Hi guys, please can you help me out. My client has asked if she needs to give her nails a break from shellac. i dont yet offer this service so i dont know the ins and outs of the product. She is concerned that her nails will be weak underneath.

Also is it okay say if they had a french finish in shellac that i could paint over the top of if using a normal nail polish...she wants to change the colour when she goes out in the evening..... if this is okay what would you do to remove the polish to revert back to the french tip.

Sorry about the questions!!!!!!

I'm sure you MUST know the answer to this question?

If the nail technician who is Shellacking your client's nails is doing the job as it should be done like THIS .....................


then she will see no damage to her nails as nothing is done to her nails apart from cleaning the surface. If she wants a break then that is her choice but she needs to know the facts.

You can paint over her nails but removing the polish will have to be done really quickly or the Shellac will be compromised. It is not something I would recommend.

Its interesting that you should ask this though ,
I check my web sites reports often and key words that people use give me alot of clues as to what people are looking for , I have noticed since May several times the searches have been things like will Shellac damage my nails ?

its odd how many people are wondering this, do you think theres some sort of confusion where its recommended to have it removed and re aplyed after 14 days , maybe people are crossing wires and getting it slightly twisted ?

Yes, She was worried because before she began using shellac her nails were not very good. After quite a long time using it she is concerned that its weak underneath and the strength is coming from the shellac not her own nail. I told her that the product feeds the nail so thats why its grown so well but she is unconvinced. I suppose the only way she would know is to give her nails a break from it to show that they are not damaged.

I am more bothered about the fact that she wants to chop and change the colour as i dont want to be held responsible for taking the coat of shellac off allowing it to compromise the seal.

Thanks

Well she is right to be unconvinced because the information you have given her is untrue, Hun. not sure why you would say such a thing?

The reason her nails have grown is that Shellac has added strength and protection to her nails which were weak BEFORE she started wearing it. If they were weak before they are still going to be weak when Shellac is removed ... unless the weakness was from damaged nails.

If her nails were damaged then the damaged area will now be growing out and she is best letting it do so whilst wearing Shellac.

I used shellac for the first time a week ago, my nails were weak and bendy. I did a reshallac last night as I wanted to change the colour, and was surprised that after only wearing it for 1 week, theres a difference in my nails! They aren't as bendy and even the onchylosis (sp) on my pinkie seems better, after just one week! I did my daughters a week ago, (little monkey peeled one off, there was no free edge on some to cap it, but she came running up last night, saying, it made them grow, I've got a free edge! (shes 7 lol).

It's definately strengthen mine

Are your nails weak because they have been damaged or naturally weak?

I would not soak off Shellac weekly .. not good. Have the patience for at least 2 weeks then re-apply another colour.

Your nails will grow out beautifully with Shellac a long as for the first month or two you do not let them grow longer than they should .. tempting I know, but trust me you will come to grief and start to break them.

Once your natural nails have grown through and all the damage is gone THEN you can let them get a little longer (I never let mine grow more than a mm past the end of my fingers with Shellac .. If I do, I soon remember why I needed to enhance my nail years ago ).

My nails look gorgeous now all the time with just Shellac and a workable medium 'model' length. I get more comments now about my nails than when I wore them enhanced and long! Go figure. I change my colour every 2-3 weeks depending on the colour. If wearing French I can go 3 weeks and live with the re-growth during the last week ... but with a bright or dark colour I do not like the big re-growth area showing!! As impressive as the Shellac is still looking, it just doesn't look well groomed so what is the point of pushing it?

I know these are staying on. I didn't file my nails as I should the first time, I took my enhancements off, tried to keep as much free edge as I could (it bein the first time I'd had any) and I found a couple of little cracks, so I buffed the edges to stop having snags. I thought best to take it off, file my nails properly, they are short but neat now, redid, layering fedora and hot chillis, and they are now staying for 2-3 weeks. At least I learnt how easy it is to remove shellac....

I'm growing my nails with Shellac.

I had four cycles if shellac on my nails and absolutely loved it for the first three applications. My nails are strong and grow fast but normal polish chipped. With shellac, I had no chipping and my nails grew even faster.

However, I decided to give the nails a break form the shellac during my last manicure and it has been disastrous. First, the shellac didn't completely come off and so I was left with a small residue of what I later found out was gel. Second, my nails are brittle and prone to splitting now. They are all cut back as far as possible due to the damage resulting from 8 weeks (4manicures) of shellac. They have never looked worse.

My nails are weak, short and downright ugly now. They have never been this way my whole life. It's been three weeks since I had the shellac removed and they are still not even close to the string healthy nails that I had before. Not sure if 4 applications was too much or if 1 application would have done this. Either way, I won't be getting the shellac again any time soon.

Anyone know if there's an optimum time limit for shellac or if the process simply ruins nails?

Deborah

Hi, have you been using Solar Oil 2x daily? The reason I ask is I've had Shellac on my nails since May and I have absolutely NO damage, whatsoever! I love Shellac and my NATURAL nails have never looked better. I do use the SO at LEAST 2x daily.

Shellac doesn't ruin nails. PERIOD. The proof is in the pudding, all over the world. Clients changing from L&P or Gel to wearing Shellac WITHOUT any damage etc.
I apply Shellac to clients routinely and remove it routinely and guess what? No damage, no bendy nails, no brittleness etc.
So, it's up to whomever applied them and removed them and the home care.
DON'T blame the product for someone else's errors.

My clients have all experienced stronger, longer nails since they started using Shellac. It provides that extra bit of protection. The rate of growth is amazing - because the nails arent being knocked and chipped at continually. My clients are so happy with the length they come back with after 2 weeks because it means I have a great starting point - I can really give each nail the same shape and length easily for that perfect finish!

One of my new clients husband even noticed and said he hadn't seen her nails looking so healthy, equal lengths and her looking so happy with her nails in ages. He was so impressed he offered to pick up the bill going forward! She was happy and me too!

When I remove Shellac I make sure I show the client their nails so they can see for themselves just how healthy they are. They have to agree!

My clients are now long term shellacers too and not experiencing problems.

If you dont follow a good homecare routine then yes, as with any product you may notice your nails suffer. You need to be using your solar oil twice daily when you have product on your nails as well as when you dont.

Vhunters answer is spot on - "Techs doing things wrong, and clients not keeping up with homecare damage nails."

I use Shellac in my Salon and have used it on myself, its brilliant but i took it off today and my nails feel softer than normal(my nails are very strong normally, they grow quickly and are in great condition anyway). Dont get me wrong my nails are still in good condition but are much more bendy and soft than normal. Ive been using solar oil. Its no big deal but i didnt expect them to feel soft. Apart from that i love it.