Nightmare Shellac removal!

[Sian H]

Just done a lady's nails for the first time.
I know her from school and she asked me If I could remove and re-do her shellac.
I wouldn't normally remove another techs work as I have read so many horror stories but I looked at her nails and immediately recognised it was tutti frutti she had on with glitter.
Anyway, i came to remove with the CND wraps and she told me the salon she goes to just soaks her fingers in a bowl.
Had her fingers wrapped for 10 minutes and all that was coming off was a top film of glitter..( she said they used loose glitter dabbed on)
So, re soaked and wrapped for a further 10minutes and it still wouldn't budge!
I resorted to putting solar oil on her nails and soaking in a bowl and another 15mins later it finally came off.
I know from the salon and colour it was shellac. But never had a removal like that before.
My first thoughts were that the base coat was too thick?
But also she said that they cured the base coat for a lot longer than 10 seconds and was surprised when I only cured it for 10 seconds.
Luckily she was fine about it all but I feel rubbish that a removal and application took nearly 2 hour!!!
Has anyone had this before? X



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[IzzyBpink]

Just done a lady's nails for the first time.
I know her from school and she asked me If I could remove and re-do her shellac.
I wouldn't normally remove another techs work as I have read so many horror stories but I looked at her nails and immediately recognised it was tutti frutti she had on with glitter.
Anyway, i came to remove with the CND wraps and she told me the salon she goes to just soaks her fingers in a bowl.
Had her fingers wrapped for 10 minutes and all that was coming off was a top film of glitter..( she said they used loose glitter dabbed on)
So, re soaked and wrapped for a further 10minutes and it still wouldn't budge!
I resorted to putting solar oil on her nails and soaking in a bowl and another 15mins later it finally came off.
I know from the salon and colour it was shellac. But never had a removal like that before.
My first thoughts were that the base coat was too thick?
But also she said that they cured the base coat for a lot longer than 10 seconds and was surprised when I only cured it for 10 seconds.
Luckily she was fine about it all but I feel rubbish that a removal and application took nearly 2 hour!!!
Has anyone had this before? X



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Yes, happened to me recently. The client said it was Shellac - it looked like Lilac Longing, I googled the technician she said she used, and saw that the techician was offering Shellac - so wrapped as usual and waited 10 minutes. Nothing! Wrapped again for another 15 minutes, and it was barely moving. Eventually got the Shellac off, but the base coat was stuck like glue - it was almost like there was a layer of L&P stuck to her nails. Client then tells me that whilst the Shellac bottle looked the same as mine, the base and top coats were in a different shaped bottle - and the tech said "she preferred that brand".

Took me an hour just to remove! However the client was impressed that I wrapped rather than soaked in a bowl of acetone as the previous tech had done, booked in again for 2 weeks time, and promised to give my business cards to all her friends x

 

[Sian H]

I think that's what has happened here, u think they have used a different base and/or top coat.
I made a right song and dance about how good and easy the wraps were and then the product wouldn't come off I felt daft lol! I'm just praying that she comes back to me, even if it's just for removal, so I can show here how the wraps work quick and easy when it's removing the shellac system! X


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[geeg]

The technician was obviously making sandwiches of different products as we all know that Shellac does come off very easily ... I wonder why so many people are so stupid and make so much extra work for themselves by doing these dumb tricks?? Makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[IzzyBpink]

The technician was obviously making sandwiches of different products as we all know that Shellac does come off very easily ... I wonder why so many people are so stupid and make so much extra work for themselves by doing these dumb tricks?? Makes no sense whatsoever.

I can only think that the technician doesn't get repeat clients? Surely it must take her forever to take off the stuff too (though I don't know if it would come off quicker if she is soaking the fingers in bowls of acetone.....!)

Anyway, I have gained more clients, the only thing you can do is educate your clients to the right way - using the complete system. I am looking forward to this particular client coming back so I can show her just how quickly it really does soak off when the whole system is used x

 

[cheekychick]

A lot of the bluesky colours look very similar to CND shellac colours. Xx

 

[Sian H]

It's a really busy salon and really cheap too, but I suppose if they are pros at making mixed brand sandwiches they are probably pros at removing it too :/
It just made me look daft that I couldn't remove the shellac! Great first impressions lol!


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[Sian H]

A lot of the bluesky colours look very similar to CND shellac colours. Xx

Oooo no! :/


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[NancySyd]

Nightmare and Shellac removal should never be in the same sentence! Even if it were applied too thick, CND Shellac is still relatively easy to remove, certainly not a 35 minute soak! It could be a combo of too thick and over-cured, but it also might be that it was a counterfeit "Shellac." It could also be a crazy sandwich of some other brand's base with a Shellac colour - which baffles me because if I were going to mix systems it would be with Shellac as the base for that easy removal!

But kudos to you for keeping your wits about you, not automatically resorting to a file and using it as an opportunity to educate the client. With any luck, she'll come back and you'll be able to show her how easy a removal should be.

 

[Cindy1005]

I had a similar experience recently from a lady visiting. She had 'shellac' in a salon somewhere out of London but told me they cured it only for 30 seconds not 2 min but it took me 3 soaks and 45 min to get it to budge! It didn't lift off easily like with shellac despite looking like a CND colour. It was like cement. I cringe every time I do a removal that's not my work (which comes off easily). I charge £10 for removal and they complain but when it takes that long it's really not worth it.

 

[Sian H]

What makes me more suspicious is that she's a hair dresser and admits to being really heavy handed, she's had shellac from other salons and it's always chipped, but this was still perfect, which I found strange as she says her hands are always in water and she doesn't wear gloves at work!
Still frustrating but nothing I can do about it so onwards and upwards


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[Aphrodite26]

Sounds like bluesky to me hun. It's a bugger to get off and as a previous geek said the colours look very like shellac x

 

[Tigan]

I had clients where the removal of the shellac which I applied myself then kept on taking ages to remove, i asked them a couple of times if they had put something on top and was told no, but they managed to stretch their appointments out so they didnt have to come as often and my own shellac removed in 10mins or less every single time, whilst theirs took 40 mins ???

 

[marion]

I always automatically buff the top coat of any new clients coming to me with a gel polish on. I think this is fairly commonplace, and any good nail tech should know that most gel polish needs a little buffing before a soak off. With the exception of shellac of course

 

[Sam81]

I've had the exact same thing with a Gelish removal tonight, took almost an hour of soaking and eventually very careful buffing, it just wouldn't budge! The client said her previous salon had always had trouble getting the base coat off and often just painted another layer over it. It would make me angry that they're giving great products a bad name but what's the point? I've gained a client and there's always someone who wants to do things the cheap way, not the right way.

 

[Balance Andover]

I remove my Mother in Law's genuine Shellac (that she gets done in Spain) when she visits for three weeks and I put OPI Gel Colour on for her.

I use the OPI wraps with some remover and most of the shellac comes off on the pad, the rest just flakes off with an orange stick

 

[Sian H]

I remove my Mother in Law's genuine Shellac (that she gets done in Spain) when she visits for three weeks and I put OPI Gel Colour on for her.

I use the OPI wraps with some remover and most of the shellac comes off on the pad, the rest just flakes off with an orange stick

Yeah that's how every other shellac removal I have done has come off, so easy!
I want to book into this salon and see what they do just out if curiosity! But I wouldn't waste my time and money! X


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[brervixen]

If it doesn't come off easy like CND Shellac does, then it's not CND Shellac!

 

[geeg]

If it doesn't come off easy like CND Shellac does, then it's not CND Shellac!

Exactly ... The proof is 'in the pudding'.

 

[florence2004]

Some techs over here are doing the same thing with the sandwiches for several reasons, one because they can use a base and top coat that are cheaper, two because a lot of people have questioned the use of "genuine" shellac so they have had to get the real thing in but the poor unsuspecting public don't realise that the base and top coat is different and three because Shellac is not right for everyone, with some people not able to go the 2 weeks if they are heavy on their hand. The cheaper stuff tends to stay on regardless and I am sure that is to do with the chemical makeup of the product and why it then takes so long to remove with a soak off. But it does mean that the salon can almost guarantee that it will stay on for 2 weeks, cutting down on people returning cause it didn't last! Most salons over here buff the whole lot of with an e-file and start again!