A TikTok user says she suffered a severe skin reaction after getting acrylic nails done the night before her best friend’s wedding, and the video showing the reaction has been viewed more than 3 million times.
The creator, who goes by Lainna (@lainnababyyy), posted a TikTok video showing her hand before and after the reaction. The clip opens with a close-up of her manicured hand, with pink and white French tip nails, resting on a car steering wheel. On-screen text reads that she got her nails done the evening before her best friend’s wedding.
The video then cuts to the same hand showing red, swollen skin around the nails, covered in fluid-filled blisters. In her caption, Lainna wrote, “The wild part is I’ve been getting fake nails since I was in high school and this has NEVER happened.” She added that she still does not know exactly what caused the reaction.
Video draws thousands of comments, including guesses about the cause
The video has received more than 128,700 likes and over 2,400 comments. Many commenters offered their own theories about what might have caused the reaction. One person wrote, “Licensed cosmetologist here, looks like that’s paronychia.” Another commenter, identifying themselves as a nail technician, wrote, “Nail tech here, this is contact dermatitis.”
Some viewers questioned why Lainna kept the nails on and continued documenting the reaction. One comment read, “All these photos and you didn’t immediately take the nails off???” Another wrote, “filming your nails WHILE DRIVING.”
Others suggested the reaction may not have been an allergy at all. One commenter wrote, “I doubt you were allergic to anything. It was more likely their tools were dirty.” Another said, “I would be reporting this to the state board. She may have used dirty utensils.” A separate comment read, “And that’s why you won’t find me anywhere near a nail tech!”
Lainna posted a follow-up video responding to the criticism and questions. In her caption for that video, she wrote, “Replying to @lali like oh my God enough !! and some people are so rude someone wished death on me for taking a photo of my hand at a red light !!”
In the follow-up TikTok video, a comment sticker at the top of the screen reads, “the progression of it getting worse and the nails STILL being on.” Lainna addressed the comment directly, saying she was not trying to single out that specific commenter but was responding because she had been asked the same question many times.
She explained that she got her nails done the night before the wedding because she had never had any issues with acrylic nails before. “I got my nails done the night before because I’ve never had any issues,” she said.
Lainna also revealed that she had open wounds on her hands by that point. She said she did not want to bring open wounds into any public space other than a hospital or her own home. “I’m not going to take open wounds to a public, anywhere that’s not a hospital or my own house,” she said.
She added that she had the wounds bandaged for the wedding but chose not to visit a nail salon or soak her hands in acetone while the wounds were open. “I’m not going to a nail salon with open wounds and I’m not soaking them in acetone,” she said. Her caution about avoiding salons with open wounds comes amid broader concerns about safety in nail salons, such as when a New York woman says a salon owner grabbed her hair and chased her.
Lainna also addressed criticism about her taking photos of her hand during the ordeal. She explained that the first photos of the reaction were taken very early in the morning. “The first pictures were bad. That was at 4 a.m. That was at 4 AM, okay?” she said.
Lainna has not stated a confirmed cause for the reaction and said in her original caption that she still does not know exactly what she was allergic to. Unexpected outcomes can lead to legal action, such as when a Virginia woman sued Outback Steakhouse over mashed potatoes.
Published: Aug 19, 2026 01:00 pm