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

Maci Reveles
Maci Reveles
I just got shellac done for the first time yesterday, and it came out real nice. But this morning my tips are all turning red.?? I don’t understand?? As I read your post my manicurist never told me anything about keeping up with then lotion or oils.
Shannon Nelson
Shannon Nelson
Sounds like maybe you are having an allergic reaction? If it doesn’t get better and you can’t get into a salon to have them removed, use nail polish remover and remove them yourself.
Sarah Gould
Sarah Gould
Had Gellac polish and UV dryer today for the first time. I feel really strange. The tingling and itchiness in my hands hasn’t stopped yet and I keep having to stretch and bend back my fingers to help release the sensation – which doesn’t really work. When I do stretch out my fingers I feel the polish on my nails slide a bit (not sure if that’s the right word – but it does feel like that!). I am very worried now and would like to go back to the salon and get the polish removed asap. Should I see how things settle down? Does having the polish on longer affect this more? I’ve now read all comments and scoured the internet for more info – but there seem to be so many views. Any thoughts?
Shannon Nelson
Shannon Nelson
Hi Jacqueline, unfortunately the company who was going to send me the product flaked so I never got to try it out for a review. :/
Jacqueline
Jacqueline
Hi Shannon, About 11 months ago, in your post about shelkac nails you said this: “another brand is supposed to be sending me this nail polish that is supposed to be like shellac…but without needing the UV light etc. Not sure how it will be in terms of my actual nails though. Stay tuned!” Did you do a follow up on this new product and shellac or other nail finishes? Dying to know!!! Just found your blog! Thanks so much!!
Jane Reed
Jane Reed
I have been getting gel manicures for about nine months. I noticed about six months ago that my arthritis in my hands has gotten progressively worse. After having the manicure my hands hurt more afterwards. Does anyone know anything about the affect of LED light? Thank You, Jane 04.03.13
DivaShop
DivaShop
Hmm, that’s good to know. I was considering getting a gel manicure, but I think I’ll just wait for a special event.
Lia
Lia
I’ve been doing gel manicure for about nine months now and I do like it, but however, I had an episode in which my cuticles were becoming very sensitive. On my last visit, they removed the color by soaking the cotton balls in acetone and wrapping the nails in foil. Well, my skin around the cuticles became discolored (white in color). I truly believe it was the acetone. Though I love the way my nails looked, this was an eye opener for me. I’ll be doing regular manicures from now on.
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/
Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan
I’ve been using shellac for almost a year. I have the lamps and polish and do them myself. After approximately 10 months, the flesh around my nails, and under my nail beds started to peel. Now my nails are lifting away from my fingers as the skin continues to dry and peel. It’s very painful and unattractive. I’ve stopped using the UV for the past 6 weeks now and am seeing an improvement, but the damage to the tips of my fingers is going to take a long time to repair

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