Shellac with Gelish 18G lamp

[DaintyDoll]

Hello all

Im sure there has been as few threads on this topic but instead of reading through them all; i thought i would chance my luck for a simple awnwer.

I currently use Gelish and have the brilliant Gelish 18G lamp - i have fancied trying Shellac for a while now but i dont want to waste money on another expensive lamp.
Does anyone know if you can cure Shellac in the Gelish 18G LED lamp? X

 

[libbylou]

No , you can only cure shellac in the shellac lamp xx

 

[DaintyDoll]

ah bummer! x

 

[DaintyDoll]

has anyone tried? if so what was the outcome? x

 

[pure]

No point in 'trying' as you can't tell if a product is fully cured or only 50% cured just by looking or touching. Even if only 50% cured it will be dry but you are then opening yourself up to problems with chipping and peeling and potential skin reactions, none of which, I assume, you would want. The only way to guarantee a full cure of Shellac is to use the CND lamp

 

[sarah-lou76]

shellac only cures under a uv lamp, gelish cures under both led and uv xxxx

 

[AcidPerm]

Sorry to be a pedant, but an LED is UV light.

It's just the bulbs in the lamps that are different.

 

[NancySyd]

Sorry to be a pedant, but an LED is UV light.

It's just the bulbs in the lamps that are different.

Just to be more pedantic...

Yes, an LED lamp is a UV lamp, but there is a difference. What I think people are trying to say is that CND Shellac cures only under a traditional CFL-UV lamp, as opposed to an LED-UV lamp. Although they both emit UV light, there is a significant difference as CFL-UV lamps emit light in the 300-400nm range while LED-UV lamps emit a higher intensity UV light in a narrower range - 375-400nm. That difference means that some products that cure in a CFL-UV lamp will not cure in an LED-UV lamp. Matching your product to the proper lamp for that product is critical, especially since gel gets hard at only 55% cured, so it is difficult to determine if you have a proper cure.

The Difference Between LED and UV Lamps - Technique - NAILS Magazine

 

[loobylou22]

I tried it when I got my 18g but it just doesn't set. Stays as if you've just painted it. Gutted. If it had set 50% I'd of saved a few of my shellac for myself. Still miss some colours from my lovely collection. Xx

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[_bethaneee]

I never understood that. I have the 18G lamp and every time I've use shellac with it I've never had a problem! Just double up the times and you'll be fine.

 

[nicole333]

It's a strange one as we have so much information regarding the science, so I don't understand why a lot of people are now speaking up and saying that they have been using their LED lamps for a long time now (years) and have not experienced any adverse reactions.

How can these prolonged periods of trouble free LED curing be happening? It goes against what we have been told.

 

[hazeleyes]

To be fair I tried it too on a lollipop stock when I got my 18g... It cured. Didn't bubble afterwards or anything. I might try it on myself even to test it but I would never do it on clients.

This is the reason I switched to gelish from shellac I just needed a quicker cure. My service time has halved!

 

[Russian doll]

Just thought to add to conversation, since I recently have been having more experience with curing Shellac in a different lamp. It is not Gelish lamp, but is OPI. That's what my new employers are using, and although I did question it at first (I use exclusively CND in my home studio) I don't dare say much since I'm new there. Anyway, the girl there says they've been using this lamp all along and have had no problems. But since I have something to compare to I can honestly say I see a huge difference between Shellac application I do at home and the one I can do there. First of all there is no consistency in application with this lamp. Even though I use the same curing times some colours shrink horribly the moment you apply them, so I have to cure 2 fingers at a time, which I NEVER have to do at home. Sometimes I even notice base coat shrink after already cured, which I wasn't able to prevent, so that means when I apply colour some of it goes on the nail without any base coat. And secondly when I did a French application putting Beau under the white tip, when I went to clean up my smile line with a gel brush lightly damped in IPA, just like I normally do-all the colour underneath came off (even though it was cured for almost 3 minutes already). So looks like the colour coat and base coat do not cure properly in this lamp, only top coat does, which then holds it all in place. Not worth taking the risk to me at all.

 

[DaintyDoll]

Well, curiosity got the best of me!
I ended up buying a few shellac colours (cocoa, wildfire, ruby ritz & lilac longing).
I have had wildfire on my nails for just over a week now and my nails are still chip free! 👍
Instead of curing for the standard 30 seconds on the 18G, I cured for 60 just incase. 😊 X

 

[purrfectnails]

The gelish LED lamp will cure most shellac colors. Sometimes french pinks wont cure but only sometimes?...And I recently had a metallic color not cure with it. I dont know why its only certain colors, or why it doesnt happen every time, but I prefer the quicker cure of a LED so I use it and if a color doesnt cure then I pull out the UV lamp. You get spoiled when you only have to wait 30 seconds. And I like the smaller size of th LED lamp to.

 

[Muzza]

I'm not sure your insurance covers you using a different lamp other than CND fit your shellac, I use gelish and the 18g so not sure but think I've read that in here, just another thing to consider x

 

[divine_beauty]

I use both shellac and gelish in my salon and I kno for a FACT that I am NOT insured if I cure shellac in my 18g led harmony lamp as CND state in their saftey sheet uv cure only. Im surr if shellac cured 100% in a led lamp they would have brought 1 out for it by now... I for 1 wouldnt take the risk of under cured shellac on clients if any where to take a reaction I wouldnt hav a leg to stand on! Hth xxx

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[freda_nelson]

I know this has been linked before on other posts - but I thought seeing it made more sense than reading it... for me at least! Its not too long, and uses shellac in 4 kinds of branded lamp...

Looks like the topcoat cures, but god knows what is going on underneath :s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cewcrle7TR4&feature=youtu.be

 

[lelu]

I use my 18g Gelish lamp for shellac. I have the CND lamp but I rarely use it. If it was only the top coat curing surely it would not last the two weeks. I do have a problem with Romantique though. I wonder if it's these few colours mentioned that are stopping CND releasing their lamp.

 

[NancySyd]

I use my 18g Gelish lamp for shellac. I have the CND lamp but I rarely use it. If it was only the top coat curing surely it would not last the two weeks. I do have a problem with Romantique though. I wonder if it's these few colours mentioned that are stopping CND releasing their lamp.

No, if the base coat cures and the top coat cures, the color coats are sealed in the middle. That would allow it to last quite a while. While I do believe that CND has been slowly adapting its formulae to be LED-curable, it is clear that some colors are more difficult than others. Bottom line, you are taking a risk using CND Shellac in an LED, a risk that you probably haven't informed your clients of, and which your insurance will not cover.