Shellac... do you have any tips and tricks you'd like to share?

[geeg]

I've never had a nail polish and gloopy and gunky as the Shellac top-coat, even after shaking!

I have never had a gloopy or gunky top coat but I do clean the neck of the bottle if necessary And I do not take an age to apply so the top coat is not open for way too long. Maybe you need to look at those things.

I use a small amount of top coat and spread it out to cover the nail. Where is the complication?

 

[Emily S]

I have never had a gloopy or gunky top coat but I do clean the neck of the bottle if necessary And I do not take an age to apply so the top coat is not open for way too long. Maybe you need to look at those things.

I use a small amount of top coat and spread it out to fever the nail. Where is the complication?

Dunno but for the couple of bottles I've had both have gone gloopy even after purposefully 'looking after it'.

As for not taking an age, you've had a lot more experience at polish than myself and I imagine the more practice you have, the quicker you get.

 

[purpleivy]

Well, having seen this done by a member of staff in a CND shop (well, the classroom bit of it) I assumed it was common practice and the way to do it and would help the application process. If the OP has observed this, then maybe she thought it was common practice and the right way to do it too. Maybe she wasn't complicating things, merely copying the person who was demonstrating the product to her?

 

[geeg]

whatever .. I have always just done wha CND advise.

Nowhere do I see CND advocating, anything more than a brief shake, and apply like polish. What others say, is not what I have ever needed to do. I do as CND advise and have never done any other. I don't need to complicate things. It is so easy to just do as CND say.

Yes, I am experienced. If you are not then I advise you take a class which will help you enormously.

 

[purpleivy]

I'm merely reporting what happened, not daring to question what CND does or doesn't advocate in its procedures!

I try and always follow what CND advise and don't keep the product about my person. Why would I not follow CND procedure, I want the best result always, as I'm a perfectionist? Heat doesn't do products good, so I've never warmed the product, BUT I see the staff in the CND shops as being 'CND' and wonder about their example. I don't know about the OP, but I have done the course and it was comprehensive and well presented. It wasn't the person presenting the course that had Shellac next to their body to keep it warm though!

People learn by example though, whether via a course or information/procedure demonstrated by an educator or by CND member of staff. Maybe shop staff need to be clear about what they do/don't recommend to product users.

 

[Nailz73]

Nana ... Just press the reset button and hold it down until a number flashes up .. QUICK!! remove your finger from the button!!! That number you see is the number of hours left in the bulbs. At 50 hours, I turn my bulbs over in the lamp.

If you hold that button down longer than you should .. the lamp will reset itself to zero and then you will not know how many hours are left so, do what I say above to avoid doing that. :hug:

may i ask a quessie while i am reading this thread :O).. which lamp are we talking about.. ???? as i have seen the cnd uv lamp on the ellisons website (still awaiting my S2 account to be set up )..

am so looking forward to getting Shellac in, am nearly there with my saving lol.. xxx

 

[TweezerHappy]

may i ask a quessie while i am reading this thread :O).. which lamp are we talking about.. ???? as i have seen the cnd uv lamp on the ellisons website (still awaiting my S2 account to be set up )..

am so looking forward to getting Shellac in, am nearly there with my saving lol.. xxx

The white CND UV lamp.

 

[Nailz73]

Thanks :O).. i though there may have been a seperate one for shellac .. phew xxx

 

[An*Gel]

I'm merely reporting what happened, not daring to question what CND does or doesn't advocate in its procedures!

I try and always follow what CND advise and don't keep the product about my person. Why would I not follow CND procedure, I want the best result always, as I'm a perfectionist? Heat doesn't do products good, so I've never warmed the product, BUT I see the staff in the CND shops as being 'CND' and wonder about their example. I don't know about the OP, but I have done the course and it was comprehensive and well presented. It wasn't the person presenting the course that had Shellac next to their body to keep it warm though!

People learn by example though, whether via a course or information/procedure demonstrated by an educator or by CND member of staff. Maybe shop staff need to be clear about what they do/don't recommend to product users.

No I was never shown this in any CND class.

 

[Emily S]

Yes, I am experienced. If you are not then I advise you take a class which will help you enormously.

Experience of applying polish quickly isn't something that will happen by watching someone else, it's to do with practice - I would've thought so anyway.

I don't really feel the need for your comment, I'm sure many people would love to be as quick and efficient as you over night but that's just not going to happen.

I don't heat the bottle between my legs/boobs or under my bum cheeks but I do find it to be gloopy - this little tip will be worth a try otherwise the bottle may end up thrown away before time, no harm in that, is there?:irked:

 

[purpleivy]

Experience of applying polish quickly isn't something that will happen by watching someone else, it's to do with practice - I would've thought so anyway.

I don't really feel the need for your comment, I'm sure many people would love to be as quick and efficient as you over night but that's just not going to happen.

I don't heat the bottle between my legs/boobs or under my bum cheeks but I do find it to be gloopy - this little tip will be worth a try otherwise the bottle may end up thrown away before time, no harm in that, is there?:irked:

Guess you may be right...we live in a Victorian house in the frozen North, may not be quite as warm in here as Geeg has it in Spain LOL!

 

[Emily S]

Guess you may be right...we live in a Victorian house in the frozen North, may not be quite as warm in here as Geeg has it in Spain LOL!

Haha possibly so! Anyway, no point disputing it - it's obviously worked for some.:hug:

 

[geeg]

Guess you may be right...we live in a Victorian house in the frozen North, may not be quite as warm in here as Geeg has it in Spain LOL!

Lol. Believe me Spain can be pretty cold too but the room where I work is always a nice warm temperature for clients and that is where my products are kept. However I will make two more comments: The first is that I have demoed how to use Shellac all over from the UK to Australia and still never had to warm up Shellac, in fact I never even ever thought about doing it :biggrin:
The second is that of course classes help .. It is not just a matter of practising, it is a matter of technique learning and then practising. You learn technique in classes.

I do not answer posts to boast about how wonderful I am or to large it over anyone else EVER. I post to help and I think people should not to make things so complicated with such a simple easy product to use.

If products go thick or gloopy as some of you say yours have, then it because your bottles are standing open way to long and solvents are evaporating from them .... And my logical mind tells me that warming up products full of solvents would make them evaporate all the more quickly. I say go back to basics and learn the art of polishing and learn to do it in an efficient fast way and that will help you more in the long run.

 

[An*Gel]

Thanks geeg... I promise not to sit on my top coat again :biggrin:

So does anyone have any more tips and tricks they'd like to share?... perhaps some pictures of nail art?

 

[Julia Moran]

I'm merely reporting what happened, not daring to question what CND does or doesn't advocate in its procedures!

I try and always follow what CND advise and don't keep the product about my person. Why would I not follow CND procedure, I want the best result always, as I'm a perfectionist? Heat doesn't do products good, so I've never warmed the product, BUT I see the staff in the CND shops as being 'CND' and wonder about their example. I don't know about the OP, but I have done the course and it was comprehensive and well presented. It wasn't the person presenting the course that had Shellac next to their body to keep it warm though!

People learn by example though, whether via a course or information/procedure demonstrated by an educator or by CND member of staff. Maybe shop staff need to be clear about what they do/don't recommend to product users.

Purpleivy, yes it is so important for all academy shop staff to be as informed and knowledgeable as possible, but they may possibly not be educators, here is where the dilemma lies.
It is so important that recently at the UK CND bootcamp most, if not all shop staff were actually sent on different levels to achieve ambassador/cnd executive status.
The said member of staff will today be in the stocks outside the academy! lol :biggrin:

 

[Unique.Tips]

whatever .. I have always just done wha CND advise.

Nowhere do I see CND advocating, anything more than a brief shake, and apply like polish. What others say, is not what I have ever needed to do. I do as CND advise and have never done any other. I don't need to complicate things. It is so easy to just do as CND say.

Yes, I am experienced. If you are not then I advise you take a class which will help you enormously.

Not trying to bully as I love Gigi's always welcomed advice. But I have to say that I've never been able to just shake and apply. Never. Even after shaking an entire 45 sec. It gloops up at the brush wand and when it's opened all I get is a mess and still thick Shellac (especially top coat)

Now I agree that shaking is very important just as it is with ordinary polish. But I do like to heat it up first. I use my warming Mitts and stick them in there for 1-3 minutes right before I apply. Then i shake 10 sec. And I've never had a problem. My shellac lasts perfectly. My colors stay the same consistency. And they apply so much easier. But my lids also stay super tight. (I make sure of this)

Don't bull doze me geeg. Lol ::hug:: just sharing my experiences.

 

[geeg]

Here is a tip worth a look at. Shellac with Konad stamping with Shellac Creme Puff. By the wonderful Leita Schmeidte from Perth in Australia.

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

They are stunning Geeg thanks for sharing Leita's work! Ive noticed how old school nail art is sooo much more do able with shellac! it really has breathed new life into the nail world in so many ways

my tip is not so much product related but I think its more marketing?

Keep telling everyone that it is a NEW category don't let your self get Bord of explaining what Shellac can do for your clients, they wont know unless you tell them ,
as Shellac was aimed toward that 80% of clients that didn't "DO" salons , or had little faith in polish and classic natural nail products its worth keep selling it as something new even though I'm sure we have all had a ton of new clients I still know alot of that original 80% still do NOT know about it !
we need to keep spreading the word and raising awareness

 

[geeg]

They are stunning Geeg thanks for sharing Leita's work! Ive noticed how old school nail art is sooo much more do able with shellac! it really has breathed new life into the nail world in so many ways

my tip is not so much product related but I think its more marketing?

Keep telling everyone that it is a NEW category don't let your self get Bord of explaining what Shellac can do for your clients, they wont know unless you tell them ,
as Shellac was aimed toward that 80% of clients that didn't "DO" salons , or had little faith in polish and classic natural nail products its worth keep selling it as something new even though I'm sure we have all had a ton of new clients I still know alot of that original 80% still do NOT know about it !
we need to keep spreading the word and raising awareness

I sell Shellac by telling our manicure clients that Shellac is a Power Polish!

I completely separate Shellac from all gel services. Our natural nail clients do not want gel.

This use of Power Polish works wonders and they get it! If you start in by trying to explain the differences between Shellac. & gel and the science behind it, you loose them in 5 seconds. :biggrin: What clients want to know is simply, "what's in it for them" if they have Shellac.
No buffing of their nails.
Zero dry time
Long lasting wear, way beyond traditional polish.

We are spreading the word all the time ... In the press ... On the TV ... In the consumer magazines .. Celebrity usage. Not much more could be done but CND and S2 are continuing every day to do it and to be asked about it. With the help from delighted clients who go to great technicians I think people are certainly getting to know ... Enough come in and ask for it by name.

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

I agree but that's S2 who do a simply fab job in the UK ,
Here in Germany forget the 80% of clients that don't know 90% of techs don't lol

Really though there's no promotion here , they don't even advertise it in the offers they mail out and on there web site you can only buy a kit that they put together so to know about other colors that are not in there kits you have to guess or phone them .to have known about the 2nd collection you would have needed to be a physic!

S2 do a completely diffrent job , educating techs to pass info to the clients ,