Shellac, OPI Gelcolour, Gelish or what?

[sunshineinme]

Dear Geeks

I am sorry for troubling you but I really don't know where to start from.

I am currently offering basic manicure & pedicure but would like to save up and get in March (excel show) either Shellac, OPI Gelcolour, Axiumm or Gelish or...I really don't know what....

It is important for me to chose wisely as I can only afford 1 system for now and I feel like offering a long wearing nail solution would boost my income and bring more customers.

I've read a lot about the above products, spoke to companies and I feel even more confused now.

From your experience what would you advise to start with?

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU

 

[happyfeet]

hi hun

confusing isn't it! I would suggest if you can before excel, try each treatment and discover which one you think would be best suited to your business. Alternatively you could wait for excel and have a demo nail of each product. However you would really need to come away and see how they perform first to get a real idea so you would miss out on any show offers this way.

As you have done so far already, research is the key. You will find loads of info on here and I'm sure geeks wouldn't mind you pming them for more advice about certain systems, thats what i did, and had some really interesting and helpful feedback. I was pretty sure i would use shellac, but i looked at all of the systems available before i made my final decision. I considered not only the products performance, but everything that went with it. So i looked at the following:

wearability
longevity
removal
care of natural nails
colour choice and options
what i could do with the products besides the norm ie rockstar, nail art, repair etc
information on the manufacturer/distributor
who and how they sold to techs
product and brand awareness
how well they advertised, marketed etc
training and support
who i could market or advertise this too
cost/profit ie what i could charge for the service, set up costs etc
who in my area was offering what already and what price

. . . And so on.


If you already have a client base, would your chosen system largely be of benefit to them all? Or are you looking to solely attract new clients? Asking your current client base is also a great place to start.

I personally love shellac, and when i compared the above information, it won hands down, but that's for my business. You might have different ideas, wants and needs for your own business.

Good luck hun and sorry if I've just thrown a load more questions at you lol, but explore every avenue as you are doing already, as this really is the best thing to do.

Hth x x x

 

[sunshineinme]

Thank you happyfeet

I have a smal manicure/pedicure client base but would love to grow in this direction hence me trying to find new ways. My clients are very happy with my service but it's me who wants to go further.

I think I am going to make myself a table with all the points you have listed and see if I can find the answers I need.

Unfortunately I won't be able to try these systems before excel as I'm financially stretched after Christmas and still need to earn enough to pay my credit card bills.

Additionally although I use solar oil and hand creams, naturally my nails are very weak and even when at their best and strongest things like nail varnishes chip after 5 hours no matter if I am doing my own mani or someone else is doing it for me Therefore I am thinking that my own experience will not give the justice to the products.

So I would appreciate further comments and advice from all kind geeks

 

[Sharny]

Hi,

I did all the research myself before deciding and I decided to go with Gelish purely because, i had reviews from other people that it was a bit stronger, I have really weak, brittle nails and Gelish has allowed me to grow my own nails and they are amazing now.

Gelish has the most colours too and you don't have to buy a special lamp. All my client's love Gelish and it has been a massive boost to my business.

It just comes down to personal choice in the end, but I would never look back from Gelish hth xx

 

[ChelleConnor]

Hi!!
This is just like me!!
I dont do manicures or pedicures though!
I am so interested in the gel polish and the thought of offering this as a treatment! I am also waiting for Excel to purchase my kit!!
I am swaying more towards Gelish though at the minute! Although Shellac seems to be everyones favourite! xx

 

[sunshineinme]

Hi,

I did all the research myself before deciding and I decided to go with Gelish purely because, i had reviews from other people that it was a bit stronger, I have really weak, brittle nails and Gelish has allowed me to grow my own nails and they are amazing now.

Gelish has the most colours too and you don't have to buy a special lamp. All my client's love Gelish and it has been a massive boost to my business.

It just comes down to personal choice in the end, but I would never look back from Gelish hth xx

Thanks Sharn

So there is a hope for people with brittle and weak nails ;-) yes I must say that Gelish is VERY tempting. I am worried that Gelcolour would not stay long on problem nails.

Anyone else?

Every and any feedback will be appreciated

 

[xkatiex]

Additionally although I use solar oil and hand creams, naturally my nails are very weak and even when at their best and strongest things like nail varnishes chip after 5 hours no matter if I am doing my own mani or someone else is doing it for me Therefore I am thinking that my own experience will not give the justice to the products.

This is my first time on a nail geek board! I am from the skin geeks as I currently only offering spray tanning, but I do like to have a nose!

My nails are exactly like yours! Nail varnish doesn't even last a day. I have tried lots of different things on my nails including Shellac, but Gelish is by far my favourite. It has made my nails feel so much stronger and the ones I have on my nails at the moment have been on for well over 2 weeks now which is unheard of for me!!

Plus the colour range is pretty impressive!

 

[Sharny]

I have managed to get mine to stay on for 4 weeks, without any chips, although a lot of regrowth, obviously, lol. I now have to file my nails down because they are so long, it's an amazing product :biggrin: x

 

[dizzypanda]

i too am tempted by shellac. but im currenty using gelish cause they have their own structure gel and i can do fills and re polsh <3 but i ate their white (shudder) its more off-white than white. so i use OPI gel polish for white. i know i kow shouldnt mix systems but hey no problems lasts WEEKS on my flimsy weak nails~

 

[sunshineinme]

That's another few points for Gelish then!

Katie.lowe that sounds great! So there is a bit of hope for us.

 

[MissNBK]

I love PRONTO by Cuccio... I have tried Young, Gelish, Gelac and quite a few others, and for colour choice and application I really do prefer the Pronto, and they are giving £50.00 of products free when you try their system I seen it in Pro Beauty Mag

 

[sunshineinme]

To be honest I have 't considered Cuccio as it's not very often I hear here and outside about it.

Is anyone else using it alongside other system to give us comparison?

 

[kattyj]

I started using Gelish back in May and its majority of my business now, my nails are really weak and it has helped them to become stronger, my cilents love it and most of them get 4 weeks out of it without chipping.

 

[Donna T]

I use both Shellac and Gelish. I also mix the two with no problems. The Gelish has a structure gel that you can apply after the base, before the color. It adds no extra thickness to the nail but does give more strength. I don't use it on everyone. Mostly on those that recently removed their acyrlics.

One major plus for Gelish is you get twice as much for ythe same price as Shellac.

No matter which system you choose though, the lamp choice is imperitive. Don't scimp on the lamp. I think most problems with soak off gels in general can be traced to cheap lamps.

If you don't have a lamp yet I would consider a LED lamp. It will cure Gelish, Young Nails and the new OPI coming out. And it cures in 30 seconds instead of 2 minutes with UV lamps. LED won't however cure Shellac.

 

[Anne Niven]

Hi Geeks
Well nobody has mentioned this so far so here goes....
GELLUX very easy apply, you apply thin and build up usually only two coats of colour needed. The clear base is also a top coat, so dual purpose less cost. Prep and wipe is great never clouds the nail, again dual purpose.

Staying power is brilliant easily 3 weeks. Cost £**.** plus vat so affordable. Also means you don't have to charge your clients a fortune too.

 

[angelardn]

I use nsi polish pro. I struggled with it to start with but I don't have any problems with it now and there is a good choice of colours x

 

[chloedavis1993]

i have just been trained in gellux and find it very good! I think you should definitly consider it! xx

 

[brittone05]

I have decided to opt for Gelish My client base for enhanceents has all but shrivelled up since moving to the country and i want to kick start the new year with a new service that can be offered to a wider range of clients. Many of the ladies here prefer natural nails and do very labour intensive jobs so hoping that the draw of a 14 day colour will work xx

 

[xxAmyxx]

sorry but what is excel?

 

[brittone05]

Professional Beauty
It is a beauty show hun xx