How long does shellac on hands realistically lasts?

[Kittenmumma]

Also considering doing the dishes, spending a few days away in the pool/sea etc. I’d need it to last at least 2 weeks but it’s very £££ and not sure it’s worth it?

Wear rubber gloves. To much immersion in water lifts the polish.
Showering and bathing no problem.
My CND manicures survived Via Feratta climbs in Italy.
It's the washing up that ruins it. Rubber gloves!

It depends on a lot of things. Some colours are more durable than others. Also the age of the polish - newer bottles are thin and chip easily. The old, goopy ones are rock hard and last ages.

As others have said, use washing up gloves. Also get a bottle of clear nail polish (just the standard air-drying stuff) and you can put a thin layer on the edge of the nail, for a bit of extra protection when they do start to wear.

Op, to answer your question - Realistically for me it would just about Last the 2 weeks. I'd probably have a couple of chips. By 3 weeks it would be full of chips and look awful.

I do my own nails with normal polish, and only get gels very occasionally as my nails grow super fast. I had it done on Wednesday 11 June because we were going away for the weekend, and removed it on 18 June because the gaps at the bottom were annoying me - the actual nails themselves had no chips but it looked really scruffy. I guess the way round that would be to go for a very pale or neutral polish but that's not really my thing.

Two weeks. No washing up gloves or special attention. It grows out before it chips

I go every 3 weeks and they rarely chip in that time. I’m not careful with what I do, washing up, gardening, and don’t wear rubber gloves. It will depend on how good the nail tech is, decent materials and well applied.