I have had a lot of students for Shellac training over the last year and many of them have been using numerous coloured gel systems incl bio and axium.
The only thing i want to add to my previous post is that, Shellac colours give complete opaque coverage with 2 thin coats of colour along with thin base and top coats, it genuinely looks like enamel.
In a lot of coloured gel applications the coats have to be applied with a brush and to achieve complete opacity, there is definatly a regrowth ridge.
As with Shellac, all applications of coloured gel vary greatly from tech to tech, but i have seen lots of examples.
I do think that, as i said in previous post, there is room for gel overlay/extension where needed, and in most cases of natural nail care Shellac would be my 1st choice.
This is how I explain the difference to clients/students/journalists;
Nail enamel is Level 1:- easy on/easy off; client can remove at leisure; no
commitment; takes 24hrs to set completely & can
chip.
Shellac is Level 2:- easy on/easy off; no removal of shine/primer/bonder;
minimum commitment; zero dry time; 14+ day shine & no
chipping.
Minx falls into level 2 as well.
Soak-off gels level 3:- usual removal of shine/bonder or primer.Easy on (if
brush on) some remove easier than others; minimal
commitment; zero dry time; 14+ day shine & no
chipping.
eg. bio sculpture, gellish, geleration, calgel.
L&P & non soak
off gel is Level 4:-Removal of shine & some systems require primer/bonder.
Training needed to perfect application; professional
removal required; more commitment needed; capable of
complete transformations of weak, flat unshapely nails.
14-21 days longevity & immaculate wear.
I personally offer levels 1,2 & 4.
I do not have any gaps in my services and a thorough consultation is needed to find out which system suits which client.
case study 1;
Lady aged 60, avid gardener that doesnt like to wear gloves, likes a bit of length.
She had given up with enamel so we tried her on Shellac.
While she was on holiday, they were fabulous, however after a few weeks of daily gardening, her index finger & thumb on her right hand had a few chips.
After a long discussion, she was honest with me and admitted that she will never wear gloves, so we decided to raise her service to level 4, a L&P overlay, with gel top coat and enamel.
The reason for this was because she has weak natural nails so L&P is better for her than gel and the gel non-soak off top coat allows her to remove her enamel when she wants and it leaves her with shiney nails.
She only requires rebalances every 3-4 weeks due to her nails growing slowly.
case study 2;
Lady aged 55, professional that likes to wear colour on holiday and weekends but not in the week.
This client has been a manicure client for 15 yrs with us.
She nearly always smudges her enamel on leaving!
She has beautiful natural nail shape if a little dry.
After lots of discussion at her 2 weekly manicures, we have settled into a mix of Shellac when she has an important event and holidays, and enamel when she has more confrences to enable her to change her colour when she wishes.
If you are starting out in the industry, level 1&2 are the best options to start with.
Both systems are reasonably priced and require less training.
I have never had such a fast return on my money as with Shellac and Minx.
This way you can build up a good client base with somethng you are confident in.
L&P and gel (level 4) take more investment of both time and money. you can decide to do this while building your natural nail service.
While I understand the thought process of "I only want to do natural nail services", maybe its because I was at the end of the line when God dished out natural nail shape?!, but there at a lot of clients out there that need Level 4, myself included!
I hope some of this has been helpful, as you can see, I tend to write essay posts!
