Shellac: Why isn't it a gel polish?

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Thank the lord for that post by mum lol this could have gone on all night without facts.

Now the facts have been aired let's all have a cuppa x
 
here here!!! excellent reading though x
 
Thanks 'Mum' - really appreciate the facts from a balanced point of view.
 
Hi All,
I wanted to provide a little information on this subject. Of course, I can't tell you too many secrets, because you know what I'd have to do... LOL.

Shellac is indeed a unique product, unlike anything out there and different in many ways. It was developed over a five year period, so even though many new products in this category have appeared on the scene, I can assure you that CND was working on developing this product looong before any other company, by years. Someone stated that products are pretty much alike, which is like saying "pie is pie", which clearly is not true! There are many types of pies, containing many different ingredients, some tasting better than others, while others are less impressive.

Since I was one of the originator of Shellac I can tell you from experience that it utilizes unique technologies that other companies products do not use, which forces them to work around CND's proprietary concepts/technologies. Why? Because they know CND will likely get several patents on several key concepts that will prevent them from utilizing their ideas and discoveries.

These innovations gives Shellac several advantages, e.g. comes off easier than other products. Many similar products are basically "soft UV gels" with different colors added to them. That's easy to do, but just because you add a colorant to a soft gel and call it a UV manicure, doesn't make it a unique product. In fact, that's the obvious way to create such a product and the first thing we consider do, but then rejected the idea because it was too limited and would NOT lead to the type of product we wanted to develop. Our goal was to impress and delight you! Soft gels can only come off so easily and usually take at least 20 minutes to PROPERLY remove without causing nail damage. To create a product that had great adhesion, yet removes quickly without causing damage to the natural nail is no easy challenge, which is why it took five years to create and perfect.
Nothing against any other product, but I can tell you after 25 years in this industry researching the nail and developing innovative products, really great and unique products aren't invented quickly. If you try to develop a product quickly, you end up only making baby step forward... tweaking the product a little bit so it performs a little better, but that isn't revolutionary or highly innovative. To create a truly revolutionary product takes a long time and lots of testing. Many of CND's past innovations have taken long periods to develop, as well. We spent several years developing Radical and the same goes for Retention+. Brisa took well over four years, because we challenged ourselves to reinvent the wheel and use new technologies, rather than modify what had come before.
I do want to make a few points and clarifications. Someone said that all artificial nail coatings are basically the same and are based on "acrylates". Actually, All artificial nail products are based on "acrylic" chemistry and ingredients. Many do not understand this, but "Acrylic" is a general family name and chemicals from this family are found in ALL types create artificial nail enhancements, glues and UV curable coatings, with no exceptions. There are four sub-categories of the acrylic family that are used in the nail industry, acrylates and urethane acrylates (e.g. most UV gels), methacrylates (e.g. monomer liquid and Brisa) and cyanoacrylates (nail glue, fiberglass wraps).
Also, I have to mention something of extreme importance to all of you! UV gel manicures should not cause damage to the natural nail. If they do, the reason is most likely due to improper application or removal. For example, if clients are experiencing surface white spots on the plate that look like dry patches, this is typically caused by improper product removal. My next education update (coming soon) will discuss this in detail. In the meantime, these types of products should ALWAYS be completely soften by the remover solvent before attempting to remove them and they should NEVER be forcibly scraped from the plate, even with a wooden pusher. Scraping, picking or prying off these coatings or their residuals is THE most likely cause for this type of surface damage. Take your time and remove the product without scraping and your clients nails will benefit from this gentle treatment.
If you'd like to get a copy of my next education update entitled, "Removal of UV Gel Manicures Coatings" when it's released, hopefully next week, please send your name, country and e-mail address to [email protected] and I'll make sure you get a copy and I hope you will share it with others.
 
Thank you very much for weighing in on this Doug. I think we all appreciate it. I particularly appreciate your reminding us that no gel manicures should damage the natural nail. I saw your emailed update (loved the super-magnified photos of damage!) as well as your comments in Nails Magazine. I am glad to see someone of your prominence taking on this important issue. Gel polish is an important advance in the industry and it is a shame to see people turned off to it because of the damage that can be done by unskilled users.

Despite the initial assurances, I think that this discussion started to feel to some people like an attack on CND Shellac and people rose to its defense. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we all appreciate the years of creativity, work and innovation that goes into a product like Shellac. I don't think anyone was understating the unique qualities Shellac has. My goal in this is to have people understand the important similarities between Shellac and other gel polish products - not "pie is pie," but certainly not cake!:)
 
To Doug and Mum,

Thank you for your input into this subject, it is valued very much so by all who read it.
 
In Australia, I have never seen A "Gelish" poster, EVERY salon has a "Shellac" poster, the distinguishable poster that everyone recognises.

If a technician was to explain what is Gelish, the tech would almost be forced to say "it's like Shellac", it's the way of the world, all other products have to explain themselves by saying "it's like Shellac" merely to define what the hell their product is like and what it compares to ........ "it's like Shellac".

CND have done the marketing, have set the benchmark, explained the product, explained the process, explained the product and have the reputation, only to pave the way for other product names that people don't understand.

I own one of the most popular and highly publicized salons in Australia, as well as 5.6 million hits on Youtube ........ nobody has every come in to the salon, messaged me on Youtube/rang for Gelish (not one), they all say "Do you do Shellac"?

Shellac is not only a "brand", it's a "process" that all others are judged by, you guys just have to accept this, and the fact you are "second" choice, above the brand and process "Shellac" ...... it's a fact ..., it's not only Australia, it's worldwide.

To repeat myself, no-one is saying Shellac is not a fantastic product, or that it is not great for your business, so we don't really need to hear everyone defending it. The question was "why is Shellac not a gel polish?". This has now been answered in a very factual and informative, rather than emotional, manner for which I, for one, am grateful.
 
I'm not sure the relevance. In some markets, Gelish was first to market, in others Shellac was. Nip the inaccuracies in the bud: Which launched first in your market and by how many days? Which started R&D first? How much does it seriously matter? Ultimately which was the brand consumers sought out and started a huge shift in the industry that benefited the professionals using ANY variation of a "gel polish"? Was it the makers of Gelish/Artistic/Red Carpet Manicure/etc... ?

Another poster mentioned Axium as the pioneer in this category, yet I don't recall the same level of change in the industry any more than Calgel or Biosculpture caused (which happened, but not on the same level). A lot of this is timing, but it also can't happen without the public voting with their wallet. You can dismiss it with "marketing", but I don't recall any real consumer marketing prepping the general public to start running into the salons asking for Shellac. That happened when they discover something that exceeded their expectations. Why is that bad when it benefits everyone in the industry? The rest seems a lot less like inaccuracies and a lot of splitting hairs.

Choose the product that meets your needs for the category (there are several... many of which are the same company) and provide the best service you can. It is a great time to be a professional with so many choices. But lets not get into a mud slinging match because our choice of systems differ.



Sorry, thought several did :)

Shellac could be considered a Gel Polish as it accomplishes the same results as others in the category, but it isn't just a removable gel in the same manner that others are. Its not that others are "bad", they just take a different approach to providing the service.

So, I have used both Shellac and Gellish since the beginning! i don't actually care who was the first to market! This is a global economy and the various brands will have different 'launches' in different countries. I'm sure the R&D for both categories have been extensive and probably parallel as the market need was recognised.

As to the difference....there are big differences. They are not necessarily obvious to the client/consumer but I believe the differences are crucial for the professional to understand!

CND have now called Shellac a 'power polish'. It was originally called a 'hybrid' but the consumer didn't understand this term. For professionals it should have been the perfect description. It IS a hybrid. It has the traditional solvent technology of traditional polishes in a clever formulation that harnesses the photoinitiators of UV gels.

It applies to an 'appropriate' natural nail just like a polish and looks like a polish. Under the right circumstances, it will remain perfect and glossy due to the UV cured characteristics but will release from the nail with ease due to its traditional polish characteristics. (I use the word 'appropriate' as not every nail is right just like not every nail will hold onto a polish without chipping. This also applies to gel polishes!)

Shellac is a traditional polish with solvents that harnesses UV technology to overcome evaporation as a method of drying/curing. The 'tiny tunnels' analogy shows how a solvent will permeate the coating and release it, in flakes, from the nail. This is quite specific to Shellac.

Shellac has not specific strength for the natural nail that is any more than traditional polish. A weak nail will not benefit that much more than polish but it's longevity can help, in general, protect nails.

Benefits of Shellac is that there is (usually) no need to buff the nail plate before application (which over many applications that require buffing will thin the nail plate). It is applied just like polish and it looks just like polish. It will release quickly without having to buff the surface of the coating. The downsides for Shellac is that the strength it gives to the natural nail is not that much more than traditional polish.

Gel polishes only use the UV curing technology. There are no solvents in gel polishes. Some brands use the 'no solvents' as a marketing plus but I don't believe this is relevant!

They are, in simplistic form, a low viscosity coloured gel. This has the capacity to provide some extra strength to a nail but has a slightly different appearance from a traditional polish.

Most gel polishes recommend a very light buff on the nail plate before application. This is not always necessary as some nail plate will hold on to the product without this. The 'tiny tunnels' don't apply to gel polishes and this can be seen as the coating usually comes away in a bigger piece. The soaking off takes marginally longer as the solvent needs to get through to the base coat to make it 'release' from the nail plate.

From a technological point of view, they are different. One is very close to a traditional polish with no 'health' issue to the natural nail. The other has a minimal 'health' issue but, in the hands of a good technician, this is negligible.

Removal is key to both! The most damage is caused by a rough removal. But this is the subject of a different thread.

Then there is the marketing aspect! Brand awareness is absolutely key to the success for the technician! Clients are hugely influenced by the media profile of the brand! It doesn't matter if you agree with this, it is a fact! Clients will ask for a brand although they have no idea what they are asking for!

Following this thread, people ask for 'Shellac'. This is because the marketing is working! Gellish is doing a fantastic job with the 'celebrity' aspect. In general, the consumer don't understand any differences They ask for what they have heard!

EVERY technician needs to understand the technology of EVERY product they use. This is what makes a professional different from a 'hobbyist' and an amateur!

Hi All,
I wanted to provide a little information on this subject. Of course, I can't tell you too many secrets, because you know what I'd have to do... LOL.

Shellac is indeed a unique product, unlike anything out there and different in many ways. It was developed over a five year period, so even though many new products in this category have appeared on the scene, I can assure you that CND was working on developing this product looong before any other company, by years. Someone stated that products are pretty much alike, which is like saying "pie is pie", which clearly is not true! There are many types of pies, containing many different ingredients, some tasting better than others, while others are less impressive.

Since I was one of the originator of Shellac I can tell you from experience that it utilizes unique technologies that other companies products do not use, which forces them to work around CND's proprietary concepts/technologies. Why? Because they know CND will likely get several patents on several key concepts that will prevent them from utilizing their ideas and discoveries.

These innovations gives Shellac several advantages, e.g. comes off easier than other products. Many similar products are basically "soft UV gels" with different colors added to them. That's easy to do, but just because you add a colorant to a soft gel and call it a UV manicure, doesn't make it a unique product. In fact, that's the obvious way to create such a product and the first thing we consider do, but then rejected the idea because it was too limited and would NOT lead to the type of product we wanted to develop. Our goal was to impress and delight you! Soft gels can only come off so easily and usually take at least 20 minutes to PROPERLY remove without causing nail damage. To create a product that had great adhesion, yet removes quickly without causing damage to the natural nail is no easy challenge, which is why it took five years to create and perfect.
Nothing against any other product, but I can tell you after 25 years in this industry researching the nail and developing innovative products, really great and unique products aren't invented quickly. If you try to develop a product quickly, you end up only making baby step forward... tweaking the product a little bit so it performs a little better, but that isn't revolutionary or highly innovative. To create a truly revolutionary product takes a long time and lots of testing. Many of CND's past innovations have taken long periods to develop, as well. We spent several years developing Radical and the same goes for Retention+. Brisa took well over four years, because we challenged ourselves to reinvent the wheel and use new technologies, rather than modify what had come before.
I do want to make a few points and clarifications. Someone said that all artificial nail coatings are basically the same and are based on "acrylates". Actually, All artificial nail products are based on "acrylic" chemistry and ingredients. Many do not understand this, but "Acrylic" is a general family name and chemicals from this family are found in ALL types create artificial nail enhancements, glues and UV curable coatings, with no exceptions. There are four sub-categories of the acrylic family that are used in the nail industry, acrylates and urethane acrylates (e.g. most UV gels), methacrylates (e.g. monomer liquid and Brisa) and cyanoacrylates (nail glue, fiberglass wraps).
Also, I have to mention something of extreme importance to all of you! UV gel manicures should not cause damage to the natural nail. If they do, the reason is most likely due to improper application or removal. For example, if clients are experiencing surface white spots on the plate that look like dry patches, this is typically caused by improper product removal. My next education update (coming soon) will discuss this in detail. In the meantime, these types of products should ALWAYS be completely soften by the remover solvent before attempting to remove them and they should NEVER be forcibly scraped from the plate, even with a wooden pusher. Scraping, picking or prying off these coatings or their residuals is THE most likely cause for this type of surface damage. Take your time and remove the product without scraping and your clients nails will benefit from this gentle treatment.
If you'd like to get a copy of my next education update entitled, "Removal of UV Gel Manicures Coatings" when it's released, hopefully next week, please send your name, country and e-mail address to [email protected] and I'll make sure you get a copy and I hope you will share it with others.

Have enjoyed reading through this thread and the above clarification has been very helpful.
 

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