Help with Shellac plus position for Minx & ped

[lilmizzbest]

Hi folks
I am a beauty therapist and offer shellac as my choice of polish. I have followed many tutorials and feel that I following application by the book but find it always chips on me by about day 2 and whomever I have applied shellac to. Eyelash extensions and minx are my main bread and butter at present but I am hoping to increase my client book for shellac but feel I need total confidence in this as at present I can't say I have huge confidence in the product!!!. I know this product has a huge following and won awards) so am I doing something wrong?? Ok I work with acetone myself, have quite flaky nails and am somewhat heavy handed which could explain my wear n tear but if I am following app to the letter why does it chip or lift?? On other hand (excuse the pun!) one client comes back every 3 weeks with chips always on the hand she hits a golf ball with but other hand is perfect. Another client swims every day, suffers osteoporosis (may be irrelevant) but hers always lift after a few days).
Also can anyone offer ideas on best position to put clients in for shellac pedicure as at present I have them sat in chair with lamp on a low stool with me sat on floor cushion which kills my back.
Any advice gratefully received.

 

[eskimonailtech]

Hi folks
I am a beauty therapist and offer shellac as my choice of polish. I have followed many tutorials and feel that I following application by the book but find it always chips on me by about day 2 and whomever I have applied shellac to. Eyelash extensions and minx are my main bread and butter at present but I am hoping to increase my client book for shellac but feel I need total confidence in this as at present I can't say I have huge confidence in the product!!!. I know this product has a huge following and won awards) so am I doing something wrong?? Ok I work with acetone myself, have quite flaky nails and am somewhat heavy handed which could explain my wear n tear but if I am following app to the letter why does it chip or lift?? On other hand (excuse the pun!) one client comes back every 3 weeks with chips always on the hand she hits a golf ball with but other hand is perfect. Another client swims every day, suffers osteoporosis (may be irrelevant) but hers always lift after a few days).
Also can anyone offer ideas on best position to put clients in for shellac pedicure as at present I have them sat in chair with lamp on a low stool with me sat on floor cushion which kills my back.
Any advice gratefully received.

I know you say you're following the application to the T, but it does help if you give us an idea of your full application process, from beginning to end.

I'm not sure if you have a higher chair available, but my pedicure chair is raised with a platform for the feet to rest on and i have the lamp on a rolling trolly so it can go from foot to foot. Then I sit on my pedicure tech chair. Sitting on the floor is a pretty bad idea. I know it can be tricky when you don't have an alternative but it truly is going to cause long-term damage. Any sort of bending over/leaning forward during ANY service can cause severe damage. If you'd like, I can link a picture of the chair I use and you could see if you have it where you live. It wasn't too expensive. VERY worth it.

 

[lilmizzbest]

Hi ya, my procedure for applying shellac is as follows:-
1. Dry cuticle removal or if necessary I use cuticle away then wash off residue & towel dry.
2. File n shape.
3. Wipe nails thoroughly with scrubfresh or nsi dehydrator.
4. Apply basecoat sealing edge and leaving slight gap and cure for 10 secs (I have proper Cnd lamp).
5. Apply 2 coats colour, curing each for 2 mins and capping edge.
6. Apply top coat and cure for 2 mins again capping edge.
7. Remove sticky with d sperse and rub solar oil into cuticle. Advise client to use oil twice daily.

Yes please, a pic of your chair would be great. My alternative is I could put clients on couch with knees bent but my couch is fairly long which may be tricky.
Need to something or I'm going to end up with a hump!!!!
Thanks
Xxxxx

 

[StephR]

Your procedure sound right. With the 2 clients you mentioned they could be being heavy handed. You mentioned 1 plays golf and 1 hand chips the other doesnt. I can't see holding a club being the problem but if it is the hand she uses for everything then it could be she is being heavy handed. With the other client the swimming is more than likely the cause as chlorine in the water can effect the shellac.
Have you done a shellac class? Might be worth going.

 

[twid]

Hi, you're proceedure looks fine, but just a couple of little things that may help:-

1. I personally would only use scrubfresh, its a CND product and they recommend it so I just stick to that and nothing else.
2. You shouldnt be "capping" the edges, just the slightest of sweeps is enough. "Capping" can leave the product to thick on the edges and lead to the opposite effect, causing chipping and lifting.

Flaking nails seem to be a big thing that Shellac doesnt like, you should buff away any loose flakes. After a time the nail does get stronger and the delamination gets less. However, my Mum never got passed this stage until we added an extra layer to the service. It started when I added glitter and now I always add an extra top coat and its worked a treat - just makes the Shellac a tiny bit stronger. I also use this trick on my other clients if they have weak or flaking nails.

HTH
Karaxxx

 

[lilmizzbest]

Many thanks for your help, I am a trained manicurist but not a nail technician and so there may be some elements of nails that I haven't come across i.e. my golf lady does indeed have very flaky nails (due to previous chemo) and I didn't realise it would be ok to buff the nails so that's a great tip.
I haven't actually done a CND course, but have watched many superb Shellac tutorials and so am not sure if I would gain a huge amount by spending out (you know what it's like constantly being things for your business anyway).

I do make quite a big thing about capping so I am wondering if I am leaving a thicker edge than required although I have to say that I am on about my 4th bottle of top coat now and they all seem sssooooo thick!!!. They aren't kept in hot conditions or anything and so I'm guessing this may be normal.

Any more tips gratefully received.

Regards

xxx

 

[lilmizzbest]

Do you cap on every coat of Shellac????? including base, 2 x colour and top???

 

[twid]

I sweep on every coat, but only very lightly. The top coat is the thickest of all and I find it gets thicker quite quickly but doesnt seen to effect the over staying power of Shellac.

I know they say "thin to win" but it shouldnt be done too thin as this can also lead to chipping I've found. I now paint shellac in the same way I paint with normal polish. My clients always get 2 weeks+ out of them, as I said the only 1 who regularly didnt was my Mum but she's sorted now.

Karaxxx