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

BACKGROUND: 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. OBJECTIVES: 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. MATERIALS/METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: The non-professional use of UV-curing nail polishes poses a risk of sensitization from acrylates and methacrylates.