Did you start doing your nails at home during the pandemic? Many salon-goers tried it after a few months in quarantine, and for some, the habit stuck even once salons reopened. According to market data, the home nail care industry grew by $2.25 billion from 2020 to 2024. But as more and more people began doing their gel polish themselves, something else began to grow: the number of people who became allergic to gel. A nail gel allergy sounds relatively harmless, but it can be super uncomfortable, and it has some surprising consequences. Here's everything we know about how a gel polish allergy develops, what you can do to prevent it, and why it matters that you do.Why are so many people suddenly allergic to gel nail polish?Acrylate allergies themselves aren't new — that's the chemical in gel polish causing allergies — but they're becoming far more prevalent as more people DIY their nails at home. "The popularity of polishes that contain acrylates has increased a lot over time. Gel nails...
