Torn between brands, help please

[Charlie D]

Evening all, hope everyone is well. I've been on the fence about which brands to go with once Im all set to go, and now I'm thinking of doing a 180 and going completely with CND.

My Auntie who is in to her nails in a big way asked me why I wasn't going to be using Shellac for gel, I was telling her about ilac and she gave me a bit of a side on glance and just said that she's very wary about having other gels as she had a bad experience. She says she wont have anything but Shellac and she's not the only one. She's in the WI and slimming world and all the ladies she knows all prefer Shellac. She's the one who actually got the older ladies at the WI in to having Shellac lol.

So I'm now thinking that even though it's more money, it is probably going to be worth the investment. I was already going to use their mani/pedi products as they seem to be a nice luxury option. So I guess my question is, do you think it's worth the extra investment? CND is such a well known brand, in fact my Auntie and "her ladies" travel to a different town to get Shellac despite the fact there's cheap nail bars in our town. I guess I'm kind of convincing myself as I'm typing

 

[packerfan]

I think like your Aunt I love Cnd products you will not go wrong investing in their products plus A LOT EASIER TO REMOVE!

 

[Charlie D]

I think like your Aunt I love Cnd products you will not go wrong investing in their products plus A LOT EASIER TO REMOVE!

Yes I think they are a good brand, plus they look like their education is good too and only 30 mins away from me which is convenient x

 

[JayM]

I think if they are your potential clients you have answered your question. Personally the only experiences I have had with shellac wasn't great. They were off my nails within a week. In all fairness it could have been the technicians prep and not the product but it put me off a bit. Was wondering if it's because my nails are oily! X

 

[CFBS]

If like me you are a small salon the famous shellac name really helps the bookings come in.
Having had to do removals of other brands with new clients it has confirmed my decision that cnd is the way to go

 

[pure]

When investing in a brand such as CND you may find the initial outlay is more, but if you work out the true cost PER SERVICE the difference usually just comes down to pennies. If you price your services right then having the CND brand behind you can be a real boost for your business and give you a nice little profit

 

[Charlie D]

I think if they are your potential clients you have answered your question. Personally the only experiences I have had with shellac wasn't great. They were off my nails within a week. In all fairness it could have been the technicians prep and not the product but it put me off a bit. Was wondering if it's because my nails are oily! X

Yes I think it's important to get the right education for a particular system, I was pleased to see the price of the conversion course was allot let than I expected for Shellac x

 

[Charlie D]

If like me you are a small salon the famous shellac name really helps the bookings come in.
Having had to do removals of other brands with new clients it has confirmed my decision that cnd is the way to go

Yes that's exactly the point that has come to light, people know Shellac and trust that its good x

 

[Charlie D]

When investing in a brand such as CND you may find the initial outlay is more, but if you work out the true cost PER SERVICE the difference usually just comes down to pennies. If you price your services right then having the CND brand behind you can be a real boost for your business and give you a nice little profit

Yes, amd I think thats the point. My Auntie was saying, there's already cheap nail bars around but there's not really allot of people who are offering more luxury treatments and proper Shellac, that's why they go out of town to get it. That's going to be my target market of offering good quality services and luxury spa style treatments, nit just in and out with little conversation lol x

 

[NancySyd]

There are a number of excellent brands out there - yes, even better than CND Shellac. However, with a client pool like this, I would not venture beyond a well-known established brand. The big three are still CND, OPI and Gelish and my choice would be OPI which can equal CND in the quality of training and support as well as product range. But, if your client base is already sold on CND Shellac, and you are comfortable with the product, don't fight it. Go with CND. You can add other lines later once you have established your business.

 

[packerfan]

I had a client that got opi on.her nails it took ME FOREVER TO REMOVE so glad I do shellac! !!

 

[Cindy2021]

I found it really difficult to decide which brand to go for and another nail tech told me that I should also use shellac as that's what she always gets asked for and uses. I really stressed myself trying to decide.
I can honestly say I've never been asked for shellac. I advertise gel polish and all of my clients to date have been happy with that.
Good luck with whatever you decide to use x

 

[Charlie D]

Thank you ☺ I guess everyone is different, but it's difficult with gel polish as you can't just try them out by buying one of each as you need the lamps for each too. One of the reasons I was lookomg at Ink London was they were a Uk company and no nasties in them. They've also got strict rules about only supplying professionals and people doing accredited courses (they asked for details of my course before I could open an account) which I liked and I'd seen good reviews for their ilac and acrylic. The only thing that put me off is that they don't have a normal polish line, manicure products or education. I'm sure they are a great company, but it's difficult as someone just starting out to have to market myself and a new company/product that is not very well known. Where as I suppose CND sells itself. I was a bit shocked when I saw the burn CND video though... Although I expect there's more to the story.

 

[nailpod]

I suggest you go into salons and have a mani or pedi with each product you are interested in sticking. This is what I did with the top three brands I was choosing from.

 

[Charlie D]

Yes thats a good idea ☺ I've had Shellac before and Gelish, we use Artistic on my course which is ok but I prefer Shellac. I just keep thinking about the ilac and i haven't found anywhere round here that does it.

 

[Cindy2021]

Thank you [emoji5] I guess everyone is different, but it's difficult with gel polish as you can't just try them out by buying one of each as you need the lamps for each too. One of the reasons I was lookomg at Ink London was they were a Uk company and no nasties in them. They've also got strict rules about only supplying professionals and people doing accredited courses (they asked for details of my course before I could open an account) which I liked and I'd seen good reviews for their ilac and acrylic. The only thing that put me off is that they don't have a normal polish line, manicure products or education. I'm sure they are a great company, but it's difficult as someone just starting out to have to market myself and a new company/product that is not very well known. Where as I suppose CND sells itself. I was a bit shocked when I saw the burn CND video though... Although I expect there's more to the story.

I'm trained in luxury manicure and pedicure and have yet to be asked for either. My clients all want gel polish or L&P. I don't use normal polish at all or the other 'natural' products etc that I bought.

 

[KattyB]

I always used CND Shellac. Never had any problems whatso ever. I have recently just needed to place another large order to include the new LED lamp and was looking at the cost of my basket and thinking wow this is expensive.

I too had been tempted by the Ink London range, at that cost who wouldn't!!?? It would have saved me a 1/3 at least. I read every review, their website, really did my research. Maybe I could run both brands together and see which clients prefer? I asked my clients and friends and family if they knew the difference between gel and shellac? Do they choose the brand or just go where everyone else goes?

In the end I went with CND shellac again. The reasons were:

• I like working with the product
• I was sceptical about the removal of Ink London
• I don't like the idea that Ink London don't carry a nail varnish range
• Shellac is a well known brand and although this did not seem to matter to my clients it matters to me!! I trust the product. I think clients perhaps only start to pay attention to brands if they have a bad experience.

I hope this helps - I share your pain with the dilemma.

 

[helencowleard]

I use both CND Shellac & InkLondon iLac. I'm mobile and carry both systems and offer the clients both 90% of my clients are now mostly inkLondon iLac because they prefer the colour choices I have and the removal is unbelievably easy even compared to CND Shellac! I will not stop using CND as there is a market for it and it means I can cater for everyone. Rarely does one system work for everyone. I have to say since using inkLondon iLac and xLac I absolutely love it and the price is outstanding. I still charge the same as CND Shellac per service so my profits are up!! It's produced in the EU which means strict regulations and it's a British company. Both systems last as well as each other. There are no regular polishes from inkLondon but there is xLac a one step gel polish which means built in top and base coat. You cure 2 coats in led or UV Lamp and that's it. Removal is 3 mins. Lasts upto 10 days. No need for regular polish!!! Win win ☺

 

[tinkerbell80]

I think it depends a lot on if you are starting with a client base from scratch or if you already have decent list of clients to start with. I have found that many people ask for shellac and find me on google as they type in shellac, however the brands coming through at the moment do sound really tempting when you hear such good reviews. I am tempted to try Ink London just because I'm getting drawn into all the good reviews I keep seeing, but then I think 6 months ago everyone was raving about Gel II.

 

[jamradplayer93]

I really don't like shellac but i use it. There comes a point where you have to think of the name if you want to make the most money. In my mind shellac is complete rubbish compared to a product like gelish. The shine is so much better with gelish. But its what my clients want so I use it. And at the end of the day, clients pay my bills. I suppose the way i get over it is that I love cnd vinyl and have more appointments with that than any gel.

There is always a way of getting around it. I stock two sets of normal nail varnish, Cnd vinylux and opi and then two sets of gel, gelish and shellac. I know it sounds a lot but i never went out brought all of it in one go. I expanded my range as I got more clients. I also have a couple of different brands that I stock for certain clients. Jessica generation being one and Essie being another. Go with what you are confident with first then start adding. Get your self set on one application first then try others. Shellac is quite a sticky texture compared to a product like gelish where it is a very oily like polish. Get PRO in one first would be my advice.