Gel polish used on me despite saying I had allergy and not to

[Itsanadventure]

Hi, years ago I had acrylics done with no issues, several years ago I had gels done & had allergic reaction with relentless itching & small blisters on skin around nails with peeling skin.

I messaged a nail salon to check I could get acrylics done without gel & was told yes. I went to the salon yesterday and told them a couple of times No Gel as allergies.
I wasn’t really sure of the processes involved so just sat and let them crack on with it.
woke at 3 am and needed to hold hands under freezing water as the burning and itching was so severe, I googled if lamp was needed for acrylics and nope so went back first thing this morning to get them removed and explained what had happened, They removed them and told me to return to get them done again free sometime.

The pain and itching is getting worse and worse and I can feel the blisters are continuing to develop. I'm sitting with them in a bowl of iced water and can tell sleep is going to be disturbed with it tonight.
I’ve messaged to say I can’t get them re done as I’m too scared as they are so sore & my nails are now a mess. Am I ok to demand a refund and should it be just left at that? I don’t want to make a fuss but don’t know if I’m being too much of a wimp as I definitely stressed no gel on them as allergic.
lt was one of the salons with only Asian/Chinese staff so the communication is quite difficult

Yes, get your money back! .. but, doesn't acrylic have HEMA in too?

I’m not sure exactly what ingredient I’m allergic to but I had acrylics for years with no issues but gel ones react every time & biab

How much did you pay?

Do you have an antihistamine at home that you can try now? If not see a pharmacist tomorrow.

Is it a legitimate salon? Is there a manager there ?

Take anti histamine call GP in the morning or try 111 now?

Fexofenadine is a good antihistamine and available form supermarkets, in case you have someone you can send and one that is open.

Yes I agree you should get an antihistamine and I also recommend hydrocortisone ointment

£30

Thanks everyone, I’ve taken antihistamines both days & had hydrocortisone cream in so rubbed a tiny bit on them.
I think it’s legit place, it’s really popular & was full both times I’ve been in. It had a big opening event a couple of years ago.

That is really cheap for a full set of acrylics@Itsanadventure , which when taken with the all overseas staff with little English means it probably isn’t legit, by which I mean modern slavery and money laundering. Many of these places are.

They don’t care about your allergies, even if they understand them. Get you money back if you can but go to a decent salon of you want to try again.

Thanks, I’m gonna try get £ back but think I’m too scared to get done again.
I only wanted it as my own nails are so weak and split so easily but are worse than ever now

Sorry to hear this, sounds awful.
The best thing I did for my nails was to use CND RescueRxx daily keratin treatment. Took about 6 weeks to work but my awful nails are now strong and a good length. Obviously no idea if it would cause an allergic reaction so best to proceed with caution.

Just wanted to say, acrylics definitely need a lamp too. If it was a NSS which it sounds like from your description, the products could be absolutely anything and they maybe have not realised it was gel - that is the huge risk you take when you go somewhere like that. I’d chalk this up as an expensive lesson. Honestly, as a qualified nail tech, if you’ve had any allergies to nail products I would not advise trying again. Once your nails have recovered, try a good ordinary nail polish like essie instead :) hope it heals quickly for you.

I agree with @Keepingthingsinteresting that it sounds like a money laundering operation with workers who are enslaved.

When I googled it said acrylics don’t need the lamp only if gel polish on top as it’s air drying

Yeah go ask for a refund, they are lucky if you don’t take it further! Say your doctor has advised not to get them re done.

Apologies, I have just double checked as I’ve only ever encountered acrylic products that require a lamp and it seems some can ‘air dry’ but most are cured under UV lamps. The top coat also requires a lamp! So varies depending on the brand of acrylic used.

OP, you need to take responsibility for your allergies. What do you think 'gel' is? Allergies to 'gel' nails are almost certainly allergies to methyl acrylates which are the key component. So you can't use any of these types of product again, ever. They cross the barrier of your skin and sometimes through your nail and trigger the allergic response.

I sound tough but I learned the hard way, losing all my nails in the process, because I didn't accept that there wasn't another way to get them done. I ended up with swelling and rashes to the elbow, nails lifting and falling off down to the root, cracked blistered fingers like chipolatas, waking up biting my hands with the pain. It took a year to heal.

So read up on methyl acrylate allergy, and get to the GP asap and ask to be referred for proper allergy testing. It means you likely can't have dental resins or bone/joint cement which also contain similar chemicals, and you really need to know this before you get something causing an internal reaction down the line.

And yes, the salon were crap. But chasing that £30 is less important than getting yourself safe now.

I wouldn't worry about £30. I would be reporting them to environmental health and trading standards though to stop it happening to someone else.