Alternative to Shellac for weak/thin nails??

[MrsP]

mmm - seems we need solution to bridge the gap then.. I think I will be trying fibreglass - I had these myself for years and loved them..

It;s a toss up between Artistic/structure gel or Fibreglass then Shellc - tbh - I'm brill at MInx and fibreglass looks like you are applying Minx and then putting on a top coat?? Correct me if I'm wrong of course!!!

I am completely taken with the fact you can 'soak off' the fibre glass overlaywith the Shellac?? - this right Valencian? Can you recommend a range? EZ flow? Star nails for fibreglass?? Thanks!

 

[MrsP]

NailsinLondon1 - sorry I don;t know your name! Do you know of a procedure sheet for fibreglass/recommended product?? Thank you :Love:

 

[lisa.sharrock]

Shellac comes off soooooo easily with a fibreglass overlay.


I use the Soft Touch system which is what we used in college (not sure if there are better kits out there or not - any recommendations helpful!), the kits are reasonably priced and come with the following:-

Soft Touch Nail Wrap Kits
Complete nail wrap kit, in your choice of Fiberglass or Silk.
Includes:
1 oz Gel,
Dispense-a-Wrap,
Natural Nail Tips,
3 Way Buffer,
Nail Wrap File,
Wrap Scissors,
3 gm Nail Glue,
1/2 oz Cuticle Oil Conditioner,
Poly Pro Cuticle Pusher,
1/2 oz Brush On Activator,
1/2 oz Blend A Tip Brush Cleaner


Although saying that, you may not need it all.


Have a look on the NSI site, the prices are on there.

 

[MrsP]

Hi Lisa - thank you so much for that! Would you mind outlining the basic application?? thanks!!:Love:

 

[MrsP]

BTW - what's the diff between fibregalss and silk????

 

[lisa.sharrock]

The fibreglass in the soft touch kits are self adhesive, just cut a piece and place on nail, apply resin and let it dry.

Then apply the gel in a straight line in the middle of the nail - like a sausage and use the brush on activator and spread the gel like a polish.

The activator will cause the gel to set and then repeat again, follow this with buffing, if necessary.

That's pretty much the way we were taught in college.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

When you have applied your fibreglass make sure you have a 180 grit file finish.
The Shellac base coat can then grip the fibreglass.
Make sure the nail is dust free.
Make sure you seal the free edge with every application layer.

We don't use a building resin (gel type viscosity resin), we use resin 2x activate and file finish. We don't want to build up to much thickness, we just want to support a weak structure.

What is the difference between Silk and Fibreglass?
Silk is a dense weave material. Silk holds its own weight in liquid by 30 times, so more wetting is needed to fully make this disappear..

Fibreglass is a glass mix mesh with a larger weave than Silk.

Both materials are strong as each other, but Fibreglass because of the nature of the weave is more flexible than Silk..
Silk will give a softer look to the natural nail, Fibreglass a crisper look.

HTH

 

[oey]

Ruth and Sandi - which brand of fibreglass are you using these days?

I am yet again having to think about it as I have one or 2 clients that have the heavy medication and peeling issues and wonder if I should try the fibre glass route for these.

x x x

Should have taken you up on that offer a few years back hey Ruth :wink2:

 

[Claireybearyowen]

When you have applied your fibreglass make sure you have a 180 grit file finish.
The Shellac base coat can then grip the fibreglass.
Make sure the nail is dust free.
Make sure you seal the free edge with every application layer.

We don't use a building resin (gel type viscosity resin), we use resin 2x activate and file finish. We don't want to build up to much thickness, we just want to support a weak structure.

What is the difference between Silk and Fibreglass?
Silk is a dense weave material. Silk holds its own weight in liquid by 30 times, so more wetting is needed to fully make this disappear..

Fibreglass is a glass mix mesh with a larger weave than Silk.

Both materials are strong as each other, but Fibreglass because of the nature of the weave is more flexible than Silk..
Silk will give a softer look to the natural nail, Fibreglass a crisper look.

HTH

Brill,thnak you for this :hug:

Although, I am struggling to find fibreglass/silk wraps as it's not considered a modern treatment, do you have any recommendations of routes to purchase?? I only have a Salon Services near by and they don't have it anymore :cry:

Ta Claire xx

 

[lisa.sharrock]

kits for sale.

Soft Touch Nail Wrap Kits - Nail Systems International(UK)

 

[kirsty]

Would I need to train in fibreglass to use this with shellac?

 

[Claireybearyowen]

kits for sale.

Soft Touch Nail Wrap Kits - Nail Systems International(UK)

Fandabbydozie, thanks xx

 

[ValencianNails]

I am completely taken with the fact you can 'soak off' the fibre glass overlaywith the Shellac?? - this right Valencian?

Yes, that's right, it soaks off really quickly with the Shellac. You don't have to wait any longer.

Can you recommend a range? EZ flow? Star nails for fibreglass?? Thanks!

Ruth and Sandi - which brand of fibreglass are you using these days?
I am yet again having to think about it as I have one or 2 clients that have the heavy medication and peeling issues and wonder if I should try the fibre glass route for these.

I'm just using a generic fibreglass range at the moment, it's a Spanish brand, Cosmo nails. It's not high quality but offers me all I need for natural nail overlays.

Would I need to train in fibreglass to use this with shellac?

You'd need to check with your insurance Kirsty, but as always it's better to have training before using a new system. Some techs find fibreglass 'tricky/fussy', however, those of us who use it regularly don't have those issues. I love using it and love the results it gives

 

[MrsP]

Thanks so much for these comments - I'm sure loads of us have found this a useful thread!! Thaks also for explanation of silk/fibreglass. I will be trying this under my Shellac!!!

 

[Pooh8bear]

I have this problem with my OWN nails. I HATE them! I have bought into Shellac, and follow the Geeg tutorial to the T, and my nails don't last. I have weak, peely, bendy, thin, fan shaped, FLAT nails that don't seem to go well with Shellac. As i'll have them short at the start of Shellac, but after a week and I have some length, my nails will start bending and the Shellac will start to chip from the bend. It gets me down as I don't like having extensions and I NEED nice nails to represent myself as a nail tech. Shellac is a power polish but my nails need a super, diamond strength, pumped up power polish! Is ManiQ really good enough? Think of the crappest nails you've ever seen, times by 10...is it going to work on these nails? Need nice nails, need nice nails, need nice nails.....*quietly rocks in corner crying over nails*

These sound just like mine. If you try the ManiQ, try doing the smallest of extensions to each nail, only enough to en case the nail & then apply the colour. This does work....

 

[Lovebeauty14]

These sound just like mine. If you try the ManiQ, try doing the smallest of extensions to each nail, only enough to en case the nail & then apply the colour. This does work....

Thankyou so much! I will have to give this a go. And when you think about it it actually makes perfect sense as if it's the natural nail tip that's the problem (like our peeling, bendy free edges! *cry*) then re-enforcing it with something strong and unpeely with prevent the polish from deteriorating. Excellent advice, can't wait to try this out!

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

Hi guys,
I have had a play today, after watching Holly's video on Shellac repair with fibreglass. I figured this could also work as a structure support for weaker nails.

How to:

• Pep the nail
• apply fibreglass to the clean nail, pre cut fingers work really well and no faffing about, getting the shape right, just size and apply.
• trim off the excess
• press firmly in place with the left over backing paper
• apply a layer of base coat, work this into the mesh carefully, make sure all the mesh is saturated and cure for 10sec.
• Before you place the brush back in the bottle,wipe your base coat brush on a fuss free pad, so you don't have fuzzy bits transferred back into the base coat bottle.
• Apply your two layers of colour and cure for 2 mins
• Apply your top coat and cure for 2 mins
• wipe off the sticky layer with IPA
• Take your file and remove any fibreglass that may be sticking out, check all around the nail to make sure its is perfectly smooth.
• remove dust with IPA
• Apply another layer of top coat and seal all the edges including the free edge.
• Clean off sticky layer with IPA, oil and done.

You will have noticed that base coat, colour coat and first top coat application do not need to seal the free edge,this is done because we need to file refine the free edge to make sure there are no fibreglass bits poking out and give us a rough free edge. The final top coat layer seals the free edge perfectly.
No Fibreglass training is needed as you are not using resin and you are not straying away from the natural nail care route.
This method is not an endoresed CND method but I do trust Holly in her skills and her ability to give us the best of her wisdom. There is no need for anything else that you don't already have for your Shellac service, apart from pre cut fibreglass fingers or a fibreglass strip.

You can see how she does it here::Look_righ Videos posted by FingerNailFixer: Repair with fiberglass in Shellac | Facebook

 

[MrsP]

That is super duper!! Brilliant thanks - solves all my problems there then :Love:

 

[Pinktooth21]

I used to have really weak thin nails and I chose to use the artistic colour gloss. It's easy to use, it promotes healthy strong nails, and also u don't even have to file it off - dissolves off in like 10 mins. I know this worked for me - and even client who have been having the ACG gels on are amazed by how thick and healthy there nails are