A mother who gave her daughter acrylic nails for her prom claimed the nails became so infected she ended up in the hospital.
Rebecca Scott, from Runcorn in Cheshire, spent £45 on nails for her 15-year-old daughter Laylah Crane, in preparation for her prom on June 21. However, she said Laylah ‘bumped’ two fingers a few days later, causing the ‘strong’ acrylic nails with a glittering design to tear the natural nail underneath.
Laylah’s nails became infected and she had to have her thumbnail surgically removed in hospital. Rebecca said her daughter was “put off forever.”
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The mother of two said that when Laylah stubbed her fingers, she called her nail technician friend, who scheduled Laylah for an emergency appointment to have the entire set of acrylic nails removed. But when her friend soaked and filed Laylah’s artificial nails, she discovered “yellow pus” under one of the injured fingers.
Because her thumbnail was too painful to remove at the salon, Rebecca said she took her daughter to Warrington Hospital A&E to seek professional help, where she claimed a doctor told her that Laylah had developed an infection under two of her nails, caused by her prom set of acrylic nails.
Laylah was then prescribed antibiotics and transferred to the children’s ward at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she later underwent surgery to have her natural thumbnail removed. Rebecca said her daughter may remain without a thumbnail for the rest of her life.
Rebecca Scott with her daughter Laylah(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
Rebecca, 37, said: “She got her nails done for prom. This was a treat for Laylah and the first time she had acrylic nails done.
“On the Sunday after the prom, she stubbed one of her fingers. There was a little bit of blood around it, so it looked like her natural nail had lifted up a little bit, but you couldn’t really tell and since she wasn’t in much pain, she forgot about it.
“But the following Tuesday she stubbed her thumb. There was no chip in the acrylic at all because it was so strong, but on her thumb it had torn her natural nail and that didn’t look good at all.
“One of my best friends is a nail technician, so I called her and she told me to come into the salon and she would soak the existing nails so she could look at the damage. She soaked the nails.
“When she got to the finger, she slowly filed the nail away because it was painful and she didn’t want to put any product on it. When she filed it away, she saw that there was an infection and a lot of yellow pus under the finger.
Laylah’s acrylic nail after she knocked it over(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“She said it was infected. As for the thumb, she said it looked too painful and she didn’t want to touch it.
“Laylah has now had her nail removed. She had to have general anesthesia and be put to sleep to remove her natural nail.
“They can’t guarantee that her thumbnail will grow back. It might, but sometimes it won’t, so she could be without a thumbnail for the rest of her life.
“Right now it’s in a bandage, so she can’t do much. She won’t be able to use her thumb for the next 10 days and she’s still on antibiotics.”
Since her thumbnail was removed, Rebecca believes Laylah’s infection was caused by the original salon using a substance called MMA (methyl methacrylate) on her nails. MMA is a chemical used to make certain types of nail extensions and has been labeled “toxic” by some experts in the industry.
Laylah’s thumb after her nail was removed(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
It is thought to be a probable allergen, which can cause severe reactions even with minimal exposure. Rebecca claimed that when Laylah stubbed her nails, the acrylic nails should have popped off, but because this ‘strong’ substance was used on her fingers, it caused her natural nails to come off.
She now warns others to check the products used on your nails before starting the treatment. Rebecca said: “The (second) nail technician suspected that (the original stylist) had used MMA on the nails.
“Normally when you soak off acrylic it should be a flaky substance but when she soaked this off it turned into a glue and she said she thought it was MMA. The doctor said she had an infection under the nail and because the nail had sloughed off they said the acrylic was so strong it was lifting the natural nail underneath.
15 year old Laylah Crane(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“If you hit an acrylic nail, it should pop off and separate from the natural nail, but because Laylah’s acrylic nails were so strong, it ripped off her natural nail bed and that’s because they used the MMA substance. Her nails didn’t even last a week. That’s a lot of money to throw away.
“It’s annoying because you have a lot of nail technicians who charge the same price, but they use real products. Then you have salons who use cheap products and charge ridiculous prices and that’s not good.
“You need to do your research before getting your nails done and go to a reputable salon. People need to do their research on where they get their nails done.
“I think this has put Laylah off forever. I don’t think she will ever get acrylic nails again.”
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