Several cases of undesirable effects caused by methacrylate ultraviolet-curing nail polish for non-professional use

Ultraviolet (UV)-curing nail polishes based on acrylates or methacrylates are currently also available for non-professional use. The Swedish Medical Products Agency recently prohibited one brand of UV-curing polish, because several consumers reported undesirable effects after using it.

To investigate whether consumers with undesirable effects after using the UV-curing nail polish that was later prohibited were contact allergic to the polish and its individual ingredients.

Eight patients who had reported severe skin reactions after the use of the UV-curing polish were patch tested with two coatings of the nail polish and its ingredients at five dermatology departments in Sweden.

All patients tested except one showed contact allergic reactions to one or several of the acrylate-based or methacrylate-based ingredients in the nail polish.

The non-professional use of UV-curing nail polishes poses a risk of sensitization from acrylates and methacrylates.