Shellac Ruined my Nails

[SuperSaint]

I hadn't had a manicure for about 15 years and decided to treat myself before Christmas. The technician persuaded me to have shellac as she said it lasted much longer. She never mentioned anything about having to have the varnish professionally removed later.

I was very pleased and it lasted well for about 2 or 3 weeks then I tried to take it off with nail varnish remover. It didn't work so I picked it off which seemed to work well. It never crossed my mind this wasn't what you were supposed to do

However over the next 2 weeks every single one of my nails has split really low down and they are really weak. I am so annoyed as I now have nails that look like I've bitten them for years and they're so low they hurt and are bleeding. Has anyone got any tips on how to strengthen them again or do I just have to wait months until the bit that was ruined has grown out.

The first time in ages I treat myself to a "treatment" it ends in disaster!

[stopfuckingshoutingatme]

just wait, as they will grow back! oil and patience

agree though, no more shellac for me either

[OutToGetYou]

Itsbetterthanabox

I didn't say anything about my nails already being damaged, they were fine before I had gel polish done.

I've never had acrylics. I don't understand your response to me at all. The gel lasted totally fine, not sure why you suggested it didn't. I only had it removed as it grew out.

I've had gel polish four times on my fingers and twice on my toes. On my fingers, three times it was removed professionally and once by me with proper soaking and pushing (not picked off). My toenails I just let grow out.

My fingernails were a mess each time. And I left long gaps between having then done again. Toenails have been totally fine though.

I've decided not to do it again. My fingernails just can't take it and my toenails are fine with normal polish which lasts for weeks anyway.

I think you just need to accept that different people have different experiences and our bodies are all different, rather than passing blamey judgments down.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

I've never tried Shellac before. Have been tempted but have then heard some less than impressive reviews. I think I might try it on my toes first.

[Chewbecca]

Blimey, you'd think some posters have shares in Shellac the lengths they will go to defend it and blame another factors for it ruining nails.

It is quite clear that some people do everything right yet still have weakened nails following the use of shellac. It obviously works well for some but not everyone.

[HPsauciness]

itsbetter I have been soaking/picking mine off just fine. I have never had it filed off!

[itsbetterthanabox]

Hp
Bluesky is almost impossible to soak off. It's a very low quality eBay sold. It needs to be filed off usually.

[itsbetterthanabox]

Some people have naturally strong nails. Although all nails will benefit from oil not all need it.
If you wear shellac or gel polish then you do need to use oil. If you don't do it and then have dry nails when the gel is removed then that is the fault of aftercare not the gel polish itself.

[OllyBJolly]

I am lucky to have naturally strong nails that grow no problem. I don't use oils or hand cream (unless I'm in a posh hotel and it's free!).

The only time I've had issues is after Shellac, professionally removed. My nails were dull and brittle for months afterwards. Definitely ruins my nails

[HPsauciness]

itsbetter- why? I've been doing mine at home for six months now, and had great results.

[itsbetterthanabox]

Now bluejay sky will ruin your nails. It is not shellac and its nasty stuff.

[HPsauciness]

I am very lazy and can never be bothered to wait to soak the nails (I use BlueSky at home, cheap off Groupon), so I just pick the polish off. The nails look a bit tatty for 5 min, then I buff them and reapply a different polish for the next two weeks. I've stopped over Christmas through not being bothered to do them, and the nails look fine.

I do think it's an individual thing, I have very strong nails as I eat tonnes of dairy products (noticed them being much better after I switched to dairy/low carb/lots of protein). It's a shame so many people are having problems, because shellac nails are great!

[PitPatKitKat]

Get shellac pretty often. I used to struggle after about the 5th or 6th cycle of application and removal, despite using the wrap method to take it off and using a good cuticle oil daily (either Solar Oil or Dadi Oil).

Then a very helpful nail technician told me not to use pure acetone to wrap the nail for removal. I switched to CND nourishing remover (but any remover than is designed to remove gel polish that also has a plant oil like sweet almond or olive oil in it will do). And now I can get them done back to back and my nails are fine when I remove the polish.

She also said to only wrap the nail for the minimum time. It's better to check how it's doing then pop the wrap back on for a wee bit if it's not done than to just leave it on for ages.

I also made popping on cuticle/nail oil part of my am and pm skincare routines, just to really make sure I was doing it, and that helps loads too.

[BumWad]

YY to solar oil

[BrendaandEddie]

I wear acrylics all the time. Nails have never been so long or hard

[WhoKn0wsWhereTheMistletoes]

I agree there's probably an element of luck. I've had them done 4 times at 3 places and no bother at all afterwards (always soaked them off myself). I never oil my nails, use home polish regularly and they are healthy and strong. I find gels far too much of a faff though, takes ages having them done, ages getting them off, far easier and quicker to do them at home.

[burnishedsilver]

Gel polish does not ruin your nails. Poor application and/or removal does

These kind if absolute statements really bug me. You have no way of knowing that. Different people react to things differently.

Sil and I went to the same salon to get our nails done. We had it done by the same technician one after the other. The same woman removed it for both if us. Sils nails were fine after it. Mine were trashed. We discussed it didn't see any difference in how we looked after them. My nails just can't take it.

[fruitpastille]

I think it is just luck. I never use oil etc and the only time my nails were a bit damaged was when I picked it off. Even then it was a few weeks to get back to normal, not months. Home soaking or saloon removal was fine. It's so popular that I guess many people don't have problems. They should have warned you about removal though!

[itsbetterthanabox]

Outtogetyou yes if you have severely damaged nails or very weak nails to begin then gel polish may not last well. Those damaged from poorly applied acrylics for example aren't suitable for gel polish.
For people with damaged nails that still want gel polish an IBX treatment will help immensely and correction/smoothing gel can give a smooth, stronger surface.

[itsbetterthanabox]

Tigerdriver yes oil should be used all the time. It's more important to use it when you have gel polish on! Massage into the nail and cuticle daily.

[OutToGetYou]

Shellac ruined my nails. It's not down to bad technicians nor poor care, people just have different strength nails and some can't cope with it.
It's taken over a year for mine to grow through and one thumb nail still delaminates all the time.

[JessicaRuby]

tiger your cuticles will still benefit from the oil when you have shellac on

[SarahLinden]

Gel polish does not ruin your nails. Poor application and/or removal does.

A decent nail tech will always talk you through the aftercare necessities and will prioritise the health of your nail over profit.

Once you have peeled layers from your nail plate by picking off gel polish, you can either try to remedy the damage by asking a reputable nail tech for a course of IBX treatments, which will strengthen your nails or you will have to be patient and wait for the damage to grow out, while applying lots of cuticle oil daily.

PS 'Shellac' is a brand of gel polish, amongst many: it is not synonymous with the verb 'to gel polish' or the generic product.

[tigerdriverII]

Silly question here but are you supposed to use oil all the time even while the polish is on? I like the look of shellac but have only recently started using it. I picked off one lot without thinking and my nails looked terrible, but they seem ok now.

[HildaFlorence]

I have geleration nails at the moment .I used to pick my nails and they never grew , since having the gel they have grown really well , the salon I go to removes them for free and when I did break one , repaired that for free as well.I will give them a break after this lot are removed but generally my nails are better than they were .