Shellac needing 3 coats

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zAmedena

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Hello ladies!

I've been doing nails with CND Shellac for the past 3 years. While I find most colors really do need only 2 coats, there are some I absolutely hate to use, because I always have to do 3 coats. These are the colors: Creekside, Salmon Run and Brick Knit.
I tried asking for help with the official distributor in my country, but they keep trying to convince me all color need 2 coats only... It's quite frustrating.

I did find that Salmon Run got thicker after a few uses and I could then continue with 2 coats. I thought about leaving the problematic polishes open for a bit to see if they'd get thicker. But on the other hand, I think that's just silly, especially since I'm buying CND which is a very well known brand and at all cheap.

Do you have any suggestions? Should I try something else?
Unfortunately changing to other brand is quite impossible for me, since I had allergic reactions to whatever else I tried - Gelish, Ink London, Indigo, Magnetic and Artistic.

Thank you all for your help! x
 
I changed brands from CND to Lilly Nails, partially because I wasn't impressed with shellac, both application and colour selection, and partially because it's become more important around here that a brand is Cruelty free, something cnd is not, as they pay for their products to be tested on animals in countries where this is required. Lilly Nails is also good for people with allergies. Many of their polishes are good coverage with 1 coat but they all look really good with 2 coats. The customers who have gel polish get 3+ weeks wear, and 1/3 price of shellac where i live. I'm not trying to talk down on shellac, as I think it's amazing how it removes so nicely, since it's a hybrid, not a gel polish. But considering I do mostly sculpts and infills, I don't have polish removal time as my priority, so my situation might not be comparable to yours. I have also used CND Creative Play, I like how it applies, but unfortunately many of the lighter colours are not as good coverage as Lilly Nails. I just thought I'd give you an option if you ever considered something else. :)
 
Hello ladies!

I've been doing nails with CND Shellac for the past 3 years. While I find most colors really do need only 2 coats, there are some I absolutely hate to use, because I always have to do 3 coats. These are the colors: Creekside, Salmon Run and Brick Knit.
I tried asking for help with the official distributor in my country, but they keep trying to convince me all color need 2 coats only... It's quite frustrating.

I did find that Salmon Run got thicker after a few uses and I could then continue with 2 coats. I thought about leaving the problematic polishes open for a bit to see if they'd get thicker. But on the other hand, I think that's just silly, especially since I'm buying CND which is a very well known brand and at all cheap.

Do you have any suggestions? Should I try something else?
Unfortunately changing to other brand is quite impossible for me, since I had allergic reactions to whatever else I tried - Gelish, Ink London, Indigo, Magnetic and Artistic.

Thank you all for your help! x

Try a opaque base colour first, put Salmon Run over something like Unmasked, Brick Knit will need something like Rouge Red - you need something that is virtually opaque with the first coat or you will still end up doing 3 coats.
 
Yes, as above, use an opaque under the colour. I always do this for the ones that contain glitter. Much better end result.

Also - have you tried stirring the colour before use to ensure the pigment is even in the product?
 
I changed brands from CND to Lilly Nails, partially because I wasn't impressed with shellac, both application and colour selection, and partially because it's become more important around here that a brand is Cruelty free, something cnd is not, as they pay for their products to be tested on animals in countries where this is required. Lilly Nails is also good for people with allergies. Many of their polishes are good coverage with 1 coat but they all look really good with 2 coats. The customers who have gel polish get 3+ weeks wear, and 1/3 price of shellac where i live. I'm not trying to talk down on shellac, as I think it's amazing how it removes so nicely, since it's a hybrid, not a gel polish. But considering I do mostly sculpts and infills, I don't have polish removal time as my priority, so my situation might not be comparable to yours. I have also used CND Creative Play, I like how it applies, but unfortunately many of the lighter colours are not as good coverage as Lilly Nails. I just thought I'd give you an option if you ever considered something else. :)

Thank you for your suggestion! I just booked an appointment at the nearby salon that uses Lilly nails. I'm trying it on one finger to see if I can work with it.
How hard is the removal with this? I would only use this is a gel polish, I don't do enhancements. Thanks x
 
Try a opaque base colour first, put Salmon Run over something like Unmasked, Brick Knit will need something like Rouge Red - you need something that is virtually opaque with the first coat or you will still end up doing 3 coats.

Aren't all three colors I mentioned marked as Opaque? :)

I tried Creekside with Cream Puff underneath, but I still needed 2 additional coats od Creekside, because the first layer wasn't looking good. I imagine it would be similar to the combos you mentioned?

I'll give this a go to see if I can improve. Thank you for your suggestion.

Also @CFBS I do shake bottles vigorously, but don't get the effect I'd like. :)
 
Thank you for your suggestion! I just booked an appointment at the nearby salon that uses Lilly nails. I'm trying it on one finger to see if I can work with it.
How hard is the removal with this? I would only use this is a gel polish, I don't do enhancements. Thanks x

The removal is typical gel polish timing, like cnd creative play, it takes 20-25 minutes, but in return they could last longer. You can try a removal on that finger, remember to break into the top first. Because I mainly do enhancements, I would have to file off the gel polish at infill anyway, so the removal time isn't relevant to 90% of my services. Considering we'd earn more money if the customers came back every 2 weeks instead of 3+ weeks, and removal time of gel polishes are longer than Shellac, this might not be what you want. It's pricy to change brands though, so maybe see how you get on with the above advice too :) But if you've considered trying other products/brands for a while, then in my opinion Lilly Nails is a good affordable option, and I've allergic customers (allergies to other brands, products etc) swap over from CND to them, and no reactions. I also have nail tech friends who are raving about The Gel Bottle which also might be for you, but honestly they are quite costly compared to other amazing pro only brands.
 
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Aren't all three colors I mentioned marked as Opaque? :)

I tried Creekside with Cream Puff underneath, but I still needed 2 additional coats od Creekside, because the first layer wasn't looking good. I imagine it would be similar to the combos you mentioned?

I'll give this a go to see if I can improve. Thank you for your suggestion.

Also @CFBS I do shake bottles vigorously, but don't get the effect I'd like. :)

Cream Puff is too bright, it will show through which is why you need a more opaque colour closer to the original. Yes they are supposed to be opaque but clearly not enough.
 

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