Talk to me about shellac and other fake nails

[Dancergirl]

I'm fed up of my finger and toe nails looking a mess. All I tend to do is put polish on at home, occasionally I treat myself to the odd manicure or pedicure.

I'm a terrible picker so it doesn't last long. I always see lots of other women with beautifully done nails.

So what are my options? I don't really understand what shellac is or if there are any alternatives? Once you start, is it a lot of upkeep?

Whenever I've had fake nails they've destroyed the real nails underneath.

Shellac is a hard wearing nail varnish, it's cured under a UV light and lasts a couple of weeks, I have horses and it's the only way I am get my nails to look smart and stay smart for more than few hours.

I have my own nail UV lamp and buy cheaper versions of Shellac from eBay. It's a life saver!

I get the "Gel" nail polish, which is cured by, at my salon, LED light (to avoid freckling of the hands.)

I keep my nails very short (I work as a medical doctor), and the gel is very hard-wearing. It also totally cured me of biting my cuticles, which had been a longstanding habit.

I've been wearing gel for over a year now, no damage at all. You need to not pick it though, as that really would wreck your nails. So long as its removed properly, no damage should be done.

I love it and get it done every 2.5 weeks by a mobile lady. I have Gellish, but think they're all pretty similar.

So both gels and shellacs are types of hard wearing polish rather than actual fake nails?

Sorry to hijack, does sun tan lotion ruin them? I fancy getting a gel manicure done for my summer holiday. Will it survive for a fortnight?

I've been wearing gels for over 20 years I got them taken off last week and new ones on but was surprised at no damage and how hard my nails are. Shellac don't ever seem to chip.

No nail enhancement causes damage if it's properly applied & removed.

It's bad nail techs, not bad products (I'm a nail tech btw)

Gels need slight buffing prior to application to work, shellac is no buff because it's not a gel.

Sun lotion will damage shellac and gel. You can wear gloves to apply it & use a make up sponge for the back of the hand so you don't burn.

The sun can bleach out pink pigment if it's strong enough, as can sun beds.

Products like cillit bang & Nivea have also caused chipping & lifting.

It's only a lot of upkeep if you want to keep having it done! I find shellac/ gel protects my nails to some extent, it never chips, I have it removed because it starts growing out too much at the base of my nails.
You do need to factor in the cost of removal as well as application. I pay £16 and if I want it removed it's £5. I have recently bought a removal kit to do that bit myself though.

I've had Shellac done a couple of times. Both times it was removed by the beautician who applied it and both times my nails cracked and peeled for months afterwards.

Thinking of giving gel a try and hoping it doesn't wreck my nails again.

I've been using the new builder gel acrilic, I need more just gel polish, and this seems to be working really well

Jolly

I'd question if that tech was using genuine products & correct preparation of the nail. Because it doesn't sound like it. It's an incredibly expensive system to start up in & I've seen people on other forums openly admit to buying off eBay to save money, or they work for salon owners who to trim costs get them use the wrong products or generic lamps.

The market is flooded with fake shellac sold on Amazon, eBay & even websites claiming to be authorised distributors but charge less than I pay trade. There's colours out there I know have been discontinued for 4 years but are being sold as new.

There's a Tech near me I keep an eye on purely to see how many clients she has with active acrylic allergies but she's putting new products on them. People call her the nail queen 😳

I suspect she's using mma too & not proper nail enhancement acrylic.

fluffycloudland have you got any tips to check if your salon is using legit stuff? What to look out for etc. I've had shellac a couple of times and my nails have been fine, I'm planning on getting it more regularly now in my lunch hour at a salon near work. One of my colleagues has developed an allergy to it from doing it at home and I don't want to end up the same!

Do your real nails have to be decent before you start or doesn't it matter?

Ask them who they buy it from, if they are using the correct suppliers they should be able to answer straightaway. This is information readily available online too. Look for salons where a system is used ie Jessica manicure products, polish, lamp. If they have CND products but a lamp with no CND branding on it their not doing the service right & their insurance will be void.

You can look up correct application online, CND publish theirs on the American site plus do YouTube videos hosted by the CEO.

A well trained tech will know their stuff & will want you to have healthy nails, they can also tell you about hygiene procedures too & correct aftercare to prolong the life of the manicure.

There's lots of brilliant nail techs around but it's not cheap, shellacs reccomended price is £22+ but people want cheap nails so are happy to go to nail bars where a full set of extensions plus nail art is £25. A bbc investigation on rip off Britain found 8 out of 10 nail salons in one area using mma acrylic, it's bone cement and not suitable for nails but it's dirt cheap. America banned it from nail salons but over here it's legal.

Dancer It depends what you want, shellacs for strong healthy nails but they have a new top coat for thinner nails now, gel polish is essentially a thinned gel extension so it lasts longer. Ibx is a uv cured treatment to strengthen nails which works fantastically but it adds an extra few pounds to the cost which not everyone's happy to pay. Good housekeeping reccomended it after testing it. It's professional use only so you don't get allergies.

Fluffy, thank you ... That's interesting and would be good to know. I think you'll agree that hygiene was poor if I tell you that the foiks used to remove the Shellac were clearly used many times previously - wrinkled, ripped foil with cotton wool pads which had old varnish on them!

Trying a different beautician next time!

@Dancergirl I have had gel on short nails. The manicurist will tidy them up and sort out the cuticles and they look a million times better. I choose a more natural colour. It really helps them to grow as it is harder to mess around with them with gel on!

Thanks @fluffycloud very useful advice.

jollyhockey that's shocking about the used foils etc

longhair ... I thought it was the norm but still kept wanting to snatch my hands away!

Thanks all.

Think I might give gels a try. nightswimming can you have them on toenails too? They also look a mess!

Does anyone know if gels are ok on toenails too? Mine look awful, almost too embarrassed to take them into a salon

Gels are ok on toe nails but never had them done.

Yes you can use it on toenails! DH got me a gel kit about 3 years ago and it's saved me so much money instead of going to the salon!

Be careful though I have an addiction in buying different colours!!

I had these french polish gels done on friday. Been swimming as well since then.