"Gel nails banned" is in the headlines because the European Union banned one ingredient, TPO, in cosmetics from 1 September 2025. It is an ingredient ban, not a ban on gel manicures, and Australia sets its own rules. If you want a break from gel, keep your nails short and smooth, oil every day, and give a new nail four to six months to grow.
- The European Union banned an ingredient called TPO in cosmetics from 1 September 2025. It is an ingredient ban, not a ban on gel manicures.
- Australia sets its own rules. The assessment I read, from AICIS and dated 8 March 2019, identified no known restrictions on TPO here.
- Most of the damage I see to the nail itself comes from how gel comes off and how it is filed.
- The reset after gel is short, smooth and oiled every day, then four to six months for a new nail to grow through.
What did the EU actually ban?
The European Union banned an ingredient called TPO in cosmetics from 1 September 2025, and TPO is commonly used in gel nail products.
TPO is short for trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide. It is a photoinitiator, the part of a gel polish that helps it set when the lamp switches on. The rule is Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/877. My source is the Irish law firm MHC's summary, TPO ban in the EU, which I read on 12 October 2026.
What does it mean for gel in Australia?
Australia sets its own rules, so a rule in Europe does not automatically become a rule here.
The Australian assessment I read is from AICIS, the national industrial chemicals regulator, which used to be called NICNAS. It is dated 8 March 2019, and it identified no known restrictions on TPO in Australia. I read the AICIS assessment of TPO on 12 October 2026, and rules can change, so check the regulator's own page before you rely on it.
I am a nail technician, not a regulator or a doctor, so I will not tell you what an ingredient does to your body. I can tell you what to ask your salon:
- Which gel system do you use?
- Can I see the ingredient list for it?
- Does it contain TPO?
- How do you remove it, and will you soak it off rather than peel it?
I am not telling you to give up gel. I am telling you how to look after your own nails whichever way the rules go.
Is shellac or gel bad for your nails?
Most of the damage I see to the nail itself comes from how gel comes off and how it is filed.
Peeling or prising a set off lifts layers of your own nail with it, over filing thins the nail, and long soaks in acetone dry it out. Shellac and gel polish get the same advice. That is about your nail, not about any ingredient: what an ingredient does to your body is a question for the regulators and your doctor, not for me.
Do
- Have gel soaked off properly.
- Oil your cuticles and nails every day.
- Ask your tech to keep filing of your own nail light.
Don't
- Peel or pick off gel.
- Prise it off with a metal tool.
- File the natural nail more than you need to.
How do you reset your nails after gel?
The reset after gel is short, smooth and oiled every day, and a new nail needs four to six months to grow through.
- Get it off properly. Soaked off, never peeled.
- Keep your nails short and smooth. Use a glass file in one direction.
- Oil every day. Cuticles, nails and the underside of the free edge.
- Wear gloves for wet jobs. Water and detergent dry out a nail that is already dry.
- Be patient. A fingernail grows about 3 mm a month, so the old nail takes time to grow out.
While your nails are recovering from damage, I'd oil twice a day, morning and night.
I used my serum on my own clients for years before I offered it to anyone else. For a reset, the pen and dropper bundle gives you both: the pen lives in your bag for a top up, and the dropper stays by the bed for a slower night routine. The full plan for the months after is in growing your nails back after acrylics, gel or SNS.
- Within days
- Most people notice softer cuticles.
- One to two weeks
- Most people notice visible nail growth. Results vary.
- Four to six months
- A new nail has grown through, and the old gel damaged nail has grown out or been filed away.
How do you make gel gentler?
If you keep getting gel, make it gentler by looking after the nail underneath every day, because a set changes how the nail looks and not what it needs.
Oil the cuticle and the skin around the set every day, ask for a soak off and not a peel, and keep the filing of your own nail light. The pen works over gel, SNS, acrylic and dip, so the routine does not have to stop while you wear a set. Using nail oil over gel, SNS and acrylic shows how.
When should you see someone?
If the skin around your nails goes red, itchy or sore after gel, stop and see a doctor rather than carrying on.
If it came on suddenly, hurts, is discoloured, thickened or lifting, see a GP, dermatologist or podiatrist.
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Add to cartSweet almond oil is a nut derived oil; people with nut allergies should talk to their doctor first.
Questions people ask
Are gel nails banned in Australia?
The sources I read do not say gel nails are banned in Australia: the European Union banned one ingredient, TPO, from 1 September 2025, and the Australian assessment I read, from AICIS and dated 8 March 2019, identified no known restrictions on TPO here. That assessment is old, so check the regulator for anything newer, and ask your salon which gel system they use.
Is shellac bad for your nails?
Most of the damage I see to the nail itself comes from how gel is removed and filed. Peeling or prising it off lifts layers of your own nail, and over filing thins it. Have it soaked off properly and keep your nails oiled. What an ingredient does to your body is a question for your doctor, and if your skin goes red, itchy or sore, see a GP.
How do I repair my nails after gel?
Keep them short and smooth, oil every day, wear gloves for wet jobs and be patient, because a new nail takes four to six months to grow through. While your nails are recovering, twice a day is fine. Most people notice softer cuticles within days and visible nail growth within one to two weeks. Results vary.
