Tina <3s Nails
Active Member
I have been using Shellac for quite a while, and my customers and I love the product. Recently, though, I have had two instances where a couple of the fingernails are not as shiny as they should be. I love the product, but I need to figure out why this has happened. I strongly suspect that my topcoat has gone bad. Does that happen? I opened this bottle in mid-July, and I store it in darkness in the pocket of a bag/caddy that I use to carry products around the salon. I only use it when I use Shellac colors (if I use another brand of color, I use that brand's base/top).
LIGHTS - I don't think it's the lights because I used one hand in one lamp and the other hand in a second lamp. The dullness happened to two fingers of each hand. I don't think both lamps would be showing age at the same time since one has pretty new lights. It would have to be a weird coincidence for it to be the lamps. I also did a pedicure recently with a completely different light, and I think there was a little dullness there as well but didn't want to spend too much time inspecting and bringing it to the client's attention since she was really happy with the service and it was a color that didn't show the shine/dullness very well.
DISPERSION LAYER - I have always used isopropyl alcohol to remove the dispersion layer, and it has never been a problem. The alcohol I use has not changed.
TOPCOAT: When this happened the first time, I re-topcoated the four dull nails with the same topcoat. Doing this made two of them shiny, but two of them remained dull. When this happened the second time, I grabbed a different bottle of topcoat (still Shellac, but just a different bottle), and two of them became shiny but two were still dull. It's not always the same two nails, by the way, but it is weird that it's always two nails on each hand (I think that's a coincidence).
Can any of you think of another reason that I would be having this problem? If not, then I have to assume that my topcoat has become old and no longer cures properly, in which case I will toss it in the garbage and use a new one. Does this happen? Is it something I need to look out for? I didn't realize that the topcoats only lasted a certain amount of time (this would be about three to four months since opening, and stored in a fairly dark spot in the pocket of a bag/caddy).
Thanks for any information or experience that any of you have had about similar situations. I love Shellac and want to continue loving it.
LIGHTS - I don't think it's the lights because I used one hand in one lamp and the other hand in a second lamp. The dullness happened to two fingers of each hand. I don't think both lamps would be showing age at the same time since one has pretty new lights. It would have to be a weird coincidence for it to be the lamps. I also did a pedicure recently with a completely different light, and I think there was a little dullness there as well but didn't want to spend too much time inspecting and bringing it to the client's attention since she was really happy with the service and it was a color that didn't show the shine/dullness very well.
DISPERSION LAYER - I have always used isopropyl alcohol to remove the dispersion layer, and it has never been a problem. The alcohol I use has not changed.
TOPCOAT: When this happened the first time, I re-topcoated the four dull nails with the same topcoat. Doing this made two of them shiny, but two of them remained dull. When this happened the second time, I grabbed a different bottle of topcoat (still Shellac, but just a different bottle), and two of them became shiny but two were still dull. It's not always the same two nails, by the way, but it is weird that it's always two nails on each hand (I think that's a coincidence).
Can any of you think of another reason that I would be having this problem? If not, then I have to assume that my topcoat has become old and no longer cures properly, in which case I will toss it in the garbage and use a new one. Does this happen? Is it something I need to look out for? I didn't realize that the topcoats only lasted a certain amount of time (this would be about three to four months since opening, and stored in a fairly dark spot in the pocket of a bag/caddy).
Thanks for any information or experience that any of you have had about similar situations. I love Shellac and want to continue loving it.
