I know. I say things like, "someone's going to get sued" and everyone jumps down my throat telling me that I'm exaggerating.Fine. Get sued.
Somebody's going to, eventually. Might as well be you.
The thing is, people are scared of UV radiation. Probably because the average person doesn't understand what "radiation" means and they all associate it with nuclear bombs and 1950s mutant movies.
Then the dermatology field is spending thousands of dollars on advertising campaigns to terrify our population into hiding in their cellars and getting rickets.
We need sunlight, we will die without it. I'm not suggesting everyone slather themselves in cooking oil and lay naked in the sun until their skin is the same texture as beef jerky — that would be bad.
But we are becoming a paranoid culture on a lot of levels; this post is about the fear of UV radiation. Which mostly still comes from sunlight — but, as we all know, also comes from these expensive little boxes on our tables filled with light bulbs.
Whether we like it or not, whether the reports are accurate or not, whether the general public has the critical thinking skills to do the research for themselves and weigh the information — or not — there are increasing reports blaming our gel lamps for skin cancer.
And this is why YOU need to know that your LED gel lamps ARE UV lights. Because time and time again I am seeing people in our industry — conscientious, educated professionals who pride themselves on their commitment to a higher standard of skill levels and product knowledge — discussing gel lamp technology by differentiating between these light sources as being either "UV" or "LED."
We need to nip this habit in the bud now, and get our terms right. Otherwise we are no better than the NSS with their "solarnails" and "powder gel" services that so many of us feel are intentionally misleading.
What's going to happen? Someone, somewhere, is going to get a phone call from a prospective client who will be looking for someone who can do gel nails without putting their hand in "the lamp" because they are worried about UV light.
That someone/somewhere is then going to tell that prospective client that that someone/somewhere doesn't use "UV" lamps, their lamps are "LED" so it's all OK.
And then that client is going to end up with skin cancer on the backs of her hands anyway.
Sure, it'll probably be because she drives around with her hands on the top of her steering wheel all day — but she'll blame the light anyway. And her lawyer will call our "someone/somewhere" up and investigate the lamps, only to discover that they do emit UV radiation ... and then that someone/somewhere will be crying online because she's getting sued because she told her client that her lamps weren't UV.
I have seen Odyssey Nail Systems referring to traditional fluorescent lamps as "CFL" lamps — versus "LED" lamps — which is far more accurate, and I want to give them a big high-five for making a responsible designation for the technology that drives our UV lamps.
I propose we jump on this wagon now and start living up to our own standards as responsible, educated professionals.
Print | posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 12:00 PM