Shellac
Last year I jumped onto Shellac pretty quickly because I heard so many raves from girlfriends and I loved the idea of my nail polish not chipping too quickly. What made me stop getting it was that I wanted to change my colour more often and also the process is a little time consuming. For Christmas I gave a voucher for Shellac and got one back from my bf’s sister so we organised to go last Thursday. My nails were in desperate need of a good file and shape because in my experience shellac makes your nails stronger (not like acrylics) I wanted them to get nice and long with no chips or splits.
When I first started having Shellac manicures done there were not many choices of colour but I saw that a lot of new ones had been launched since I last had it done. I knew I needed a neutral colour because of work and I don’t mind a pretty pink so because you can layer shellac colours I got one shade of Strawberry Smoothie and one shade of Romantic. They are both different shades of pink.
I love the nail salon I go to. Before I moved apartments I lived 50 metres away but now I live 15 minutes away so I actually make appointments before I rock up. The ladies & the 1 man that works there are so friendly and they all do a great job. The boss is the best though and she usually does my Shellac and did so again this time. Before shaping my very inconcistent nails I was asked if I wanted them round or square and I asked for something in between and I am so happy with the shape, it truly looks great. After shaping and manicuring a base coat is applied on one hand and you then put your hand into the uv light box for 20 seconds whilst the other hand is based up.
This process is repeated so layer 1 and 2 needs 120 seconds each per hand and the top coat needs 180 seconds to dry. A handcream is then applied and your nails are good to go. There is zero drying time!
I am so happy with the result and even now a week later my nails still haven’t chipped. My nails are also looking very glossy!
At night time I apply OPI’s Avoplex cuticle oil on the nails and the nail bed so that they are moisturised and don’t dry out. I definitely think this assists in reducing the chip-factor.
What I don’t like about Shellac is how long it takes to remove it because your nails have to be soaked in nail polish remover and then the layers split and can be removed. I won’t do Shellac after this again I think because I simply don’t have the time and I have too many new OPI nailpolishes I need to try.
The cost for a manicure is $20 at my local place and if you do shellac they add $18 on top. For shellac removal it costs $5 although they don’t always want me to pay it (even if I offer). I guess it pays to be a regular client;)
Always remember that because UV lights are used to dry your nails, use a handcream which contains SPF to protect your hands from the rays before you come to the salon.
Have you tried Shellac? Are you in the Yey or Ney camp?
Anna
I had Shellac put on once and it was chipping in two days! I was SOOO disappointed. I put it down to me being a mum and washing my hands a lot (and doing heaps of house work!).
I agree with you though – there’s too many colours to try in the normal nail polish range, I like to change it up every second or third day. Sporting bright-red Cutex right now, with the OPI top-coat…it’s lasting AGES!!