Controlling Chemical Hazards During

the Application of Artificial Fingernails

Artificial fingernail products are made from many chemicals, but the main one in most of these

products is ethyl methacrylate (EMA). In 1974 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration outlawed a

similar chemical, methyl methacrylate (MMA), used in fingernail products. MMA was proven

harmful to nail technicians and customers. However, both MMA and EMA can cause contact

dermatitis, asthma, and allergies in the eyes and nose— all problems that nail technicians know

about. Both can make the eyes, nose, and other mucous membranes sting, become red, and

swell. Customers are at risk, too. Because it is often difficult to tell which chemical in a nail salon is 

causing a sensitivity or allergy, it is best to control your exposure before you become sensitized.

In the nail sa lon, to get rid of EMA in the air you breathe, you should ap ply ar ti fi cial fin ger nails at a

ven ti lated work ta ble. It is also help ful to keep all bot tles of fin ger nail liq uid tightly capped. Finally,

you should look at your work hab its to see if they can be im proved.

O VENTILATED TABLE

Re searchers from the Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety and Health (NIOSH) have found

that a ven ti la tion ta ble pro tects the nail tech ni cian best against breath ing EMA. The ven ti lated

ta ble is the most im por tant en gi neer ing con trol for get ting rid of EMA in the fin ger nail sa lon

be cause the vented ta ble places lo cal ex haust ven ti la tion close to the work area.

• Place lo cal ex haust ven ti la tion as close to the EMA source as pos si ble. Ex haust this air

out doors. Char coal fil ters that al low the air to be used over again are not rec om mended be -

cause it is hard to know when the char coal is full.

HC 28

CONTROLS
• Build a ven ti lated ta ble, or change a

ta ble you al ready own into a ven ti lated

one (Fig ure 1). Ven ti lated ta ble sizes will

vary from nail sa lon to nail sa lon. Choose

a wood for your ven ti lated ta ble that will

not soak up the chem i cals. If the ta ble

acts like a sponge, it may ac tu ally ex pose

you to the chem i cals you want to avoid. A

ve neer-coated par ti cle board works well

for the ta ble ma te rial.

Make a hole in the ta ble top for an air in -

take (called the downdraft face). This

downdraft face should be placed on the

tech ni cian’s side of the ta ble. Cover the

hole with a screen-like cover (or per forated plate) to pre vent things from fall ing

in.

The cli ent’s side of the ta ble should be a

lit tle higher than the tech ni cian’s side.

This will al low the cli ent’s hands to hang

over the downdraft face and be as close

as pos si ble to the lo cal ex haust ven ti lation (Fig ure 2).

• Make sure enough air blows through

the ta ble downdraft to get rid of the

EMA. The amount of air ex hausted

de pends on its speed as it moves through the downdraft face and on the size of the ta ble

open ing. How ever, too much air rush ing past the fin ger nails may cause the ar ti fi cial nail

prod uct to crystalize.

An air speed of 620 feet per min ute, di rectly above the 13- by 4-inch downdraft face works

well. A 21⁄2-inch baf fle should sur round the downdraft face to pull the mov ing air closer to

the cli ent’s hands.

Dif fer ent dry ing times are needed for dif fer ent fin ger nail prod ucts and dif fer ent ap plica tion

tech niques. Al though a stron ger and larger air flow will col lect more dust dur ing fil ing and

dry the color coat faster, a slower and lower air flow gives better re sults for the ar ti fi cial

fin ger nail prod uct.

• Choose an ex haust fan that can ex haust at least 250 cu bic feet per min ute of air and has

1⁄4-inch static pres sure. A c horse power cen trif u gal fan should work well. To pre vent fan

noise from get ting in the way of talk or cli ent com fort, you can do one of three things: (1) buy

a quiet fan, (2) put a cover over a nois ier fan, or (3) buy an out door fan to be placed on an

out side wall. The fan should have con trol set tings. Use ei ther a multi-speed or high-volume

ex haust fan with a damper. You can find a fan sup plier by look ing in a di rec tory called

“Thomas Reg is ter of Amer i can Man u fac turers.” Look un der the head ings of “fans” or “fans,

cen trif u gal.” Your pub lic li brary should have this di rec tory. The fan sup plier may be able to

in stall your fan, as well as sup ply the duct work and other needed ma te ri als.

Figure 2. Interior construction of ventilated

nail application table.

Figure 1. Ventilated nail application table.
• Pro vide enough makeup air to re place the ex hausted air. If the makeup air is too weak,

there will be neg a tive pres sure ar eas and per haps drafts. The air in take, which pulls

out door air in side, should not be placed near the build ing ex haust. If the ex haust and in take

vents are too close, dirty air will be pulled back into the room.

• Comfort fans should not blow directly on the downdraft face because the strong air

movement can interfere with the exhaust airflow.

O KEEP DISPENSER BOTTLES CLOSED

Use dis penser bot tles that have small open ings, only large enough for an ap pli ca tion brush to en -

ter. The bot tle stop pers should be pres sure sen si tive. A dis penser bot tle with a pres sure-sensitive 

stop per and small open ing will re sult in less evap o ra tion of the fin ger nail liq uid and, thus, will cut

down on pos si ble ex po sures to meth ac ry lates (Fig ure 3).

O CHANGE YOUR WORK HABITS

Nail tech ni cians can also lower their ex po sures

to these air borne chem i cals by chang ing some

of their work hab its:

1. EMA-soaked gauze pads should be placed

in a sealed bag be fore be ing thrown in the

trash can.

2. Trash can lin ers should be changed daily.

3. No more than the needed amount of fin gernail liq uid should be poured into the closed

dis penser bot tle.

4. Nail tech ni cians should wear per sonal pro tective cloth ing and glasses. When tech ni cians re -

move ar ti fi cial nails, chips of acrylic of ten fly off, 

cre at ing a need for eye pro tec tion. In ad di tion

to safety glasses, tech ni cians also should wear long sleeves and gloves to pro tect their skin

from acrylic dust.

5. Tech ni cians should wash their hands, arms, and face with mild soap and wa ter sev eral times

through out the day to re move po ten tially ir ri tat ing dust.

6. Eating and drink ing should not be al lowed where ar ti fi cial fin ger nails are ap plied or in other

work ing ar eas. Meth ac ry lates in nail dust can be car ried ac ci dently to the mouth or face on a

cup or other food item, and this con tact may cause a skin rash. Also, many other chem i cals

are used in a sa lon that could cause health prob lems if swal lowed.

7. Smoking should be banned for the en tire sa lon be cause many of the chem i cals in a beauty

shop, in clud ing nail prod ucts, catch fire eas ily.

Figure 3. Example of closed container for

fingernail liquid; pressure is applied to the brush 

to release a spring-loaded stopper.
 For More Information 

To ob tain more free in for ma tion about con trol ling this haz ard or for in for ma tion about other

oc cu pa tional safety and health is sues:

Ask for these pub li ca tions:

Spencer AB, Estill CF, McCammon JB, Mickelsen RL, Johnston OE [1997]. Con trol of ethyl

methacrylate ex po sures dur ing the ap pli ca tion of ar ti fi cial fin ger nails. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J

58 (3):214− 218.

Spencer AB, Estill CF, McCammon JB, Johnston OE [1997]. NIOSH stud ies EMA. Nails

(No vem ber):50− 54.

*NIOSH is the Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for preventing work-related

illnesses and injuries. All HAZARD CONTROLS are based on research studies that show how worker exposure to hazardous

agents or activities can be significantly reduced.

 Acknowledgments

The prin ci pal con tri bu tors to this pub li ca tion are Cheryl F. Estill, Amy B. Spencer, Jane B.

McCammon, R. Leroy Mickelsen, Ova E. Johnston, Anne Votaw, and Jerome P. Flesch. The

draw ings are by Dick Carlson, Dan iel Farwick, and Dan iel Watkins. Desktop publishing was

provided by Rosmarie T. Hagedorn and Su san Kaelin.

January 1999 DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 99− 112

— call NIOSH* at 1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674), or

— visit the NIOSH Homepage on the World Wide Web at

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh

This docu ment is in the pub lic do main and may be freely cop ied or re printed. NIOSH en cour ages

all read ers of this HAZARD CONTROLS to make it avail able to all in ter ested em ploy ers and work ers.