Nighmare Shellac removal?

[Moo Moo]

Client come into today for Shellac removal and re-application of OPI GelColour which I do. I have the correct CND Nourishing (purchased correctly) Remover and I foil up. Ten minutes later remove foils and the "Shellac" has not really removed but has become rubbery and gelatinous. If I can lift a tiny bit it is sticky and clings rather like chewing gum. Another Ten minutes and its still the same and as the remover dries after foil comes off the product reseals itself to the nail. Rubbing with a pad soaked in remover didn't really help at all. Hence removal was almost impossible without serious scraping.

Now when I remove GelColour when the foils come off the product is curling off the nail or has come off completely on the foil. Would Shellac be the same I assumed it would be. I am assuming that although she was told it was Shellac either it wasn't or the base coat was perhaps another make. How should I have removed the product perhaps constant soaking in a dish of acetone would have produced a better soak off. Any help or advice please x

 

[HollyVictoria]

Hmm it sounds like she was wearing a knock off version. With nourishing remover, Shellac should come off very easily. I find after ten mins the majority of the product has completely come away from the nail and what is left can be gently scraped away with an orange stick. I used to use Kaeso acetone polish remover and it would take longer to remove but with NR, it really speeds things up!

 

[sal365]

Certainly sounds like it wasn't genuine shellac, have heard stories like this before, maybe a little gentle buffing to break down the top coat?

 

[Moo Moo]

Thank you for replies am sitting here feeling complete failure as in ...she cant even do a simple removal!!. I tried a gentle buff but it was so rubbery it wouldn't work off just clogged up the file. I wondered if it was a Shellac colour but maybe another make of base coat. Shellac doesn't go rubbery on removal does it?

 

[HollyVictoria]

Bless u Hun don't feel like that! It certainly isn't your fault that you had to remove a dodgy polish it doesn't make you a failure at all, it's just one of those things that I think every experienced nail tech has had the misfortune of dealing with. It's all good experience Shellac kind of just dissolves with remover and goes into tiny bits which lift straight off. That's how I can best describe it. Xx

 

[Mobile Manicure]

No it doesn't. I have found Shellac to be the easiest to remove out of all of these gel polishes. She must have had it done at a NSS and they would have lied to her about what it was. Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Biljana]

I have had this happen before. Client knew precisely what the previous tech had done. She told her that her Shellac will last longer if they put the base coat and then dipped it into the acrylic powder before putting colour. I know as a nail tech that only my acrylic products go rubbery when soaked so that made perfect sense. Worst part is that this "professional" had picked up the trick from a YouTube video! Disgraceful and a bad tarring on the rest of the techs.
Oh how I wish that YouTube would just go the € uck away, seriously.

Cleen Cheeks Spa

 

[Knucks]

That doesn't sound like genuine Shellac at all!

Shellac will flake away, it's really not difficult to remove, don't feel bad, as everyone else has said, this is not your fault. More like a knock off.

Keep smiling and definitely keep shellacing!
x

 

[twid]

Can't be Shellac! I hope you charged her accordingly, if I haven't put the Shellac on then I can't trust what the client knows or has been told. So if it takes 10mins and comes away as it should then I charge £5 but if it's a mare then I charge an additional £5 per 15mins or part there of until its completely off and ready to reapply.

Its not your fault she had an "alternative" product on so don't go blaming yourself for not being able to remove it.

Karaxxx

 

[EgitaN]

Well, quite a few ladies have told me on their first appointment that they have Shellac on their nails, but in fact it didn't remove like Shellac, was rubbery and I ended up filing the top coat of whatever they were having on their nails and then wrapping with foils. Shellac always flakes off in crispy bits and if not, then it's not Shellac.
Clients usually don't pay attention to the brand of the product they get on their nails and many nail techs know how to sell the products they have by promoting them as Shellac or "the same as Shellac" . Majority of ladies/clients still think that Shellac is a name for all gel polishes.

 

[Chickafish]

It's easier to just break the top coat seal of whatever they have on if you weren't the one who did them. There's so many techs selling whatever gel polish service they do as Shellac, and so many clients calling every uv coating Shellac as well. Doesn't necessarily mean it's a knock off or anything. It could just be another legit gel polish brand where you're supposed to break the top coat.

 

[chezbelle]

Totally agree with the other geeks I've been there too. we've have all been there so many times I felt like throwing in the towel they are giving the shellac product a bad reputation and name I heard that shellac ruined a clients nails so many times well it's not the proper removal if I client does it at home with a over counter remover is it going to be the same especially when they tell me they've picked it off x

 

[Moo Moo]

As an update...this Client still has product on her nails. After I tried again to soak two days later she then decided to go back to the nail bar and ask them to remove. She was shown to a seat and the Tech produced an electric file. Client said firmly no I don't want that. So her hands were placed into a bowl with I assume acetone in. A little product came off and eventually she left the Salon. I did her a manicure last week. You can clearly see the line of the product growing up the nail although it has gone really opaque so is not too noticeable. She has decided to wait until it finally grows out until she can then have GelColour put on.

 

[MaisyMouse]

It doesn't sound genuine to me however, shellac is not as easy as gelcolor to remove and I always find it takes longer and needs a bit of pushing it off where opi lifts off completly on its own