Pros and Cons of Shellac and UV Gel Manicures - A Girl's Gotta Spa!

Pros and Cons of Shellac and UV Gel Manicures

 
Pros and Cons of Shellac (TONS of comments on this post - good and bad!)
When I first heard about Shellac, UV and LED gel manicures, I was over the moon excited. I could finally have polish on my nails sans chipping and polish peeling for more than 3 days and all without having to apply fake nails. In August, while at Cosmoprof, I received an awesome manicure from CND in Hot Pop Pink (pictured below.) The manicure took just as long as having acrylic nails or wraps put on (an hour) and the result looked just as amazing. I remarked to the manicurist just how gorgeous her own nails looked, as they were long and it didn't even appear to be naturally her own. She told me they were and that wearing the Shellac helped her achieve the length. I believed her, until my own experience has led me to believe otherwise. My CND Shellac lasted me 3 weeks. I was ecstatic. I applied CND's SolarOil to my cuticles and under the tips of my nails on a daily basis as instructed by the manicurist. My nails had grown a bit during this time and I was excited to go for round two of another CND Shellac at my local salon. This time I went for a French manicure CND Shellac. My nails were finally long enough to adorn some white tips and I was stoked. I went about applying the SolarOil again daily, but this time it only took 3 days for one of my nails to peel and the Shellac to come off. Day 4, one of my nails broke and it became clear how brittle my nails were becoming. By day 5, all of my nails were either peeling (the nail itself, not the polish) or breaking.   Looking at my very soft, peeling nails, I decided to not apply any polish at all for 2 weeks, but continued to put the SolarOil on them. But sadly, they didn't seem to recover. In the meantime, I had been sent the complete Red Carpet Manicure LED Starter Kit and as I was about to have my first television appearance, I knew my nails had to look amazing. So I used the kit, which comes complete with a portable LED light and is a DIY home LED manicure kit. Colors were gorgeous, time was still about 1 hour to complete the manicure and I used their Revitalize cuticle oil daily. But by day 3, my nails were peeling and even more brittle. I now had stubs for nails (even shorter than pictured above.) Finally I asked fellow friends in the salon business and fellow bloggers if they experienced the same of gel manicures, and it was a resounding yes.
Pros: Manicure can potentially last up to 3 weeks No chipping Manicure is instantly dry upon last UV go round Mirror finish (nails look wet, but aren't) Can DIY and look just as amazing as at the salon Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous Cons: Very drying to your nails Repeated application (without a breather) will result in brittle and peeling nails Wear time gets less and less with each application If you don't apply the cuticle oil daily, your nails will dry out a lot quicker Costs add up, especially if the manicure doesn't last 2-3 weeks CND Shellac requires it's own Remover Wraps According to some doctors, the UV lamps can cause skin cancer (but the jury is still out on this) So it appears that, at least for me, a CND Shellac or UV gel manicure will only happen for special events (like holidays, TV appearances, events) and cannot be worn all of the time. Unless I want to continue having man hands with my stubby nails. In the meantime, I will be in nail re-cooperation with Qtica's Cuticle Repair Balm and Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator to regain my length.  I'd love to hear from you: what has your experience been with UV gel manicures? Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle tooShannon on G+ *Disclosure: affiliate links

70 comments

Jessica
Jessica
I am not going to say much about the peeling and side effects of shellac because it reacts to everyone’s nails differently. If you do a lot of cleaning with heavy chemicals it will harm your nails more, not because of the shellac but just because you’re using heavy chemicals! Most problems with shellac occur because of how it is applied and removed. You are not supposed to just soak your nails in acetone. You are supposed to dampen a piece of cotton with acetone and secure it to your finger nail. You leave it on for 10 mins and then use the wrap to get the polish off. If it doesn’t all come off you then use some acetone soaked cotton to rub the rest of it off. How your nails look depend on how the nail technician removes it. The big reason I commented on this is because of the dr oz comments I was seeing. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. According to Dr. Robert M. Sayre, Ph.D., of Rapid Precision Testing Laboratories one of the creators of the SPF rating system: “UV Nail Lamps are safer than natural sunlight or sunlamps.” According to Dr. Sayre: “People who are indoors have little to no skin risk due to long-term exposure to fluorescent lighting. People who sunbathe or work outdoors have real risks of excessive UV exposure, the cause of sunburn and skin cancer.” Hands get more UV exposure holding the steering wheel of a car or talking on a cell phone outside than they do from the use of UV nail lamps. “One would need 250 years of weekly nail sessions to equal one treatment in a tanning bed.” Dr Markova & Dr Weinstock (I do not post this comment to bash tanning, merely to give a comparison that people can relate to.) This is from an article from a website that I linked to. From a REAL doctor who knows what he is talking about!! http://blogs.nailsmag.com/fingernailfixer/
BJ
BJ
Dr. Oz had a show on shellac nails and it was suggested to use sun screen or purchase gloves with just the finger tips exposed. The gloves cost about $10.
Shannon Nelson
Shannon Nelson
Hi BJ, I didn’t watch that episode, but was it about protecting your hands from the UV rays? The manicurists who do shellac have specifically told me that sunscreen does something to the formulation of the shellac and that’s why they say not to get it near your nails.
Shevonne
Shevonne
IMO, shellac is just more damaging to your nails due to how strong of a bond it forms and how long it stays , every bend it makes , your nail goes with it so there is a bit of added stress but nothing like how bad my nails were after having acrylics or gelnails on. I have been using “Gelish” uv polish for the last year , and I LOVE IT . I don’t know how anyone keeps their regular mani’s in shape for more than a day ?! I literally barely made it home before one nail was chipped or crack . I do have to say that , depending on how carefull I am about the removal process , sometimes my nails are pretty thin after I take the shellac off , however I do have to remember that I buffed away any "shine " to my nails to help the shellac adhere prior to application sooo , its not like they are going to magically grow that back when the polish is soaked off with acetone . I am prone to cracking the sides of my pointer fingers due to a TON of typing for work , and I do not have that problem with the Shellac , but if they are going to bubble or chip towards the ends thats how it happened . I will say that sometimes it seems like the polish stays better than others , however , the lady at my salon told me that the nails need to be dry and free of lotions or tons of moisture and oil for the shellac , I did my current set RIGHT after doing a deep conditioning treatment on my hair and low and behold , one of my nails peeled off after my shower the next day like it had been dipped in acetone . . BUT I find that if I am good about buffing everything , and really make sure to get the ends and sides of my nails covered well ( that is the kicker ) , it lasts just as long , if not longer than when I have it done in the salon. I have not noticed that my nails have changed texture or anything , and am curious as to the folks that say that their natural nail is flaking , but not the shellac ? how does that happen ? anyhwho . I LOVE the shellac and think its worth a try , I have heard things about certain brands being better than others , but everyone’s body chemestry is different so I wouldn’t put any of them down too fast . .
Suzanne
Suzanne
I have gotten shellac manicures over the past year and a half with great success. However, I am now noticing that all of my nails itch terribly for days after I get my shellac manicures. What’s more, my skin under the nails seems to be tender. I’m pretty sure I’m having a reaction to the product, but no one else seems to be talking about itching as a side effect.
Shannon Nelson
Shannon Nelson
Hi Suzanne, I never noticed itching with shellac, but you never know—maybe someone who stumbles upon this post will have the same thing happening to them. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Anonymous
Anonymous
My love affair with Shellac ended as well, after only 4 months. I had nice, long nails and did have acrylic for many years and then over 2 years ago, I dumped the acrylics and early this year started the Shellac. I loved it at first and my manicures worked best when I did them every 7 days since if I let them go to 10 days, I had breakage ( I wash my hands a lot since I am a caregiver.) I used wraps and was religious about the solar oil. Regardless, at first my nails started with a white spot here or there and then I finally had to stop the Shellac when my nails began to break underneath the shellac. When 60% of my nails were peeling, I knew the love affair was over. I hope they recover. I went back to using my Zoya polishes, non-acetone remover and Seche Vite for drying. I’ll never use the Shellac again. Quite frankly, I think it’s worse than acrylics ever were. I know that with the acrylics, my nails would be weak upon removal but overall, my nails looked fantastic. At this point, I think I’ll just do regular manis and leave all of the shellac and acrylics alone.
heather
heather
Hi girls i have been reading your comments on shellac as i have had them done twice and i have been worried about the side affects. The girl took the polish off the first time. She soaked my fingers in acetone and my tips were white .I didnt like what it done to my fingers I had to soak for 15 minutes. Then she scrapped my nail and too much nail was coming off it was like she didnt care how much was coming off. I have taken this lot off myself with cotton wool and acetone cotton balls and alfoil.It came off very easy . have painted my nails with a product called Healthy Hoof Hoof Lacquer Ideal for nails. I dont think I will go back to the shellac after reading the comments. Thank you girls.
Shannon Nelson
Shannon Nelson
Audra, I was afraid to even attempt it! But they say that your neck and hands show the first signs of aging so it felt weird to not put on sunscreen like normal.
Lauren
Lauren
Will it be ok to have a hot bath that evening of having a shellac manicure. Also whenever I have used nail varnish on my nails it always peels off from the edges usually in one piece, or after showering, and whenever I have sunbathed on holiday it has melted or bubbled, should this happen with shellac. I Wanted to try it before my holiday next week but im spectacle about paying Incase these problems will happen.

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