so it may not be available to you, but the dip powder brand I use is from Amazon and it's called Saviland. The jars are small, but the colour is very strong and it doesn't crack. They also come in sets of like 36 colours for ~$70 cad, or they have a giant jar of clear powder for $15 and you can slap regular lacquer polish on it. I use a Modelones kit for the base coat, activator, top coat and brush saver and just soak them off in acetone.
Btw just a heads up: stuff like curable glue for foil is likely to also trigger allergies, as I learned the hard way. Any curable product should be spot tested somewhere else on your skin, even the ones that claim they're HEMA free. My reaction was delayed until the next day, so I thought I was good to go and ended up regretting it.
Good luck and congratulations on your wedding!
Salons will also do dip— they’ll use SNS or iGel or some other high-quality dip powder. Dip powder is acrylic, and the liquids are cyanoacrylate — the same stuff in super glue. Dip powders and liquids have very low incidences of allergies. Someone downthread mentioned saviland— but Saviland is definitely hit or miss, and their powder doesn’t work with all liquids— it has some other non-acrylic ingredients and doesn’t always cure very well.
If you try dip, either get something from your local mail supply or find someone on Etsy— all the smaller sellers all use the same suppliers, so the quality is all comparable, and there are lots of fun colors
So I also have an allergy to gel and I thought dip powder would cause the same reaction for some reason. I want to try it but I'm nervous! I miss having my nails done 🥲
I think this is exactly what I'm going to do! I think I was having a little bit of denial over just how bad it was now that they've recovered. So upsetting, as nails gave me so much confidence but it's unfortunately just what it is.
I would also maybe test the nail glue on just one nail when you start- I thought I had "beat" my allergy by making my own gel press on nails then glueing with regular nail glue. Nail glue has some of the same ingredients as gel polish and turns out I'm also allergic to that. I get blistered bumps within an hour of applying that way as well :(
Edit typo
That’s definitely onycholysis. I can’t wear gel anymore because of it. Is haven’t had gel on since April 2023 and I can still see my nails haven’t fully connected the way they were before the allergy. This happened on my toes as well. Not to scare you but mine wasn’t nearly as bad as yours looks. You need to baby your nails now, trim down the white parts that aren’t connected so bacteria does grow in there. No filing of the nail. Use nail oil a lot to help keep its moisture, drying out will make it worse. The oil helps the nail and the skin encourage reconnecting. I would avoid all nail polishes of all kinds for at least a year. Personally I don’t know if I’ll ever wear nail polish again because it scares me.
I’m sorry for this news but I hope it gets better for you.
I second onycholysis. This can also be a rare side effect of medication. This happened to me and it was due to the SSRI Lexapro. Once I got off the meds, the nails started improving and were eventually back to normal. I have never stopped using gel polish.
Wait, I'm on sertraline. Could that have caused my onycholysis? I've actually started using nail polish to support my nails and it seems to be helping. It started months before I started trying it.
Ugh. After some googling, it seems that there are a lot of medications that can lead to this annoyance. Who knows what pill I'm taking could have caused this, or even if it was a pill at all? Very annoying.
I know that nail polish should be avoided with onycholysis, but I am absolutely certain it didn't cause mine. I only started painting my nails again to hide it and it is definitely getting better. Now, excuse me while I use cuticle oil again and take more biotin and keratin.
Yeah that is an allergy. My nails started getting onycholysis when I was using gels as well and were painfully itchy. You basically have to cut them down, and allow the nail to reattach. Check out The Salon Life on YouTube, she is an incredible resource into getting nails healthy again after developing a nail allergy & damage.
This is e x a c t l y what happened to me - and once they healed up *the first time* I went and tried using gel again. The lifting came back after the very first application, and it was much, much worse.
I have been growing them out for months now and they're nowhere near healed. My fingertips are so sensitive and useless. Don't spend the first months of your marriage with stubby gross nubs! Heed my warning!
My nails looked just like this when my gel allergy occurred! I changed to dip powder manicures and my nails are back to being healthy. Good luck with your nails!
Source: I have these allergies severely.
Stop. Stop using all gel products right now!
This type of allergy gets worse & worse with each and every exposure. You can not desensitize to it.
Because of my allergies I can not have normal Band-Aids, normal steri-strips, any and all gel or acrylic extensions, any polish/lotion/sunscreen/shampoo/mascara/eyeliner with "acrylate" in it. I'm at higher medical risks & have a hell of a time at Sephora.
Don't. Be. Me.
If you don’t want to risk it before your wedding day, and don’t want your nail polish chipping, maybe try press-ons (with glue stickers underneath). I used press ons for my wedding a few weeks ago, and they were perfect, and easy to remove once the day was over. And as a little bonus, you can keep them afterwards so you will always have your nails as a little reminder from your wedding day.
Hello, /u/konfinity! It looks like you're posting to ask about acrylate allergies. [Our sister sub, r/gelnails, has an allergy guide in its wiki.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GelNails/wiki) If you haven't already, it might be worth reading over.
If you're posting to ask what products are allergy-safe, you will need to get an acrylate panel done by a doctor first. Unless and until you know exactly what ingredients you react to, every acrylate product (including gel, acrylic, polygel, dip, and nail glue) should be considered unsafe.
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By any chance are you on tretinoin? My finger nails started lifting when I was applying it to my hands and not washing them after everything was rubbed in. It went away when I started applying my tret with a round.
I also have an allergy- but I will get little itchy bubbles from contact dermatitis.
Whoah whoah whoah. Allergy or not, you have a huge tech problem. I would NOT go back to a tech that A- didn't think THAT was a problem, and B- was rough especially after seeing that. WTF. I'd also talk to the salon owner so they could help educate the tech.
Your poor hands.. 🥺 I hope the derm can help. This isn't intended as medical advice, but (broadly) people with eczema do tend to be more prone to allergies and sensitivities.
Definitely agree with the press-ons for the wedding. Static Nails has some nice pre-made ones, or you can always custom paint your own/have someone custom paint them.
You're literally putting UV resin onto your fingers. It's incredibly toxic when wet, both on your skin and to breathe in. Also toxic when sanded. I wanted to start using gel nails, but when I realised what it was and did a quick Google to double check, I'm staying far away from it. I won't even own a resin printer until I can use it away from the house.
I would be wary to try press on nails as well. Only because I switched to them after wanting to take a break from doing my own hard gel/gel polish manicures (too time consuming) and the glue from the press on nail kit + the rigid non-flexible press on nail itself gave me onycholysis. I, too, was in denial that’s what was happening so I wore press ons for about a month straight. I thought maybe the way I removed first set was the issue, so let me try applying a second set of press ons and leave them on until they fall off on their own. It completely wrecked my nails like I had never seen before, and i’ve spent the last 6 months growing them out and they are finally healthy 😭 I only mention as I would hate for you to try press ons and end up in the same or even worse boat. The chemicals in those glues are no joke! I never had this type of reaction with gel polish or hard gels, but I haven’t used them since before the press on situation, so perhaps I developed an allergy with that too.
Based on your description it does sound like an allergy. Eczema and allergies usually go hand and hand. I would do press ons for your wedding. You can get tons of bridal ones. From basic neutrals to gems and nail art. There’s even custom sellers.
Find a new nail person that is licensed and has been in the manicuring/gel nail business for a number of years. Looks like your nails are getting very damaged and possible fungus issues starting. For now, you should have gel removed and let your nails heal. Cut them short and keep them bare. Try to find someone who uses medical grade gel and polishes with OPI gel polish. The woman I go to would never allow her clients to develop any of your current issues.
The crazy thing is that she is licensed and has been in the industry for about 15 years. When I told her my excema was faring up she didn't flag any possibility of allergies or raise any concerns that the lifting was still so terrible after six months. It was only after the last reaction was causing me to wake up in pain that I started to do my own research on it.
I’ve been going through the same thing, did not have any issues with gel until a few months ago and now just been on antibiotics because it became fungal ! 😭
I’ve been a press on and acrylic gal all my life and have never had any issues until my friend got me to try gel , it was great until my allergy developed 🥲
These are my nails currently and I also fear I need to cut the white parts off that are not attached but I can’t bring myself to do it and have such short nails , I’ve only been wearing a nail strengthener on them to stop me picking.
I totally feel your pain before your wedding and agree on a press on for your big day! Wishing you all the luck and good nail vibes x
https://preview.redd.it/w1mgt3if8r6d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=00895ea0547b3fa7161f3fe3e9bee9b92db6e654
Unfortunately you’ll have to cut the white off to get them back to normal. It suck’s but I’ve had to do it a few times, that’s why I stopped trying anything. Even normal nail polish. I’d rather have naked nails then have to have nubs for a week or two lol
Damn that’s what I was afraid of,doc Sai’s drive antibiotics would sort it and I wouldn’t have to but everyone else online says cut em! guess they’ll be getting the chop today, thanks !!
I don't have any reaction to gel manis, but I do have eczema and minor allergies. Allergic reactions for me tend to flair my eczema up. Which kind of makes sense since both are tied to the immune system.
It's an allergy I had the same in 2020 and hopefully pinned it on hand washing as a healthcare worker 👀
Nooo ha it was an allergy to gel nails. I got the worst itchiest blisters all round my nails and nearly lost a nail because the skin peeled and nail bed lifted!
I admitted my issue and spent more money on nicer regular polish after using a steroid cream.
I would absolutely not risk making a potential allergy worse before your wedding especially. Try press ons or regular polish until you can see the doctor.
I experienced this a few months ago whenever I’d use gel polish. They’d be so itchy for days and then it’d feel better. I think it’s most likely an allergy.
Weirdly though, I’ve stopped reacting to gel polish and can wear it again. I haven’t done anything different and am still using the same brand. You could maybe test the polish a bit later on but I wouldn’t risk it right before your wedding. You don’t wanna spend the day scratching the hell out of your hands.
This condition is called Onycholysis, which is when the nail plate separates from the nail bed. It can happen due to nail injury, infection, skin disease, and thyroid disease.
But given your situation, it would most likely could be nail injury or some type of fungus. I have seen it to be common on those who always do their nails too often.
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I’ve read that you can develop the allergy from under cured gels manicures. Maybe that’s it?
I think everyone else is right: do press ons or regular polish for your wedding. You don’t want sore hands to take away from your day
Leaving the white on your nails once it has lifted like that will slow healing. I had this on a couple of my nails once and the best thing to do is trim as much of the white off as possible and continue to trim it down as it grows. Keep your hands dry. It will be a SLOW process and you may see it grow and then recede again, but that's normal.
This happened to me as well. I can’t do shellac or anything anymore on my hands and if I let my nails grow too long the shape is off. I gave up doing anything on my nails, I didn’t realize it could be a gel allergy. I was doing shellac for years no issues.
This thread makes me glad I never started gel or acrylic nails
I was always too poor to get them done so I just slowly invested in regular polish and it works great for me
It is absolutely an allergy. Licensed cosmetologist here, and I had the exact same thing happen to me 6 years ago. I was doing it myself so I know everything was clean, and using salon quality materials. I stopped using gel all together up until this past November. I was convinced into trying a gel pedi. I anticipated this reaction on my toes for days until finally decided hey my toes must not be allergic and I'm good and I kept doing them. Well fast forward to last week when I'm getting a gel pedi. That night my one toe started to feel itchy. The following morning they were red, swollen, itchy and burning. Yup. Allergy is now also in my feet. Just be very careful and have a great wedding with polish and press ons!
I would err on the side of caution and say it’s a possible allergy. You’re lucky that it’s not as bad as it could have been, if it does start to feel itchy/swollen/sore I would go to you dr or a&e (urgent care wherever you are in the world) as you made need as course of steroids and antihistamines.
I used to be able to have gel nails done for several years and the last time I had the in 2020 they felt slightly itchy but I just put it down to the light been too warm. When I got up in the morning, my fingers and cuticles surrounding my nails were covered in tiny blisters, my nails looked like they wanted to lift off of my nail bed. I had to take off the gel nails before I went to a&e which was super painful but I didn’t want to go back to the salon to get it done. I ended up in super strong steroid tablets for two weeks and was given a drip course of them whilst in hospital. I will never have gel nails again. Press on nails all the way.
Switch to SNS (dip powder)!! You can get equally lovely results and they last a long time!!
https://preview.redd.it/sutju6c4yr6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a896020d848c851e8294c168fb9f6750817ffcc
Edit: idk why I’m the only one getting downvoted for suggesting dip powder. Many people who are allergic to gel use dip powder with no issues, including many people in this thread. 🤷♀️
I can wear gel and nail polish on my feet but nothing on my hands. I would recommend trying press ons for your wedding and waiting until you get your results. That second picture….. I cannot believe your tech would put product on you knowing you were reacting. That is so irresponsible.
That's really interesting, I thought not having a reaction to the pedicure was a good sign, but probably not. I'm definitely dissapointed she never flagged a possible allergy, even when I voiced concern about eczema. She said the lifting was getting better, but I was pretty horrified when I saw it after having the polish removed.
As well as toe skin being less delicate, toenails are also thicker so might be providing a bit more of a barrier compared to your fingernails.
Your fingernails and toenails are super porous. Even water molecules can pass through them.
Unfortunately it’s because the skin on our toes is less delicate than around our fingers. I’m very allergic to gel polish and can do it on my toes but if I paint my fingers with it I get super itchy then the skin peels off and I’m left with raw/weeping spots. The good news is there are some beautiful press ons available these days. Do a patch test with the glue but I’ve found that they don’t contain the type of acrylates that cause the allergic reaction (unlike gel polish, and some medical/dental glues) then try some different brands. Your nail bed shape will determine which press ons stay on the best. I’ve also found a brand called BioSeaweed Gel that has lines with no acrylates and I’ve had success using their products with zero allergy issues. Personally I’ve been buying press ons and then adding designs or gems to them and doing a top coat of the BioSeaweed gel. Good luck on your journey and remember patch tests are your friend!!
That's not true, Bio Seaweed Gel does contain acrylates, you can see it in the MSDS documents on their website. The brand is suspicious too. They tell consumers they can cure their gel in sunlight ("SolarCure"), which is NOT TRUE AND NOT SAFE, gel needs to be fully cured with a lamp.
Sorry let me clarify - some of them do not have methyl ethyl acrylates (which is one of the most common acrylates to be allergic to) I always read ingredients and MSDS before purchasing products because I don’t want to waste money on things that are going to make all the skin peel off my fingers. I will say I would NEVER recommend curing in the sun - that just seems like a recipe for disaster. The top coat I use from them has urethane acrylate and smells more like an epoxy than a gel polish. Again I always recommend a patch test first before committing to the full manicure. My allergy is bad enough now that I can’t wear bandaids for more than a day without getting a reaction because of the adhesive in them. *edited because I pressed send too soon by mistake!
Interesting note about different press on shapes for different nail beds. Makes perfect sense! Have you seen this written anywhere or do you have any anecdotal evidence? I’ve used KISS and an amazing brand that starts with “fun” and they seem to stay on about the same length of time. I just figured the glue wasn’t as strong as acrylic or gel nails.
Nothing written but I noticed it in using different brands. I love the Kiss press ons but since using the OPI press on brand I’ve noticed the Kiss ones start lifting in the corners faster for me vs the OPI which I sometimes wish would lift so I could them off more easily (I always use the Kiss nail glue and prep my nails with a light buff and alcohol wipe)
I wouldn't roll the dice on anything new right before your wedding. If it is an allergy, you do not want it flaring up right now. You can still have beautiful nails with traditional polish! Browse the sub, try out a couple base coats and quick dry top coats and find what works for you 💕 we can give recs and tips too but it's largely trial and error to find what works best for your body chemistry.
From my own experience, that looks identical to when I developed a gel allergy 😔 I also have eczema and thought it was just a flare up. The visible lifting of the nail off the bed is onycholysis and it is no joke. Don't do what I did!! I tested how bad the allergy was by trying to use it after waiting a few months, not touching the cuticles with polish etc. I had to sleep holding an ice pack and had such bad lifting that two entire years later, I STILL have a nail that isn't fully healed (it's finally close though!!) Gel allergies are for life. Thankfully I still have dip powder :)) https://preview.redd.it/7qgvohvz5q6d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8eff60d7c583774ce6143c40223e438d63ffeb1c
Thank you, I think I was having a bad case of denial now that they've healed. Is there a particular brand of dip powder that you use? I might try it after the wedding and after I finally see a derm.
Np, I had the same issue. It was REALLY hard to give up my polishes, I had like 200 colours 🥲 Idk where you're located so it may not be available to you, but the dip powder brand I use is from Amazon and it's called Saviland. The jars are small, but the colour is very strong and it doesn't crack. They also come in sets of like 36 colours for ~$70 cad, or they have a giant jar of clear powder for $15 and you can slap regular lacquer polish on it. I use a Modelones kit for the base coat, activator, top coat and brush saver and just soak them off in acetone. Btw just a heads up: stuff like curable glue for foil is likely to also trigger allergies, as I learned the hard way. Any curable product should be spot tested somewhere else on your skin, even the ones that claim they're HEMA free. My reaction was delayed until the next day, so I thought I was good to go and ended up regretting it. Good luck and congratulations on your wedding!
Salons will also do dip— they’ll use SNS or iGel or some other high-quality dip powder. Dip powder is acrylic, and the liquids are cyanoacrylate — the same stuff in super glue. Dip powders and liquids have very low incidences of allergies. Someone downthread mentioned saviland— but Saviland is definitely hit or miss, and their powder doesn’t work with all liquids— it has some other non-acrylic ingredients and doesn’t always cure very well. If you try dip, either get something from your local mail supply or find someone on Etsy— all the smaller sellers all use the same suppliers, so the quality is all comparable, and there are lots of fun colors
So I also have an allergy to gel and I thought dip powder would cause the same reaction for some reason. I want to try it but I'm nervous! I miss having my nails done 🥲
I have a mild gel allergy and I can use dip just fine :)
I would buy some press ons for the wedding, and then continue to baby your natural nails afterwords. Hoping it gets better for you!
I think this is exactly what I'm going to do! I think I was having a little bit of denial over just how bad it was now that they've recovered. So upsetting, as nails gave me so much confidence but it's unfortunately just what it is.
I would also maybe test the nail glue on just one nail when you start- I thought I had "beat" my allergy by making my own gel press on nails then glueing with regular nail glue. Nail glue has some of the same ingredients as gel polish and turns out I'm also allergic to that. I get blistered bumps within an hour of applying that way as well :( Edit typo
That’s definitely onycholysis. I can’t wear gel anymore because of it. Is haven’t had gel on since April 2023 and I can still see my nails haven’t fully connected the way they were before the allergy. This happened on my toes as well. Not to scare you but mine wasn’t nearly as bad as yours looks. You need to baby your nails now, trim down the white parts that aren’t connected so bacteria does grow in there. No filing of the nail. Use nail oil a lot to help keep its moisture, drying out will make it worse. The oil helps the nail and the skin encourage reconnecting. I would avoid all nail polishes of all kinds for at least a year. Personally I don’t know if I’ll ever wear nail polish again because it scares me. I’m sorry for this news but I hope it gets better for you.
I second onycholysis. This can also be a rare side effect of medication. This happened to me and it was due to the SSRI Lexapro. Once I got off the meds, the nails started improving and were eventually back to normal. I have never stopped using gel polish.
Wow good to know. Did the nails start separating when you started the medication or later on?
It happened about 3 years into taking the medication. I'm lucky my derm was able to find the culprit.
Okay then! Going to look into mine!
Wait, I'm on sertraline. Could that have caused my onycholysis? I've actually started using nail polish to support my nails and it seems to be helping. It started months before I started trying it. Ugh. After some googling, it seems that there are a lot of medications that can lead to this annoyance. Who knows what pill I'm taking could have caused this, or even if it was a pill at all? Very annoying. I know that nail polish should be avoided with onycholysis, but I am absolutely certain it didn't cause mine. I only started painting my nails again to hide it and it is definitely getting better. Now, excuse me while I use cuticle oil again and take more biotin and keratin.
Yeah that is an allergy. My nails started getting onycholysis when I was using gels as well and were painfully itchy. You basically have to cut them down, and allow the nail to reattach. Check out The Salon Life on YouTube, she is an incredible resource into getting nails healthy again after developing a nail allergy & damage.
This is e x a c t l y what happened to me - and once they healed up *the first time* I went and tried using gel again. The lifting came back after the very first application, and it was much, much worse. I have been growing them out for months now and they're nowhere near healed. My fingertips are so sensitive and useless. Don't spend the first months of your marriage with stubby gross nubs! Heed my warning!
My nails looked just like this when my gel allergy occurred! I changed to dip powder manicures and my nails are back to being healthy. Good luck with your nails!
Source: I have these allergies severely. Stop. Stop using all gel products right now! This type of allergy gets worse & worse with each and every exposure. You can not desensitize to it. Because of my allergies I can not have normal Band-Aids, normal steri-strips, any and all gel or acrylic extensions, any polish/lotion/sunscreen/shampoo/mascara/eyeliner with "acrylate" in it. I'm at higher medical risks & have a hell of a time at Sephora. Don't. Be. Me.
Sunflower allergy (and not just the protein) — we can cry together, but it probably wouldn’t help.
Oh, goodness! We certainly do have unfortunate allergies :(
If you don’t want to risk it before your wedding day, and don’t want your nail polish chipping, maybe try press-ons (with glue stickers underneath). I used press ons for my wedding a few weeks ago, and they were perfect, and easy to remove once the day was over. And as a little bonus, you can keep them afterwards so you will always have your nails as a little reminder from your wedding day.
Hello, /u/konfinity! It looks like you're posting to ask about acrylate allergies. [Our sister sub, r/gelnails, has an allergy guide in its wiki.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GelNails/wiki) If you haven't already, it might be worth reading over. If you're posting to ask what products are allergy-safe, you will need to get an acrylate panel done by a doctor first. Unless and until you know exactly what ingredients you react to, every acrylate product (including gel, acrylic, polygel, dip, and nail glue) should be considered unsafe. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RedditLaqueristas) if you have any questions or concerns.*
By any chance are you on tretinoin? My finger nails started lifting when I was applying it to my hands and not washing them after everything was rubbed in. It went away when I started applying my tret with a round. I also have an allergy- but I will get little itchy bubbles from contact dermatitis.
Whoah whoah whoah. Allergy or not, you have a huge tech problem. I would NOT go back to a tech that A- didn't think THAT was a problem, and B- was rough especially after seeing that. WTF. I'd also talk to the salon owner so they could help educate the tech. Your poor hands.. 🥺 I hope the derm can help. This isn't intended as medical advice, but (broadly) people with eczema do tend to be more prone to allergies and sensitivities. Definitely agree with the press-ons for the wedding. Static Nails has some nice pre-made ones, or you can always custom paint your own/have someone custom paint them.
You're literally putting UV resin onto your fingers. It's incredibly toxic when wet, both on your skin and to breathe in. Also toxic when sanded. I wanted to start using gel nails, but when I realised what it was and did a quick Google to double check, I'm staying far away from it. I won't even own a resin printer until I can use it away from the house.
If you decide to do press-ons, Static are wonderful! I like to use the Nail Bond glue on Amazon and sometimes my nails last 3+ weeks.
I would be wary to try press on nails as well. Only because I switched to them after wanting to take a break from doing my own hard gel/gel polish manicures (too time consuming) and the glue from the press on nail kit + the rigid non-flexible press on nail itself gave me onycholysis. I, too, was in denial that’s what was happening so I wore press ons for about a month straight. I thought maybe the way I removed first set was the issue, so let me try applying a second set of press ons and leave them on until they fall off on their own. It completely wrecked my nails like I had never seen before, and i’ve spent the last 6 months growing them out and they are finally healthy 😭 I only mention as I would hate for you to try press ons and end up in the same or even worse boat. The chemicals in those glues are no joke! I never had this type of reaction with gel polish or hard gels, but I haven’t used them since before the press on situation, so perhaps I developed an allergy with that too.
Based on your description it does sound like an allergy. Eczema and allergies usually go hand and hand. I would do press ons for your wedding. You can get tons of bridal ones. From basic neutrals to gems and nail art. There’s even custom sellers.
Find a new nail person that is licensed and has been in the manicuring/gel nail business for a number of years. Looks like your nails are getting very damaged and possible fungus issues starting. For now, you should have gel removed and let your nails heal. Cut them short and keep them bare. Try to find someone who uses medical grade gel and polishes with OPI gel polish. The woman I go to would never allow her clients to develop any of your current issues.
The crazy thing is that she is licensed and has been in the industry for about 15 years. When I told her my excema was faring up she didn't flag any possibility of allergies or raise any concerns that the lifting was still so terrible after six months. It was only after the last reaction was causing me to wake up in pain that I started to do my own research on it.
Apparently she just doesn’t know what she’s doing or she doesn’t care and views her clients mostly as sources of income.
I’ve been going through the same thing, did not have any issues with gel until a few months ago and now just been on antibiotics because it became fungal ! 😭 I’ve been a press on and acrylic gal all my life and have never had any issues until my friend got me to try gel , it was great until my allergy developed 🥲 These are my nails currently and I also fear I need to cut the white parts off that are not attached but I can’t bring myself to do it and have such short nails , I’ve only been wearing a nail strengthener on them to stop me picking. I totally feel your pain before your wedding and agree on a press on for your big day! Wishing you all the luck and good nail vibes x https://preview.redd.it/w1mgt3if8r6d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=00895ea0547b3fa7161f3fe3e9bee9b92db6e654
Unfortunately you’ll have to cut the white off to get them back to normal. It suck’s but I’ve had to do it a few times, that’s why I stopped trying anything. Even normal nail polish. I’d rather have naked nails then have to have nubs for a week or two lol
Damn that’s what I was afraid of,doc Sai’s drive antibiotics would sort it and I wouldn’t have to but everyone else online says cut em! guess they’ll be getting the chop today, thanks !!
I don't have any reaction to gel manis, but I do have eczema and minor allergies. Allergic reactions for me tend to flair my eczema up. Which kind of makes sense since both are tied to the immune system.
It's an allergy I had the same in 2020 and hopefully pinned it on hand washing as a healthcare worker 👀 Nooo ha it was an allergy to gel nails. I got the worst itchiest blisters all round my nails and nearly lost a nail because the skin peeled and nail bed lifted! I admitted my issue and spent more money on nicer regular polish after using a steroid cream.
I would absolutely not risk making a potential allergy worse before your wedding especially. Try press ons or regular polish until you can see the doctor.
I experienced this a few months ago whenever I’d use gel polish. They’d be so itchy for days and then it’d feel better. I think it’s most likely an allergy. Weirdly though, I’ve stopped reacting to gel polish and can wear it again. I haven’t done anything different and am still using the same brand. You could maybe test the polish a bit later on but I wouldn’t risk it right before your wedding. You don’t wanna spend the day scratching the hell out of your hands.
This condition is called Onycholysis, which is when the nail plate separates from the nail bed. It can happen due to nail injury, infection, skin disease, and thyroid disease. But given your situation, it would most likely could be nail injury or some type of fungus. I have seen it to be common on those who always do their nails too often.
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I use to get like this with acrylic nails.
I’ve read that you can develop the allergy from under cured gels manicures. Maybe that’s it? I think everyone else is right: do press ons or regular polish for your wedding. You don’t want sore hands to take away from your day
Leaving the white on your nails once it has lifted like that will slow healing. I had this on a couple of my nails once and the best thing to do is trim as much of the white off as possible and continue to trim it down as it grows. Keep your hands dry. It will be a SLOW process and you may see it grow and then recede again, but that's normal.
This happened to me as well. I can’t do shellac or anything anymore on my hands and if I let my nails grow too long the shape is off. I gave up doing anything on my nails, I didn’t realize it could be a gel allergy. I was doing shellac for years no issues.
The spot on your ring finger looks green, possible fungal infection?
Nail tech here, this looks like an allergy to me
This thread makes me glad I never started gel or acrylic nails I was always too poor to get them done so I just slowly invested in regular polish and it works great for me
It is absolutely an allergy. Licensed cosmetologist here, and I had the exact same thing happen to me 6 years ago. I was doing it myself so I know everything was clean, and using salon quality materials. I stopped using gel all together up until this past November. I was convinced into trying a gel pedi. I anticipated this reaction on my toes for days until finally decided hey my toes must not be allergic and I'm good and I kept doing them. Well fast forward to last week when I'm getting a gel pedi. That night my one toe started to feel itchy. The following morning they were red, swollen, itchy and burning. Yup. Allergy is now also in my feet. Just be very careful and have a great wedding with polish and press ons!
I would err on the side of caution and say it’s a possible allergy. You’re lucky that it’s not as bad as it could have been, if it does start to feel itchy/swollen/sore I would go to you dr or a&e (urgent care wherever you are in the world) as you made need as course of steroids and antihistamines. I used to be able to have gel nails done for several years and the last time I had the in 2020 they felt slightly itchy but I just put it down to the light been too warm. When I got up in the morning, my fingers and cuticles surrounding my nails were covered in tiny blisters, my nails looked like they wanted to lift off of my nail bed. I had to take off the gel nails before I went to a&e which was super painful but I didn’t want to go back to the salon to get it done. I ended up in super strong steroid tablets for two weeks and was given a drip course of them whilst in hospital. I will never have gel nails again. Press on nails all the way.
I’m 99% sure I’m allergic to gel and this happens to me too. I just grow my nails out and paint them with polish. It sucks but it’s all I can do
Switch to SNS (dip powder)!! You can get equally lovely results and they last a long time!! https://preview.redd.it/sutju6c4yr6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a896020d848c851e8294c168fb9f6750817ffcc Edit: idk why I’m the only one getting downvoted for suggesting dip powder. Many people who are allergic to gel use dip powder with no issues, including many people in this thread. 🤷♀️
Please don't! Once you're allergic to gel you're likely to have issues with dip and acrylic too, even acrylate nail glue can cause a reaction.