Shellac (nails)

terlywerly

My local beauticians has started offering Shellac and I was thinking of treating myself to a manicure before Xmas. However I have since heard from a few people that their nails have been in terrible condition since getting it done, and I was just wondering has anyone on here gotten it done, how long did it last, and how were your nails afterwards?
Thanks!!

workingstudent

i had french manicure shellac done..kept it for 2 weeks..got a good week to 10 days out of it but started chipping in the corners the last few days!..definetly better than normal polish..i thought it helped strengthen em alright...just remember you have to go back to get it taken off!!

squeakyduck

I thought it wasn't supposed to chip? I saw a girl that had it on for two weeks and looked perfect until I was asking her about it and on closer inspection the end of her nails (at the cuticle) was not painted as the nail had grown a little!

terlywerly

workingstudent wrote: »

i had french manicure shellac done..kept it for 2 weeks..got a good week to 10 days out of it but started chipping in the corners the last few days!..definetly better than normal polish..i thought it helped strengthen em alright...just remember you have to go back to get it taken off!!

Were the chips very noticeable? One of the girls in there said she had it on nearly 3 weeks and it didn't chip (but she'd have to say that wouldn't she ). How much did you pay to get it done? I think she said its €30, did you have to pay to get it taken off too?

Tantrum.b

Hi Ladies,
im new here, thought i'd offer my 2 cents

the shellac and other new generation gel polishes are a hybrid of a gel overlay and polish. When applied correctly and capped at the edge should stay perfect with normal wear and tear, however should be removed by a nail technician to minimise damage, most nail damage is caused by a bad nail tech or ourselves being heavy handed. Also as far as strengthening the natural nail, yes they will feel stronger while product is on but its the product itself, when removed you'll be back to your usual nail which will feel weak if you are used to the coating. You will notice it "grows" with the nail, therefore will need a top up after a few weeks which is well worth it as they'll look great until then.

If you use a cuticle oil, you will strengthen your natural nail as you'll catch the nails as it is forming, try to always use this no matter what nail system you use, the difference it makes..

hope i've been helpful:)
Pam

Stench Blossoms

Mine chipped after 5 days.

terlywerly

Don't say that Stench Blossoms!! :eek::(
Did they chip very very badly or was it just a tiny bit? I know they shouldn't chip at all though

Stench Blossoms

I had a French manicure done and tbh as soon as I saw one chipping I started picking at them so it was my own fault really.

The_Morrigan

I got a 3 week manicure done a week ago and I must say they are fantastic, no scratches or chipping so far, and the shine off them is lovely, everyone is commenting on them!

However, it was extremely expensive, but it was a present and I got a voucher for 4 sessions.
I'll let you know if it lasts the "guaranteed" 3 weeks.

terlywerly

The_Morrigan wrote: »

I got a 3 week manicure done a week ago and I must say they are fantastic, no scratches or chipping so far, and the shine off them is lovely, everyone is commenting on them!

However, it was extremely expensive, but it was a present and I got a voucher for 4 sessions.
I'll let you know if it lasts the "guaranteed" 3 weeks.

Good to hear someone is fully happy I'm paying for them myself (as far as I know unless the OH decides to be generous!) but I think its €30 to get it done, which isn't all that bad really.
I'd love pretty nails for Xmas <sigh>

The_Morrigan

terlywerly wrote: »

Good to hear someone is fully happy I'm paying for them myself (as far as I know unless the OH decides to be generous!) but I think its €30 to get it done, which isn't all that bad really.
I'd love pretty nails for Xmas <sigh>

I bleeding well jinxed myself - got my finger caught earlier between a zip and a crack has emerged!!

TW, these ones cost 70 euro :eek:

terlywerly

The_Morrigan wrote: »

I bleeding well jinxed myself - got my finger caught earlier between a zip and a crack has emerged!!

TW, these ones cost 70 euro :eek:

Ah no, thats terrible such bad luck
I rang the salon earlier and they definitely said 30 euro for a Shellac french manicure, maybe its cheaper out Whest where I am than in other places Maybe being miles away from big cities has its benefits after all :pac:

The_Morrigan

terlywerly wrote: »

Ah no, thats terrible such bad luck
I rang the salon earlier and they definitely said 30 euro for a Shellac french manicure, maybe its cheaper out Whest where I am than in other places Maybe being miles away from big cities has its benefits after all :pac:

Yup I'm slap bang in the middle of Dublin city center...so they fleece us

anniehoo

The_Morrigan wrote: »

TW, these ones cost 70 euro :eek:

Wow! You definitely got fleeced there, it should only be around €30. Ive even seen deals for a full spray tan and shellac nails for €50 so you definitely paid too much.

My friend got them done the week before last and they looked fab.She was raving about them. Am going to treat myself for xmas

I have a question (possibly a very silly one!)

Is the Shellac Manicure and the Three week manicure the same thing?

The_Morrigan

anniehoo wrote: »

Wow! You definitely got fleeced there, it should only be around €30. Ive even seen deals for a full spray tan and shellac nails for €50 so you definitely paid too much.

My friend got them done the week before last and they looked fab.She was raving about them. Am going to treat myself for xmas

but you are quoting prices for the shellac manicure, I didn't get the shellac done, I got the 3 week manicure - apples and oranges here

lotiek

Hi All - am new on here & saw this thread.

I got the shellac manicure done for the first time 3 months ago and have been addicted every since! It's great you can change colours every 2-3 weeks and have a different look. I generally get about 2 and a half weeks out of it - for the most part they look great apart from the re-growth - sometimes there are accidents where a chip happens but that's life unforunately. They certainly don't chip anything like ordinary nail polish. I also love the constant shine from them.

I got it on first when my nails were quite short and thought it would look awful (got a dark colour on - Fedora) but by 4 wks later my nails were a great length so got French Manicure!

As you can see I'm a fan of Shellacs

The_Morrigan

Deleted User wrote: »

I have a question (possibly a very silly one!)

Is the Shellac Manicure and the Three week manicure the same thing?

Nope, they are different - to what extend I don't know though, but from the experience I had with the 3 week manicure it took about 45 minutes to do.
There was a gel layer put on, then polish, more gel, then polish, then a top coat...I was very bored, very very bored!!

anniehoo

The_Morrigan wrote: »

.
There was a gel layer put on, then polish, more gel, then polish, then a top coat...I was very bored, very very bored!!

Sounds the exact same as Shellac tbh.They use gel and polish layers also and seal it under a UV lamp. I wonder what extra they do for the 3 week one?

The_Morrigan

anniehoo wrote: »

Sounds the exact same as Shellac tbh.They use gel and polish layers also and seal it under a UV lamp. I wonder what extra they do for the 3 week one?

God knows, but the nail tech was constantly telling everyone that this was the bees knees designer label and shellac was pennys in comparison.

lol was quite amusing

workingstudent

well it was just small chips at the end of the 2 weeks...i did a french polish myself this week and 5 days later theyre all chipping so i really find the shellac great..1 less thing to be worrying about!!

a local started up a nail place in her house lately..€22 for a plain colour shellac or €25 for the french polish..and that price includes removal!:)

currently growing my nails a bit so they'l be a nice length to get them done at xmas:D

dollybird2

I got Shellac nails done for my wedding. They looked good, photographed well. Lasted approx 9 days before chipping. I was told I either had to go back to have them removed or else buy pure acetone to soak the nails in to remove them. I peeled them off. My nails were in great condition underneath, much much better than when I have had gel nails removed.

Ruby_Woo

Thanks for that info Dollybird!

I was just about to post about the removal process and how your nails fare underneath..?

I've had gel nails a few times but vowed never again as they left my natural nails in a right state underneath!

I'm really tempted to try out the Shellac nails, don't want to be contending with frail and brittle nails for weeks afterwards once they're off though!

Loopie

Just to add my 2c...I've been getting the Shellac done for a while now. and before that I was getting the three week manicure done.

I always found that the three week really only lasted properly around 2.5 weeks, never really got the three weeks out of them without them looking seriously shabby! So, when I started getting Shellac I was wondering if they'd only last 1.5 weeks or so. But I genuinely do get the full two weeks out of them.

As one of the other posters said, they are soaked off in Acetone and then redone. Your nails are only under the UV lamp for about 2 minutes a go, 2 or 3 times (I'm normally chatting to the beautician so I don't remember clearly how many times but getting these done doesn't take the same amount of time as the three week).

As for the condition of my nails, under shellac they're fine, under three week they would have been weaker.

I think it's always good to give your nails a break every so often so I wouldn't have this on full time but if you're looking to have nice, preeeety nails for Christmas, get these done a few days before Santa comes and they'll last through New Years!

dancingqueen

I had Shellac done a few weeks ago - I was delighted for the first few days, and then they started cracking like little black cracks all over near the tips.. i have to say the shine was fantastic and maybe it was the particular girl who did it - perhaps she wasn't great at it, I dunno but i was disappointed. I ended up picking it off because I was too lazy to go and get the acetone... don't pick it, nails very weak underneath after that

Magenta

squeakyduck wrote: »

I thought it wasn't supposed to chip? I saw a girl that had it on for two weeks and looked perfect until I was asking her about it and on closer inspection the end of her nails (at the cuticle) was not painted as the nail had grown a little!

Well obviously, if her nails have grown then the regrowth isn't going to have Shellac on it.

northumb

Does anyone know where you can get the Shellac manicure done in Dublin city? Buff Day Spa are doing it for €35-40. Just wondering is there anywhere else that is?

Thanks

Loopie

Hi northumb,

If you go on www.cnd.com go to Find a Salon, and under international choose Ireland and you'll see the salons all over the country that do the Shellac nails. The general price I've seen for them is €30 (for both colour and French) and then there are some salons that are charging €35 for the French and €30 for the colour. You'll get it cheaper than €40, no problem.

L

Storminateacup

I love Shellac. At 1st, I was like.. aww man, 30 E for a nail paint? But after one time, I was completely converted. Mine lasted at least 2 weeks, perfectly, but in reality Im not that hard run and I was getting almost 3 weeks out of them. The salon I get them done at removed them for free as i was getting them applied again.

Its 110% better than gel/acrylics. I wouldnt let them anywhere near my natural nail.

workingstudent

i got mine done again before xmas, french polish but this time with the tips stuck on. much better i think, all the tips are the same length and there is no chipping as they're stuck on, looks alot better than the hand drawn ones. 2 weeks later they're still fine and i'll get another few days outta them yet!...all for €25 including removal

northumb

Thanks Loopie, that is great help