Nail Safety, Curing & Product Chemistry: A Real Science Talk with Doug Schoon
There’s a lot of confusion in the nail industry right now, especially around gel allergies, lamp claims, “non-toxic” marketing, and what proper curing actually means.
So I sat down with world-renowned polymer chemist Doug Schoon to talk through the science in a clear, practical way.
Doug has been working with us over the past few months, scientifically testing our new lamp and products for curing performance and compatibility. He’s also the author of several respected books on nail science, and he’s widely recognized as one of the leading experts in nail product chemistry.
Watch the full interview here:
What you’ll learn in this interview
1) Who is Doug Schoon and why his work matters
We start with Doug introducing his background, how he got involved in the nail industry and what he’s worked on in nail product chemistry and safety.
2) Why brands should test lamps for curing performance + product compatibility
A big theme of this interview: curing isn’t just about having “a good lamp”, it’s about how a lamp performs with specific formulas.
We cover:
• Why brands should test curing performance (not assume)
• What “compatibility” really means
• What consumers and pros should ask brands before trusting claims
3) Why wattage is a bad way to judge a nail lamp
Wattage gets used as a “bigger number = better cure” marketing trick. We break down why wattage is NOT the right indicator and what people should look for instead when choosing a lamp.
4) Why curing science is still misunderstood (even among brands)
This part is eye-opening: we talk about why curing is still misunderstood across the industry even by manufacturers and chemists and how that confusion leads to bad recommendations and risky assumptions.
5) “Hard” vs “fully cured”: what can look cured but still be risky
One of the most important topics for safety:
• What “hard” really means
• What “fully cured” actually refers to
• Why a product can look cured (shiny, hard, no tack) and still be problematic if it’s under-cured in ways you can’t see
6) What “scientifically tested” should mean (so it’s not just marketing)
We discuss what counts as real testing vs vague buzzwords and what a brand should be able to explain if they claim:
• “clinically tested”
• “scientifically tested”
• “lamp compatible”
• “tested for safety”
7) Thoughts on “AI nail lamps” that claim to cure everything
You’ve probably seen these claims: one lamp that allegedly “reads” any gel and fully cures it across all brands. We talk about what’s realistic, what’s hype, and why these claims should be questioned.
8) What actually causes gel allergies
We dig into the real mechanism behind sensitization, what’s happening biologically and chemically, and why under-curing is such a major part of the conversation.
9) “Organic” and “non-toxic” nail products: what’s wrong with these claims?
We cover why these labels are often misleading when they’re not clearly defined, certified, or backed by scientific evidence and what responsible claims should look like instead.
10) Is there a “standard minimum %” of photoinitiators in gel formulas?
I get asked this constantly so I asked Doug directly. We talk about how photoinitiators work, why the question is more complex than it looks, and what factors really matter.
11) If someone is allergic to a monomer, but the product cures “in a safe range,” should they still avoid it?
This is a sensitive and important topic. We discuss how to think about ingredient-specific allergies vs curing performance, and what the safest decision-making approach looks like.
12) What about small brands that don’t have the budget to test?
A realistic conversation about the responsibility brands have, what “minimum responsible steps” could look like, and what small brands can do (and shouldn’t claim) when they haven’t tested.
Questions from the nail community
I also included questions that were submitted by the nail community:
1) Wired vs wireless lamps (battery lamps). Is a wired (plug-in) lamp more consistent for curing than a wireless/battery one? Why?
2) How do photoinitiators influence under-curing?
3) Is it safer to use brands tested with their own lamps/products? Is it true it’s better and safer to use brands that have tested their products scientifically so everything is compatible?
