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AIBU?

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Original poster

11 year old has done her own nails with UV lamp

141 replies

Ponchodreams · 25/10/2025 18:41

Im so shocked that she has done this AIBU? Surely this isn't normal for someone of this age to have access to this kit? Am I completely over-reacting? Please tell me i am as I'm very unpopular right now! This is in light of all the allergy stories I have read and damage to nails etc.

OP posts:
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6
Suzjspik · 26/10/2025 21:32

I took my 11 year old to get gel nails for our holiday i dont see the issue ? as long as its not all the time

Greeeg · 26/10/2025 20:38

As a nail tech myself... I'd be pissed.
i can almost guarantee none of the products used were any good and are most likely from Shein, Temu or Amazon which are a recipe for disaster & a bunch of infections.
Without sounding dramatic she could actually lose her nails if god forbid anything did go wrong.
get them soaked off asap

croydon15 · 26/10/2025 20:16

Jamfirstest · 25/10/2025 18:55

I bought my dd a uv lamp and the gel kit when she was that age. Should I resign as a parent?
shes 13 now. I also allow her to order all manner of eyelash extensions which she wears to school.

I’ll get my coat….

Eyelash extension at 13, whatever next ?

99bottlesofkombucha · 26/10/2025 20:15

RandomMess · 25/10/2025 18:49

@gamerchickthe nail polish that you need a UV lamp for contains chemicals that if you become allergic to them means you can’t have certain dental treatment or bone replacements.

Also will increase your skin cancer risk. I would never do it myself nor let a child do it.

purpleygrey · 26/10/2025 20:13

waitamo · 25/10/2025 18:46

Chop her hands off. Right now.

Agreed. It’s the only way she will learn not to be so irresponsible

Vitriolinsanity · 26/10/2025 20:10

I dry shaved my legs at 10 causing more immediate damage than this. It falls under the heading “kids do stupid shit”.

I know there’s a lot of discussion at the moment about UV nails, but as a one off it’s vanishingly unlikely to have any impact.

Buy a rough nail file to take off the top gloss and some acetate from the chemist and wrap the nails in foil and it will lift off. Apply olive oil to the nails afterwards.

ThistleTits · 26/10/2025 19:50

RandomMess · 25/10/2025 18:49

@gamerchickthe nail polish that you need a UV lamp for contains chemicals that if you become allergic to them means you can’t have certain dental treatment or bone replacements.

😮I didn't know this. Needs to be out there.

Highlighta · 26/10/2025 19:30

I would not be happy about this either.

Never mind the allergy risk and the use of uv, but then there is the upkeep / removal as it is not just a case of wiping it off with nail polish remover.

And it damages the nails. I can post a photo of the state of my nails right now to show just badly a wrong removal can do proper damage. Maybe in 6 months I won't have nails that just bend, never mind the sensitivity.

Newsenmum · 26/10/2025 19:30

Chinsupmeloves · 26/10/2025 19:22

My niece has one, she's 11, and I thought it was just like a little dryer?

I thought the same!

Oldwmn · 26/10/2025 19:25

gamerchick · 25/10/2025 18:46

Forgive me for asking. I know nothing about nail fashion. What does the UV lamp do to them?

Me too. There seem to be a shitload more things for parents to fret about than when mine were young

Chinsupmeloves · 26/10/2025 19:22

My niece has one, she's 11, and I thought it was just like a little dryer?

RubySquid · 26/10/2025 18:58

godmum56 · 25/10/2025 20:15

yes, loads of kids do including me! but did your mum allow you to continue to cut your own hair? also its not like applying chemicals to nails

Show quote history

I bleached the dyed my hair purple at 12

hunchandfollowedit · 26/10/2025 18:57

waitamo · 25/10/2025 18:46

Chop her hands off. Right now.

Exactly this. Chop them off and burn them under the uv lamp

unclench op. It’s one time for goodness sake Her friend will use it all the time and possibly damage her nails beds and that’s her parents business but Christ alive she’s done it for fun at her friends house and she hasn’t had an allergic reaction, her nails will not be ruined from one time and neither you or her will die because of it.

tell your daughter they look lovely

RubySquid · 26/10/2025 18:56

BauhausOfEliott · 25/10/2025 19:22

Worth noting that millions of people have gel nails, and have done for years, without any problems whatsoever and that gel polish is completely legal and deemed safe.

However, it’s not a good idea to let a child do their own gel nails at home; there’s a reason nail techs go through training to do it professionally. I wouldn’t want an 11-year-old playing about with that stuff and doing it wrong.

Edited
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The OP hasn't even said it's gel polish. Couple of 11 year olds could be drying normal polish under the UV lamp

Ange59 · 26/10/2025 18:52

I heard the discussion on Jeremy Vine when the allergic reaction became bbc headlinenews - It can cause all manner of serious health issues. I work in a junior school and I find it dreadful that parents pay for their very young children to have gel nails - apart from all the dirt they harbour under the nails(children aren't very hygienic) they seriously affect their ability to hold a pencil and write. Then there's the problems in pe. Need I go on !

trixie1970 · 26/10/2025 18:06

I don't have a daughter but I'd be livid if I were in your shoes. I don't think girls of that age should be having their nails done. They are children not adults.

SanityLeftTheChat · 25/10/2025 23:23

Jamfirstest · 25/10/2025 20:05

@SanityLeftTheChat she has 8.

Resigning from your position is not enough. You must walk the streets naked, ringing a bell, chanting shame, shame shame.

Foxyloxy89 · 25/10/2025 22:38

I think you need to calm down a bit.

Fishplates · 25/10/2025 21:28

Jamfirstest · 25/10/2025 18:55

I bought my dd a uv lamp and the gel kit when she was that age. Should I resign as a parent?
shes 13 now. I also allow her to order all manner of eyelash extensions which she wears to school.

I’ll get my coat….

Hope this is a joke…. 👀

SergeantWrinkles · 25/10/2025 21:03

What’s she done? Full Cynthia Erivo’s or a simple gel polish on narural nails?

Comefromaway · 25/10/2025 20:47

Cucy · 25/10/2025 20:40

Is this it?

I couldn’t get worked up over that.
Nails repair and grow, it’s no different than cutting your hair too short.

I wouldn’t want my DD doing it purely because I’d want her to not worry about all those things at such a young age.

I would just tell her that they’ll need removing before school by a professional and it’ll have to come out of her pocket money.

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They don’t always repair & regrow.

if you don’t know what you’re doing you run the risk of getting an infection oin the nail bed due to water getting in if the gel lifts or isn’t cured properly. Greenies can take ages to go, can be extremly painful & can ruin the nail.

Islandsgirl · 25/10/2025 20:43

newchapternewday · 25/10/2025 20:33

Having had melanoma, the operations, the the 6 monthly checks and the worry it is going to spread and i am going to leave my children - its a real shame that people don't take this seriously (eye roll eye roll). If parents don't tell their kids about the dangers of uv lamps and beds they too could be in the same situation which is horrible or maybe they don't give a shit. My surgeon said I was never to use any type of UV lamp or bed due to the dangers

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No one is denying that melanoma is serious, and I’m truly sorry for what you’re going through or have gone through. But comparing a child using a UV nail lamp once to spreading melanoma feels like quite a stretch. I’m sure the OP will explain the dangers to her child and advise her not to do it again.

Cucy · 25/10/2025 20:40

AllJoyAndNoFun · 25/10/2025 18:48

It sets the ( specific type of) polish so it doesn’t chip but it’s also really hard to get off and can trash your nails.

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Is this it?

I couldn’t get worked up over that.
Nails repair and grow, it’s no different than cutting your hair too short.

I wouldn’t want my DD doing it purely because I’d want her to not worry about all those things at such a young age.

I would just tell her that they’ll need removing before school by a professional and it’ll have to come out of her pocket money.

FlyingSolo16 · 25/10/2025 20:40

godmum56 · 25/10/2025 20:15

yes, loads of kids do including me! but did your mum allow you to continue to cut your own hair? also its not like applying chemicals to nails

Show quote history

I used to do it anyway!

I’ve had gels for five years and will continue to do so, also everything is “chemicals”

newchapternewday · 25/10/2025 20:33

Islandsgirl · 25/10/2025 20:19

o.m.g (eye roll eye roll) It is a one off, she is an 11 year old girl, tell her not to do it again and get over it.

Show quote history

Having had melanoma, the operations, the the 6 monthly checks and the worry it is going to spread and i am going to leave my children - its a real shame that people don't take this seriously (eye roll eye roll). If parents don't tell their kids about the dangers of uv lamps and beds they too could be in the same situation which is horrible or maybe they don't give a shit. My surgeon said I was never to use any type of UV lamp or bed due to the dangers