Dreams of Beauty: Shellac.... hard as nails

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Shellac.... hard as nails

Hello ladies!!

Here is the much awaited Shellac blog post. I first heard of Shellac a while ago now as I have been an avid reader of all things nails since forever. I did used to do my own acrylic nails for a while, so was always looking for the latest thing... After 4 years of having acrylic nails every 3 to 4 weeks I decided to go cold turkey and stop having them!

The ladies reading this who have had acrylic nails on for a long time will know the huge amount of willpower it takes to try and hold out without them. Your nails are left weak, short and no matter how many coats of polish or strengthener, in the first few months they are a mess! So now just 6 months on of having no acrylic nails, they are getting into better shape and grow tougher everyday!

So as Shellac is a relatively new system to the UK when I found my local salon provide this system I jumped for joy! I was really excited about getting this done, purely the thought of not having to paint my nails for 2 weeks, no hassle and a beautiful mirror finish... well I was sold!

Shellac is a product designed by nail professional CND, it is a polish said to last up to 14 days unmarked. There are lots of immitation products flying around out there such as gellac and gelish to name only two. I have never tried these products so wish to remain on the fence with comparisons, but Shellac is the original and I have been told... the best.

I went along to my local salon, Beverley Alexandra, I chose my colour, I opted for a beautiful bright red and the treatment began.

Your nails are filed, cuticles pushed back, and base coat applied. Shellac has to be applied in thin layers and dried within the special CND lamp between each coat. The drying process is seconds and then another thin layer of colour is applied. Once the desired finish and colour intensity is reached and dried under the lamp, the top coat is applied. Now you begin to see that beautiful eye catching mirror shine that the Shellac system is becoming increasing famous for! Once dried the nails are wiped over with a CND wipe, which increases the shine and Solar oil is applied.

When having my first set of Shellac done in red, I didn't apply Solar oil everyday and they began to chip within a week! I was gutted as I thought this was some sort of miracle product! I have however, gone back, to see if it was just 'one of those things' and was told it is a must to apply the solar oil everyday, and more in the winter months as the nails are dry and battling harsh conditions.

For the second lot of Shellac I have opted for a gorgeous bright pink colour and I will definitely keep you posted on the longevity of this set with the solar oil!

Here is a little bit of the science behind Shellac....

Shellac is a resin secreted by the Lac bug, pretty gross I know! But this resin has been used for many years as varnish for woods and others, the first recorded usage being 3000 years ago!... Ok enough of the history and science bit... have a peak for yourself....

DAY ONE...