During the pandemic, we all had to learn how to do our hair, nails, and beauty-related techniques. Now that the world is on the safe side and returning to normal, living costs have impacted us all too. The crisis has made people cut down on costs and maintain beauty upkeep at home.

Such a situation has sparked an interest in DIY nail manicures. Amazon searches for BIAB nail kits have increased by 1,983%, but the beauty experts at Justmylook warn users against the dangers.

The viral beauty trend involves creating at-home gel nail manicures using builder in a bottle or ‘BIAB,’ with Justmylook reporting that the hashtag #biab has over 256 million views on TikTok.

©Laura Davis

Many are starting to suffer from the effects of BIAB, with thousands of users revealing allergic reactions to the product. TikTok user Laura Davis had been doing her gel nails at home for the last seven years with no problems. Still, she switched to using BIAB in the previous five months resulting in suffering a severe allergic reaction.

In the video, which racked up over 301,000 views just hours after being posted on TikTok, Laura shows the damage the use of BIAB product has caused to her nails which involved the nails lifting from the nail bed, causing infection.

“We strongly advise taking caution when using at-home BIAB products. It is a popular option as it creates a similar effect to salon-applied acrylic nails for a fraction of the price but does not come without its risks,” Beauty experts at Justmylook warn.

“BIAB products can contain certain ingredients that could cause onycholysis, which is the separation of the nail from the nail bed. This can be very serious when it occurs, and treatment may take months involving cutting away the separated nail as it grows out and a prescription of antifungal medications.”

“If you are planning on continuing home manicures, we recommend purchasing nail products from trusted and reputable sources only to minimize the risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals,” they added.