Shellac and gel polishes - what's the difference?

[-MissB-]

Hello - I'm sure this has been answered many times, however can anyone please tell me what the difference is between Shellac and gel polishes?
Are they pretty much the same thing?
Is shellac more of a brand?
Help!
Thanks.

 

[EmmaLF]

Shellac is a brand name by CND. Gel polish is a generic name for all brands. Although CND calls it a Power Polish (you'll notice the texture isn't quite the same as a gel polish its more like a regular polish but it's still essentially under the gel polish umbrella).
A great example that a lot of people use is Hoover and vacuum. Hoover is a brand name of a vacuum cleaner but a lot of people will call all vacuum cleaners a hoover (I know I do).

Hope that kind of cleared it up for you.

 

[iamaleximus]

The difference is in the formulation of the products. If I remember correctly CND shellac is part polish part gel put simply and other brands are all gel with no polish. (anyone please correct if this is wrong!)

 

[NancySyd]

Although all of them are "gel lacquer" per their MSDS, There are differences among them. CND Shellac is what has been called a "hybrid" gel polish, with both gel components and solvents like nail polish. There are other hybrid gel polishes and OPI's base coat is hybrid although the color coats are gel.