Thinking of converting from Shellac to Gelish - questions

[_hannahbeth]

I thought you buffed with gels, oops! Shows I'm into my shellac hehe x

A lot of people say with Gelish you have to buff so I was with you on that one too x

 

[charlyxx]

you dont buff the nail down with gelish ???? i had shellac done and she took tons of my nail bed off, grey harsh banana file .. the product is as good as the therapist ... thats it. gelish has more colours . thats why my therapist used it .

I'm sure you buff the natural nails shine off when applying gels to the nails... When applying CND shellac the correct way no buffing is done to the natural nail. That's why I use it.

 

[_hannahbeth]

Basically because shellac is more porous, it may not last quite as long as a gel polish. You could even try Bio Seaweed Gel, their system is great and no primer or heavy buffing needed either. If you get the unity polishes, you don't even need to use a base coat if you're doing a pedicure!

I'll have a look into them ones, thank you x

 

[charlyxx]

A lot of people say with Gelish you have to buff so I was with you on that one too x

All of these YouTube tutorials seem to buff lol x

 

[_hannahbeth]

I'm sure you buff the natural nails shine off when applying gels to the nails... When applying CND shellac the correct way no buffing is done to the natural nail. That's why I use it.

I was under the impression also that with Gelish you buffed the nails and with Shellac you didn't, lots of people say you do x

 

[_hannahbeth]

All of these YouTube tutorials seem to buff lol x

According to the gelish website you gently buff the shine off so I'm sticking with if you use gelish, you buff x

 

[charlyxx]

According to the gelish website you gently buff the shine off so I'm sticking with if you use gelish, you buff x

I'm 100% with you on that one too x

 

[vanitybeauty1]

you dont buff the nail down with gelish ???? i had shellac done and she took tons of my nail bed off, grey harsh banana file .. the product is as good as the therapist ... thats it. gelish has more colours . thats why my therapist used it .

That "therapist" clearly has had no training and doesn't know how to use the product if she's filing half your nail away before applying shellac lol

 

[vanitybeauty1]

What's dry brushing? x

Dry brushing is after you have cured the foundation you are supposed to brush over it with a dry gel brush. Some people don't do it but I always did and do if I ever use it, which isn't often any more x

 

[_hannahbeth]

Dry brushing is after you have cured the foundation you are supposed to brush over it with a dry gel brush. Some people don't do it but I always did and do if I ever use it, which isn't often any more x

Ahhh right I see, thank you! So which do you use, if any? X

 

[NancySyd]

What's dry brushing? x

Dry brushing is when you take a dry gel brush and brush the surface of the cured foundation. It is supposed to help with adhesion of the color coat. Ditto with buffing, it is supposed to help with adhesion of the foundation coat to the nail. HNH has included both of these steps in their instructions at different times. I believe that buffing is to be avoided if possible and many techs have found that as long as you prep meticulously, you do not need to buff. And as long as you keep your foundation coat super thin, you do not need to dry brush. A thicker application results in a thicker inhibition layer which causes the color coat to float rather than attach. It's things like these that you learn as you work with a brand; I'm sure every brand has their little idiosyncrasies.

 

[_hannahbeth]

Dry brushing is when you take a dry gel brush and brush the surface of the cured foundation. It is supposed to help with adhesion of the color coat. Ditto with buffing, it is supposed to help with adhesion of the foundation coat to the nail. HNH has included both of these steps in their instructions at different times. I believe that buffing is to be avoided if possible and many techs have found that as long as you prep meticulously, you do not need to buff. And as long as you keep your foundation coat super thin, you do not need to dry brush. A thicker application results in a thicker inhibition layer which causes the color coat to float rather than attach. It's things like these that you learn as you work with a brand; I'm sure every brand has their little idiosyncrasies.

Ahhh I see! Thanks very much for letting me know that! I hear some people do it and some don't so if I decide to try Gelish I'll just have to give dry brushing a go and see what works for me x

 

[Rach Dilks]

That's very true and a valid point.... x

You don't HAVE to buff with Gelish I hardly ever do and my clients get at least 14 days out of them most get 21days or more!

 

[Rach Dilks]

Dry brushing is when you take a dry gel brush and brush the surface of the cured foundation. It is supposed to help with adhesion of the color coat. Ditto with buffing, it is supposed to help with adhesion of the foundation coat to the nail. HNH has included both of these steps in their instructions at different times. I believe that buffing is to be avoided if possible and many techs have found that as long as you prep meticulously, you do not need to buff. And as long as you keep your foundation coat super thin, you do not need to dry brush. A thicker application results in a thicker inhibition layer which causes the color coat to float rather than attach. It's things like these that you learn as you work with a brand; I'm sure every brand has their little idiosyncrasies.

Exactly avoid buffing if possible!

 

[vanitybeauty1]

Ahhh right I see, thank you! So which do you use, if any? X

I use shellac mostly, but I have Gelish spare just incase they need something slightly stronger but most don't.

I dry brush and remove shine just because I don't do Gelish very often so I am not as familiar with the product as I am Shellac so I haven't got as much practice with the technique. Once you get to know which you like best and if it's Gelish then I'm sure you won't need to buff or dry brush x

 

[sal365]

Before switching systems why not try ibx on the clients that are having trouble? It's great under shellac and I really have found it to be a miracle worker on damaged and weak nails

 

[char1112]

I never dry brush my Gelish, I've tried with dry brushing and without and found not much difference so I don't do it. I think it can help prevent shrinkage but I flash cure if I have any problems with that.

Also buffing: I buff the first time the client comes in and only VERY LIGHTLY two swipes of the buffer, then after that for reapplications I don't bother as their nail plates generally smooth enough. If there's a long time between them getting them done again I just play by ear really, if they look smooth I don't bother, if they look a mess I might.

I love gelish, it's really great. I couldn't recommend it more but I'd like to ask how you remove your Shellac?? If it's not the buffing that damages your clients nails maybe the removal is harsher than shellac requires? Just troubleshooting, don't think I'm accusing you xx

 

[cheekychick]

I converted to gelish a couple of months ago and haven't looked back! I absolutely love it and so do my clients.

You don't need to buff the nail prior to application I personally don't. You are taught to but even if you do its not like you sand layers of the nail down as some people make out 😒
Xx

 

[_hannahbeth]

I think I'm just going to get a few Gelish shades and try them and see which I prefer, I might like them both and just use them both, I love the colour range of Gelish x

 

[Classynailz]

I'm a Shellac girl but did try Gelish about a year ago. Like you I liked the colour range so I purchased a few to start with. First of all, I couldn't be bothered with all the extra buffing, PH bond layer, dry brushing etc, then when it came to removal I found it a good bit harder to remove than I was used to with Shellac. I'm not saying it was overly hard to remove but it was certainly harder than Shellac. I used a couple of clients as Guinea Pigs (free of charge) and used Shellac on one hand and Gelish on the other (did French on both hands so not overly noticeable) and Shellac won on all counts. Gelish took longer to apply but I expected that due to additional steps. Both lasted well (just short of 3 weeks) The Shellac looked better up against the Gelish. Shellac removed easier and quicker than Gelish, however the real difference was the condition of natural nail after removal. The Gelish hand was a lot more dehydrated looking. Also in the end both clients said they wouldn't consider changing to Gelish.

So all in all I'm thinking your clients that nails are looking weak etc after Shellac would defo not be any better with Gelish, in fact I would say they'd get worse. My best advice for those clients would be for you to invest (if you don't already have it) in Brisa Lite Smoothing Gel. It's amazing for those clients with weaker nails or nails that are prone to splitting. It gives the Shellac that extra support for clients that need it. I never did buy anymore Gelish and since then CND have brought out a lot more colours that can more than compete with Gelish IMO. HTH 😃