Shellac: Why isn't it a gel polish?

['chelle]

Is it just me, or is anyone else uncomfortable with this "it's not a gel polish, it's a power polish" stuff?

I'll tell you why it doesnt sound right to me. Firstly, "power polish" is just a name given to it. It's not a scientific or technical description of the product, in real terms it tells you absolutely nothing about the product. Secondly, you have to go back to the definition of an "acrylic" or gel. Correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is this; all enhancements are "acrylics", they are all members of the acrylate family. They consist of monomers and polymers, some are liquid and powder acrylates, some are gel based acrylates, but essentially they are all part of the same family.

Shellac is a product which contains acrylates. It contains monomers and polymers which "cure" under the lamp to form your hard wearing polish. To me, that makes it a gel polish. If I'm wrong and someone can provide me with an explaination as to why it isnt a gel polish I'd love to hear it. Personally I was happier in the earlier days of shellac when it was referred to as a hybrid polish, I could relate to that. The term power polish does nothing for me.

I'd love to hear everyone elses views on this

 

[NancySyd]

I agree. It makes me crazy to hear people say that Shellac is not a gel polish, that it is a "power polish." I respect that CND Shellac wants to distinguish its product in the marketplace and Power Polish is certainly a great marketing term, but there's no real scientific definition for it. And I understand why CND would say, "Don't call it a gel polish, call it a Power Polish." But that's different from saying that it isn't a gel polish.

Shellac is a type of UV gel polish - a hybrid form of it to be sure, but it is a gel product nonetheless. Shellac contains the ingredients that define a UV gel product and functions as one. Perhaps it is more accurate to say Shellac is not just a gel polish, but it is scientifically incorrect to say it is not a gel polish at all. UV gel polishes are generally regarded as containing urethane oligomers, crosslinked polymeric acrylic resins and photinitiators activated by UV rays. All of the gel polishes, including Shellac contain this.In addition, the professional magazines like Scratch, Nails Magazine and VietSalon include Shellac in their articles on gel polishes. Perhaps most critically, read the MSDS, where it is called a "gel lacquer." The MSDS don't lie! Everything else is just marketing talk.

It is my understanding that Shellac is 25% solvents which 100% gel polishes don't have. In looking at this category of product, they exist on a spectrum from regular nail polish to 100% gel polish. P2, Gelac, Shellac, LeChat are/were closer to the polish end, and Gelish, Just Gel, OPI and others are at the gel end. So it is different from others, but still in the same product category - gel polish. Shellac does contain gel and gel ingredients as well a unique combination of solvents and pigments.

Now, none of this is said to disparage Shellac; it is a fantastic, groundbreaking product. To my mind, it is THE gel polish, the one everyone else seeks to emulate and improve upon. It is the definition of gel polish. But it is, in the end, a gel polish.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rhBeaErSiYY

Hi there this little video explains the difference between the two. Chad explains it much better in this CND Video clip than i could xxxx Enjoy xxxxx

 

[syncage]

Despite the title, the only part of that video that talks about the differences is the tiny tunnels created by the solvents evaporating. Which fits with nancysyd's explanation.

I get also that shellac was designed from the ground up rather than diluting an existing gel product but that doesn't necessarily mean the end result is any different and I would like to know and understand more about the product chemistry.

 

['chelle]

I agree. I makes me crazy to hear people say that Shellac is not a gel polish, that it is a "power polish." I respect that CND Shellac wants to distinguish its product in the marketplace and Power Polish is certainly a great marketing term, but there's no real scientific definition for it. And I understand why CND would say, "Don't call it a gel polish, call it a Power Polish." But that's different from saying that it isn't a gel polish.

Shellac is a type of UV gel polish - a hybrid form of it to be sure, but it is a gel product nonetheless. Shellac contains the ingredients that define a UV gel product and functions as one. Perhaps it is more accurate to say Shellac is not just a gel polish, but it is scientifically incorrect to say it is not a gel polish at all. UV gel polishes are generally regarded as containing urethane oligomers, crosslinked polymeric acrylic resins and photinitiators activated by UV rays. All of the gel polishes, including Shellac contain this.In addition, the professional magazines like Scratch, Nails Magazine and VietSalon include Shellac in their articles on gel polishes. Perhaps most critically, read the MSDS, where it is called a "gel lacquer." The MSDS don't lie! Everything else is just marketing talk.

It is my understanding that Shellac is 25% solvents which 100% gel polishes don't have. In looking at this category of product, they exist on a spectrum from regular nail polish to 100% gel polish. P2, Gelac, Shellac, LeChat are/were closer to the polish end, and Gelish, Just Gel, OPI and others are at the gel end. So it is different from others, but still in the same product category - gel polish. Shellac does contain gel and gel ingredients as well a unique combination of solvents and pigments.

Now, none of this is said to disparage Shellac; it is a fantastic, groundbreaking product. To my mind, it is THE gel polish, the one everyone else seeks to emulate and improve upon. It is the definition of gel polish. But it is, in the end, a gel polish.

Thankyou so much for this information, this has really helped me understand Shellac as a product, and I can completely relate to this.

I also agree wholeheartedly with what you say about this subject being in no way detrimental towards Shellac. It's the best product to have hit the market in years, and is certainly the market leader in gel polishes and deservedly so. This subject is merely an observation about the nature of the product, and to refer to it as a gel polish isnt a negative thing at all.

 

[Jigglyb4ll]

Altho I have nothing to give to this thread I'd like to say thank you as I use gellux and so have no real understanding of shellac, only that it is a 'power polish' which to me isn't good enough to tell people why the gel polish I use is different.
So I've found this thread so far very interesting as it has already told me far more than I ever get when asking why is shellac so great.
Thank you xx

 

[nailzoo]

I love the way no matter what "uv set polish" anyone uses, if you ask them any questions they always seem to revert back to "it's just like Shellac".

CND Shellac did the groundwork, R&D, spent the money on promotion, made it a household (renowned salon name) if not "terminology", now everyone wants to compare to it.

Everyone knows what CND Shellac is ... I kinda like "Power Polish", I believe Shellac should distance itself from the others ........ seeing as though everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

Imagine this .... and old fashioned kinda race, everyone running around a track, Olympic-esque if you like, but there is someone (lets call her/him Shellac) in the lead and everyone else is chasing, trying their hardest to be as good, but not quite catching up, they are all competitors against each other, but there is one clear winner.

The only way the (I don't want to say losers, as they are trying), or those that were slow getting out of the starting blocks, obviously behind the leader ...lets just call them the "runners up", well they make themselves feel better through "name association" hoping to mix in the same circles as the winner.

Hence the phrase "just like Shellac", or "it's like Shellac", I'd imagine this is the most used phrase in the nail world at the moment.

But at the end of that race we are picturing ........... there was only one winner, now even though they never knew Shellac (the winner), they all want association with the name, because that name is associated with quality and can open doors to new customers, new profits (an endorsement if you like).

I totally understand this mentality, everyone wants to be associated with a quality name (even ride on their coat-tails)....

But alas, on the flip-side of this success, there is always be "Tall Poppy Syndrome".

Just to add, I don't use Shellac, nor do I have any affiliation with CND, but I have been in this industry longer than most, have seen many many products come and go, I can also easily spot the pioneer/originator .........and the followers.

 

[syncage]

I do get what you are trying to say but that has to be one of the worst analogies I have ever seen. It doesnt follow that someone who takes an early lead in a race will be the winner. In fact in it's quite often the opposite especially in long distance sports and so I cant think you would want to carry this analogy through with shellac.

we are often being encouraged on this site to delve deeper into product chemistry and further our education and knowledge. There are already a million threads stating shellac was the first and the best we want to go deeper into why. I use shellac but had just downloaded the gelish msds so I can compare.

I think the term hybrid is actually more helpful than the marketing term power polish which has replaced it.

 

[nailzoo]

I do get what you are trying to say but that has to be one of the worst analogies I have ever seen.

But they already won the race.......

What did you gather from the MSDS ?

It's fabulous that a month after training you are so enthusiastic, you will find lots of info on here.

 

[Arty*Rox]

But they already won the race.......

What did you gather from the MSDS ?

But Shellac was the only one running in the power/hybrid polish race

 

[Up To Scratch]

But Shellac was the only one running in the power/hybrid polish race

EXACTLY. CND spent FIVE YEARS in research and development and came up with brand new, different and *winning* technology (the mechanics of which have already been perfectly explained in Chad's excellent video). Other companies needed something that would act in a similar way, to be 'like' CND Shellac, their 'answer' to CND Shellac. But the competitor formulas ARE different, and these other products are adaptations of gel, rather than the new technology CND has created. That's not to say some of these products aren't excellent in their own right, but CND Shellac they are not.

 

[syncage]

But they already won the race.......

What did you gather from the MSDS ?

It's fabulous that a month after training you are so enthusiastic, you will find lots of info on here.

I was enthusiastic before, but the CND training ramped me up to a whole other level!

Actually MSDS doesn't give you much to go on as Shellac Colour is mainly comprised of "Proprietary Formula" and the two ingredients that are given are shared with Gelish so no way of knowing from that whether they were identical or not!

Does that mean that they don't contain any other 'nasties' that need to be declared (so don't contain any methacrylates like gelish) or is it just the composition is a trade secret so not revealed?

 

[NancySyd]

I love the way no matter what "uv set polish" anyone uses, if you ask them any questions they always seem to revert back to "it's just like Shellac".

CND Shellac did the groundwork, R&D, spent the money on promotion, made it a household (renowned salon name) if not "terminology", now everyone wants to compare to it.

Imagine this .... and old fashioned kinda race, everyone running around a track, Olympic-esque if you like, but there is someone (lets call her/him Shellac) in the lead and everyone else is chasing, trying their hardest to be as good, but not quite catching up, they are all competitors against each other, but there is one clear winner.

EXACTLY. CND spent FIVE YEARS in research and development and came up with brand new, different and *winning* technology (the mechanics of which have already been perfectly explained in Chad's excellent video). Other companies needed something that would act in a similar way, to be 'like' CND Shellac, their 'answer' to CND Shellac. But the competitor formulas ARE different, and these other products are adaptations of gel, rather than the new technology CND has created. That's not to say some of these products aren't excellent in their own right, but CND Shellac they are not.

]
But Shellac was the only one running in the power/hybrid polish race

I disagree with this. First because Gelish came out before CND Shellac and so can hardly be said to be chasing Shellac or trying to be like it. It has won many awards as well. Secondly, many of the competitors are better than Shellac in some important ways - some are LED curable, have more colors, have vitamins, change colors, have builder gels and even have matching rnp. Again, not to disparage CND Shellac. It is a great product, but it is by no means the only great product out there.

 

[Rinn]

I actually don't care what it's called.....

I explain it as being a modified polish.....

My clients really don't care to get bogged down in the chemistry of it all they just love it and come back again and again......

That's all that matters to me

 

[paigemcdonagh]

I disagree with this. First because Gelish came out before CND Shellac and so can hardly be said to be chasing Shellac or trying to be like it. It has won many awards as well. Secondly, many of the competitors are better than Shellac in some important ways - some are LED curable, have more colors, have vitamins, change colors, have builder gels and even have matching rnp. Again, not to disparage CND Shellac. It is a great product, but it is by no means the only great product out there.

Brilliant statement right there!

 

[Arty*Rox]

I disagree with this. First because Gelish came out before CND Shellac and so can hardly be said to be chasing Shellac or trying to be like it. It has won many awards as well. Secondly, many of the competitors are better than Shellac in some important ways - some are LED curable, have more colors, have vitamins, change colors, have builder gels and even have matching rnp. Again, not to disparage CND Shellac. It is a great product, but it is by no means the only great product out there.

It does depend on how you take my comment 'But Shellac was the only one running in the power/hybrid polish race' Because it IS the only hybrid/power polish out there, its unique, BUT that doesn't mean that I put it ahead of some gel polishes, I offer both Shellac and Gelish to my clients and I love them both for what they offer.

When explaining to my clients about the difference I explain that Shellac is a hybrid polish with the strength of gel and Gelish is a gel polish, and to be honest that's usually enough but if a client is particularly hard on there nails I steer them more towards Gelish as I do find it slightly harder wearing and can also be used with structure gel for that added strength. If a client is more the careful type or is prone to skin disorders (like eczema) I steer them more towards Shellac.

I also love the range of colours gelish offers, yes you can get some lovely colours with layering Shellac but you can also layer gelish, so in my opinion Gelish is wining the race in the colour range department

 

[souz]

i personally love that shellac is a power polish, says exactly what it is?? a polish with more lasting power!

I am a gel girl at heart andhave used most of the gels on the market in the last 15 years, they all needed a primer, they all needed the natural nail to be etched as such and to remove they needed to be buffed before soaking off or just buffed off.

Shellac doesnt have a primer
shellac doesnt need the natural nail to be etched/buffed
shellac doesnt need to be buffed off
shellac doesnt need topcoat buffing prior to soaking
shellac leaves the natural nail looking as new after removal

those are five reasons (there are more) why it is not a gel in the traditional sense and so needs to be not referred to as a gel so that clients can differentiate it from other products.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT! so it needs its own name, scientific or not, its a name clients can relate to. if they like polish but want it to last longer shellac is the one. there is no strength in it as such. xx

 

[NancySyd]

i personally love that shellac is a power polish, says exactly what it is?? a polish with more lasting power!

I am a gel girl at heart andhave used most of the gels on the market in the last 15 years, they all needed a primer, they all needed the natural nail to be etched as such and to remove they needed to be buffed before soaking off or just buffed off.

Shellac doesnt have a primer
shellac doesnt need the natural nail to be etched/buffed
shellac doesnt need to be buffed off
shellac doesnt need topcoat buffing prior to soaking
shellac leaves the natural nail looking as new after removal

those are five reasons (there are more) why it is not a gel in the traditional sense and so needs to be not referred to as a gel so that clients can differentiate it from other products.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT! so it needs its own name, scientific or not, its a name clients can relate to. if they like polish but want it to last longer shellac is the one. there is no strength in it as such. xx

While I appreciate your love of Shellac, these attributes are not unique to Shellac. For each of these four points, other gel polish products do not require these steps. OPI GelColor, for example, requires none of them. And all gel polishes like Shellac (properly applied, maintained and removed) leave the natural nail as before.

It sounds as if you're comparing Shellac to gels not to gel polishes.

 

[Glitterbox81]

I think in the majority of cases people saying 'it's just like Shellac' is because without getting technical with your customers it's the easiest way to describe a UV cured polish to people who have only heard of the brand Shellac. I'd go as far as to say that a lot of customers who ask for Shellac don't even realise that it is a brand and that there are other types of similar product. (which is thanks to amazing marketing from CND)

What exactly should we be saying to a customer who asks what the difference is between Gelish and Shellac?- Gelish is a gel, Shellac is a 'power polish', both are cured in UV light, both offer long lasting chip free colour, both need soaked off. For all intents and purposes to the customer they are basically the same. How do you explain the difference?

I'd love to be able to explain it properly to my customers but whenever I try to research it all I really get is a lot of marketing speak.

 

[syncage]

The OP is asking a straightforward question, why isn't it a gel polish?
I think the simple answer is that, it is. Refer to the MSDS - it is listed as a Gel Lacquer.
Thats not then to say that it is the same as other gel polishes so it's understandable that CND are seeking to adopt different terminology in the marketplace to distinguish their product.

After looking into the ingredients, consulting my textbooks and reading this thread I think that Shellac has a higher percentage of solvents and a lower percentage and/or different monomer/polymer than a gel polish such as gelish. I also think it might have a 'cleaner' formula and the base/colour/top coat ingredients are designed to work synergistically. Although that last one is more conjecture from Chad's jigsaw puzzle!

I'm very new to all of this though so would love for a wiser geek to jump in.