According to the Daily Mail, gel nails are now going to be banned across the UK and Europe, with nail technicians left in turmoil about their futures. As anyone with experience with the Daily Mail will know, this is not exactly true.
Changes have been brought in that will affect the nail industry, but it is up to the big brands to make changes and not the technicians themselves. You would think that means they have been out in force on a PR offensive to ensure that clients are now technicians alike understand exactly what the position is, but many of them have been surprisingly quiet.
The truth about gel nails
The story has arisen from the fact that the use of Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide (TPO) in gel nail products has been banned in Europe. This does not affect the United Kingdom yet but will come into force over here in 2026. This is quite a common ingredient that is found in a number of different items, but its use in nail products has come under particular scrutiny.
The reason for this is that TPO has received a new classification as a Carcinogen, Mutagen, Reprotoxic. This means the substance has been linked to risks such as cancer, genetic mutations or fertility issues in lab tests. As the EU cosmetics regulations prohibit the use of these CMR substances, it is therefore being prohibited for use in cosmetics.
This could have been avoided if the nail industry had decided to voluntarily defend the continued use of the ingredient, but they chose not to as they were unable to demonstrate that there were no alternative ingredients. However, there are other photo-initiators that are already used in gels and considered to be much safer, and it is these that are now being adopted throughout the industry.
What do nail technicians need to do?
If you are based in the UK, then you do not need to make any immediate changes. The ban came into force on the 1st September 2025 for the EU, which includes the Republic of Ireland but not the UK. Although a date has not yet put in place, it is expected that the ban will come into force in the UK in the latter stages of 2026.
As the ban refers to a particular ingredient in nail products, it is down to the suppliers themselves to ensure that an alternative ingredient has been found and that the products are now being manufactured using the new formulation. This should mean that any nail technicians in the EU will be buying products that are TPO free from now on. These products will be available in the UK and will be phased in by the individual suppliers at their own rate.
If you are not sure whether your nail products contain TPO or not, then you need to check the SDS or labels of your products and discontinue their use immediately if TPO is listed and you are EU-based.
The penalties for using banned products will vary depending on the region, but there are some substantial fines being threatened. There is no grace period for these products, so they will need to be disposed of immediately.
Client education is very important at this point as they will no doubt be seeing the same click bait headlines as I did. Try putting together a short FAQ or social media post that will explain the fact that gel nails are not being banned and that TPO is being replaced by safer alternatives. You can explain that the products you use will remain safe and compliant to help deal with any panic from your clients.
The nail industry silence
What struck me when the ban came into force was the lack of response from nail industry leaders. The headline in the Daily Mail was the first thing that I saw that morning, and many clients were probably the same. This has led to them having a lot of questions that nail techs are not necessarily in a position to answer. They have turned to their suppliers for help, but it has not been as forthcoming as they might have liked.
Personally, I would have expected the brands to have social media assets in place for their salons to use on their own pages, that should answer most of the common questions. However, I saw very little of this, and it is only now starting to trickle through.
Instead, it became clear that there was a huge number of concerned technicians who were frightened that their livelihood might be at threat. As they voiced their concerns, and threw questions towards some of these bigger brands, they were met with comments telling them to stop panicking and that it was a storm in a teacup.
I believe that the brands are batting these things away because the ban does not come into force in the UK for another year. However, salons who have hundreds of bottles of products on their shelves are probably sat wondering what they are expected to do with them. If they have not all been used up by the deadline, will they just have to throw them away and risk losing hundreds or thousands of pounds? Will the new products that they buy be TPO free from now on or are they going to continue to invest in products that may be wasted further down the line? Will there be buy-back schemes, swaps or discounts on reformulated products? There are also plenty of people wanting to understand more about the TPO ingredient and what it does, as there are clients who have legitimate concerns about using those products now when they have been banned in other countries.
Downplaying these concerns is disrespectful and irresponsible by the brands. The decision to ban TPO took place in May 2025, and so the nail brands have had a few months to work out their plans and start manufacturing new products. What they haven’t done is talk about what is happening, what changes they are making and what salons should be doing, which has led to many of them feeling as though they have been left in the dark.
The brands have undoubtedly faced the biggest hurdle, as it is them that have had to find alternative ingredients and change the formulation of their products, which is a time consuming and costly process. I understand that the greatest amount of work and stress has fallen on their shoulders, but they should understand that they have a responsibility to support the nail technicians who are now worried what this will mean for their own businesses.
I would love to be able to provide the answers, but things still seem very vague. The new products are now on the market in the EU, so it seems likely that they will be sold in the UK very soon as a complete replacement for the TPO products. The timeline for this is unclear and will depend on each individual brand and what their manufacturing capabilities are. It remains to be seen what will happen to the products that have already been purchased, but I would certainly urge nail technicians to research the products they are buying at the moment. You need to be sure whether your current purchases include TPO, and then determine whether that product is likely to have been used up before next year’s deadline, as buying TPO products now could be money down the drain in the future.
My challenge to the nail brands is to step up now. Answer the questions. Provide technicians with information that they can send to their clients and help the nail industry to calm down. Knowledge is always power, so share it with your customers and let them feel confident in the products they are buying and using.
