Shellac/biab/acrylic or natural painted nails

[Merseymum1980]

Hi ladies
Can anyone let me know what they do regarding nails please?
I have to be smartish looking from a business perspective but after recently paying a small fortune for hair restyle and colour correction i cant afford getting nails, lashes etc. Plus ive booked a holiday.
Anyway my nails are quite naturally long but often snap and nail polish chips.
Ive considered shellac as meant to be cheaper but when ive rang salons they seem to use the drill.
What do people do, can anyone recommend a good polish that lasts as i dont have time to repolish daily

I always chip normal nail polish too. I have biab. No drill, my nails are absolutely fine underneath. I pay £35 every 2-3 weeks.

I don’t understand what you mean by use the drill for shellac. I get gel polish and there is no drill.

It lasts me 3 weeks so so averaged out I don’t think the cost is too bad. I haven’t tried biab and I wouldn’t go near acrylics. My nails look a mess if I try and paint them myself.

Maybe ive rang the wrong salons id called the vietnemese type nail bars locally. I asked about the drill as it wrecks my nails

Do you mind me asking what you pay for shellac

I just have gel and get them done every 2 weeks, never had a drill on them. £30 fingers and toes once a month and £16.50 fingers once a month.

It's not a drill it's a file and actually can be gentler than a normal file.
I have acrylics done every three weeks. They always look smart

I bought the kit and do gel myself. It's quite easy to master.

I use The Manicurist nail system and do it myself. £100 upfront cost and then you only buy what you need. My nails have never been healthier.

Why do you have to do anything? What's wrong with clean, tidy, neatly filed nails, that just look like normal, natural, healthy nails? Personally I think that looks far more professional than salon nails.

I pay £26 for shellac -it’s not quite as hard wearing as gels but I get a good 2 weeks out of it and I’m very hard on my nails.
The removal of gel ruined my nails unfortunately!

If you have good nails - do them
yourself.

I have really good nails. I use Essie or Nailberry. I redo every 10 days or so, once I have noticeable regrowth at the base. They stay perfect and chip free until then. They look much nicer than the obviously fake look of gels etc.

Have you tried nail wraps/ semi cured? I get mine from Glaize but there are loads of companies like Sassy Saints. You apply them yourself but they don’t chip and you get loads of each colour. I’ve worked out that I can make them last ages by just replacing any peeled ones.

I got a good top coat- I think it’s a Sally Hanson strengthening one. I find that because it’s clear, it doesn’t show chips or anything. Very low maintenance. Gives a groomed, glossy look and keeps nails a bit stronger. File them fairly short and tidy, and just keep adding top coat. Every now and then, use polish remover to strip down and start again.

I usually do my own with regular polish but had gels done for an event, then (very stupidly) again straight after, and now my nails are a disaster. I went and got BIAB to try and help so am now locked in on that and it’s expensive and annoying!

I use nail wraps. I love them! I could never get polish not to chip on my nails so wraps are an amazing solution. I only ever wear solid colours or French. Mostly red in autumn/winter and then French or coral pink in spring/summer.

Edited to say they last me about 12/14 days. I normally remove at about day 12 though.

The pink ones had been on 12 days at that point hence the growth..I only took a pic to send to my sister.

All of these are from OhMyGosh nails.

They are gorgeous. How do you remove them please

I just put nail polish remover on some cotton wool, then I use those clips you get on Amazon etc to keep them in place. Then just leave it for 5 mins, remove the clips and wipe it away. It’s not like gel where it takes ages to dissolve. The wraps are made with nail polish on adhesive and sometimes you might need an extra wipe with the polish remover just to get the last of the adhesive.

I always cut my cotton wool rounds into quarters and they’re a perfect size.

If you decide to try them, I can give you some tips to get the best wear out of them.

I file my nails into a nice shape, use clear coat and almond nail oil to keep cuticles soft and avoid hang nails.

In recent years, I've found that I don't really like colour on my nails especially if it means I have to go through tedious prep, time and cost for repeat visits to manage.

I had acrylics for years because they are so hard wearing and could stand up against constant typing and housework with no problem.

Then, I started going for gels because everyone told me how great they were. But, I can't stand gels. I can't stand that they lift and the removal process is tedious. I have done them myself but gave myself a fungal infection so that is not going to happen again, either. They also wrecked my nails when removed and this happened if I did it myself or the salon did it for me.

I haven't tried BIAB so can't comment.

I stopped using the kind of polishes that need curing because I was getting flashing. It’s not just unpleasant, it’s the worry of being sensitised and unable to have various medical procedures in future as a result.
So I’m trying to manage without. Looking after the underneath of the tips using oils is my current focus, as they get dirty fast which apparently is due to being out of condition.