1 Introduction

Survey and safety assessment of Chemical substances in artificial nails and nail hardeners

Importers of materials for production of artificial nails report an increasing interest in these products. If we follow the tendencies in USA where there is said to be more nail cliniques than hair dressers, artificial nails may gradually be a commonly used cosmetic product also in Denmark. Already today several nail cliniques and hair dressers sell and fix artificial nails. A simple search for nail cliniques on the internet showed 70 cliniques within an individual chain. Besides, there are several do-it- yourself products on the market.

The extent of the damages caused by using nail hardeners and artificial nails is not known, but The National Allergy Research Centre for Consumer Products assumes that a couple of cases are reported per year. They also assume that mainly the serious allergy cases are reported and that the actual number of cases is higher. Damage on the nails is described in literature, including allergenic reactions, irritation and bacteria attacks.

As a result of the above, a survey of artificial nails and nail hardeners has been carried out on the retail market and the professional market respectively. The project examines and describes the type of products offered on the Danish market and to which chemical substances the user is exposed by using them. Due to the considerable range of products an examination of the complete market was not possible and instead individual selected products were selected.

Products for building up artificial nails often contain acrylic powder in the form of ethyl methyl (metha) acrylate polymers and different types of other methyl (metha) acrylate polymers and small amounts of monomer methyl (metha) acrylate and ethyl (metha) acrylate. Investigations in scientific papers and contact with suppliers show that today there are four methods for building up artificial nails each containing a different chemical substance. There is also a fifth method. Here, the artificial nails are pre-manufactured nail tips to be fastened with cyanoacrylate containing glue. Some of the methods use several components and besides the acrylic part also components for pre- and after treatment, such as for instance primers and top coat. The components with the highest considered concentration of acrylates have been selected for the survey, as these types of substances are considered most relevant to investigate from a health point of view. The methods for production and usage scenarios are described in Chapter 3.

A number of nail hardener products, of which most of them are found in the retail shops, has been purchased. Several nail hardeners contain formaldehyde but also other reinforcing ingredients have been seen. The different products are described in Chapter 3.

The products are comprised by the Cosmetics Directive and must be labelled as cosmetics. The labelling has been reviewed and for several products considered insufficient.