by Jennifer Arnold

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

have heard a lot of people say that they do not like to go to a "Chop Shop" for their nails. Yet many Acrylic Nail wearers do. Why? It is simple! Price. Is it worth the savings? NO!

What is a "Chop Shop"? Many refer to a nail salon that is primarily all Asian nail techs, a place where you do not need an appointment or do not have a personal nail tech and cheaper prices than a traditional salon a "Chop Shop". While the notion that all of these shops are employed only by Asian tech who do not speak English well and rarely communicate with you about your nail care needs is a popular one. It is still true that you can find many salons that fall under this umbrella and do not always have only Asian nail techs. To me that sound racist and I don't want to cross that line.

So let us talk about price and the value of paying a little more for safer and beautiful nail enhancements.

Many "Chop Shop" Nails Salons use a product called Methyl Methacrylate - MMA for short. MMA has been prohibited for use in the nail industry since the late 70's. This is not to say that all nail only salons are using MMA. But you have to do your research to find out if they are. Also this doesn't eliminate the full service salons from this controversy. Again do your research! It is your body and health at stake.

Why do they use it then? It is 1/3 cheaper than a safer monomer ( the bluish purple liquid of acrylic nails). This allows the salon to offer a cheaper price to the client.

Why should MMA not be used? There are four main reasons:

MMA nail products do not adhere well to the nail plate. To make these products adhere, nail technicians often shred up (etch) the surface of the nail. This thins the nail plate and makes it weaker.

MMA creates the hardest and most rigid nail enhancements, which makes them very difficult to break. When jammed or caught, the overly filed and thinned natural nail plate will often break before the MMA enhancement, leading to serious nail damage.

MMA is extremely difficult to remove. Since it will not dissolve in product removers, it is usually pried from the nail plate, creating still more damage.

The FDA says don't use it! This is clearly the most important reason. The FDA bases their prohibition on the large number of consumer complaints resulting from the use of MMA nail enhancements in the late 70's and they continue to maintain this position today.

Methyl methacrylate monomer: The subject of a court ruling
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and

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