silver acrylate free nail polish recs? how dangerous is epoxy resin in polish?
I have been doing my own gel press on nails for less than a year. Before I even started, I had looked into allergies and took them seriously.
I never put gel on my natural nails (bc I was scared I might get some on my skin), always wore nitril gloves, wore a mask (not a respirator unfortunately) and made sure to cure every layer for the appropriate time. I wasn't aware, however, that my nail glue (makartt) also contained dangerous cyanoacrylates. And I don't even remember, how often I got it on my skin... I feel so stupid for not realizing that sooner.
While I was making my last set, my hands started burning underneath my gloves and I got red blisters that even went up to my under arms. Foolishly I finished the set and glued the nails on the next day. My hands had red itchy and burning blisters. I managed to pry the nails off the day after. It has been about a week and my skin looks and feels a lot better now.
I'm pretty much 100% sure that my worst fear came true and I developed an acrylate allergy. I would love to get a patch test done to find out what exactly I'm allergic to, but all dermatologists near me refuse to take on new patients, unless you literally have skin cancer. I have since discovered that my hair, make-up and skincare products contain acrylates and am replacing them.
I'm also looking for acrylate free nail polishes. I have found some, but I haven't been able to find a silver one. I know it's unnecessary, but my nails are a huge part of my self expression as an alternative woman and I'm already overwhelmed by all of the changes I need to make in my routines and my appearance. I've found a silver polish without acrylates copolymer, but it contains Tosylamide/Epoxy resin. I'm honestly desperate for a silver nail polish so I'm tempted to try it. I know it's probably a bad idea though, since I'm already sensitized to acrylates.
Is there any silver nail polish without acrylates? Would it be a terrible idea to try a polish with epoxy resin? I would welcome any method for me to be able to have silver nails again.
Also any tips on how to practically and mentally/emotionally deal with all of these scary changes would be much appreciated, since I'm basically in a constant state of freaking out. Thanks for reading