Sometimes a salon will advertise Solar Nails, but not use the Solar Nail product. This is very unethical, but not uncommon.
In any case there is nothing different about Solar Nails other than the performance of the brand.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in lakes, rivers and ocean environments, “triclosan is expected to attach to the surface of suspended solids and sediments and may bioaccumulate, potentially posing a concern for aquatic organisms.”

Triclosan, the active ingredient in many antibacterial soaps is what breaks down into Dioxin.  About 96% of Triclosan is disposed of in residential drains.

Dioxins are one of the most deadly toxins known to man.  According to an EPA report there is no “safe” level of exposure to dioxin.  In the US population the report says that dioxins are “at or near levels associated with adverse health effects.”

One of the reasons Dioxins are so terrible is that it takes years for our bodies to get rid of them.  When we are exposed to Dixons our body cannot eliminate them, so it stores them in fat.  It has been calculated that some Dioxins will remain in our bodies for up to 132 years, if we could live that long.

We accumulate Dioxins in our body through the environment and the foods we eat.

Dioxins have been proven to cause tumors, cancer and acne and have also been linked to the following:

Birth defects, inability to maintain pregnancy, decreased fertility, reduced sperm counts, endometriosis, diabetes, learning disabilities, immune system suppression, lung problems, skin disorders, lowered testosterone levels, Developmental abnormalities in the enamel of children’s teeth, Central and peripheral nervous system pathology, Thyroid disorders, damage to the immune system, Endometriosis, Diabetes and more.

In other words, not good stuff.

The latest University of Minnesota study examined sediment core samples from Lake Pepin, an enlargement of the Mississippi River.  That study had found that Dioxin levels have increased by 200 to 300 percent on the last few years.

So what can we do about it?

Stop using anything that has Triclosan.  Trust me, it is hard to find a non-antibacterial soap.  You really have to look at product labels.  If the ingredient Triclosan is listed, don’t use it.

Many studies have shown that regular soap is just as effective as antibacterial soap in reducing the amount of bacteria on the skin.

The real key is washing for long enough.  You need to wash for about 20 seconds.  Or as I tell my kids the amount of time to sing the “ABC” song.

To clean and disinfect my home, I use a product called Viraguard.  It is a disinfectant and cleaner in one.  It contains no Triclosan.  In fact the active ingredient is alcohol.  The same thing doctors use to disinfect the skin.  Regular alcohol evaporates very quickly.   Viraguard has a special, safe, ingredient in it to prevent the alcohol from evaporating so quickly.  The longer the contact time, the more bad bugs it can kill.  So when you spray it on your countertop, it will be hazy for a few minutes.  But after a few minutes it will dry completely clear and will not leave any toxic residue behind.  That is the secret as to why it works so well.  At first I was pretty upset that it caused my countertops to look dull, but then I realized “That’s the way it works” that is how it kills bad germs.  After 10 minutes or so the countertops are sparkling clean, sanitized and deodorized.  I use it on everything.

Click here to go to our sister site and purchase Viraguard.

While the question is a valid one, the fact remains some of the answers are presented without much research into the facts.

Let’s get this out of the way right now.  Nearly everything can be linked to cancer in one way or another.

For example I could say with true authority that vegetables have been linked to cancer.  I can pull a poll of cancer victims and ask them if, in the 6 months before they were diagnosed with cancer, had they eaten any vegetables.  Nearly universally the answer would be yes.  Obviously that would be a coincidence.

Sometimes that is the way media works.  They will take some kind of obscure fact, manipulate the data and come up the conclusion they think will cause the most people to tune in.

Most of the questions about UV nail lamps and cancer were brought on by an observation printed by the American Medical Association stating that two people who had skin cancer had also been exposed to a UV nail lamp.  There were several inaccuracies in the article that any nail technician would have been able to clear up.  The media decided to run with the story without talking to industry experts.

Everyone knows that overexposure to the Sun’s UV rays has been linked to skin cancer.  I also believe that everyone knows that a UV lamp generates UV rays.  It’s naïve to think that there is no possibility of skin cancer from a UV lamp.

However let’s look at the realities of a UV lamp designed for nails.  The output of a UV nail lamp is so small it is nearly comparable to sunlight.

Assuming you are in the UV lamp for 10 minutes total, this is about the equivalent of driving in your car in the sun with your hands on the steering wheel for about 15 minutes.  Now let’s compare a UV nail lamp to a tanning bed.

The most common UV nail lamps have four 9 watt bulbs for a total energy usage of 36 watts.  A conservative commercial tanning bed can have 28 bulbs at 100 watts each or a total of 2800 watts.  A tanning bed is many times more intense then the sun, that is why you don’t need to sit in a tanning bed for an hour to get a tan.  I have never heard of anyone getting a tan or sunburn from normal UV nail lamp exposure.

So can a UV lamp designed for nails cause skin cancer?  Yes it probably can, if you sleep with it every night turned on strapped to your hand.  Or walk around all day with it turned on strapped your feet like shoes.  But if you did that people would think you were pretty weird.

But the more important question is will it cause skin cancer?  Probably not.  If you want to minimize your risk for skin cancer it would be much more important to wear a hat and sunscreen, do not sun bathe, and generally limit your exposure to the sun especially near water, snow or on cloudy days.  These tips are infinitely more important than skipping your 10 minutes of exposure in a nail UV lamp every two to four weeks.  If you are still concerned, the answer is simple.  Just apply a sunblock to your hands containing zinc oxide 1 hour before your nail appointment.