CND Shellac vs Gel Polish
CND (Creative Nail Design) company created Shellac. Shellac is half regular polish, half gel, and is typically applied like so: base coat, two colour coats, and a top coat. Each layer is cured, in a specific UV light. Shellac nail polish is thinner than gel.
Gel Polish, is a semi-permanent gel, and is thicker than Shellac. Shellac usually wears for 14+ days, gel polish wears for about 3 weeks. Gel has a weakness - hot water, if your hands are always in hot water, it can weaken the polish, leading to chipping and your gel might not make it to 3 weeks. To keep your gel polish manicure looking flawless, avoid long soaks in the tub, steamy showers, and when washing dishes in hot water, wear rubber gloves.
At Onyx, we highly recommend letting professionals remove your shellac or gel polish, unless you have the patience and right products to do a DIY.
Shellac removal doesn’t require us to break the top coat seal, before soaking off. We saturate the cotton pad of the Shellac brand remover wrap with Offly Fast, a nourishing remover. It needs to sit for 5-8 minutes, to do its job, then gently slide away any remaining polish with an orangewood stick.
When removing gel polish, you have to start by filing the top layer off, and then soak your nail with acetone, cotton and foil. Acetone is very drying, so try not to let the saturated cotton pad sit directly on your skin.
Just remember that Shellac is polish-gel hybrid, making it easier to remove and kinder to your nails, than gel polish. There’s no need to buff the nail plate, to “break” the bond.
CND SHELLAC
We sell Offly Fast Kits, that have 20 cotton & foil wraps, 59mL CND Offly Fast Moisturizing Remover, 37mL CND Solar Oil, 1 Manicure Orangewood stick - all the tools you need from start to finish, for an at home removal, that’s $20 a box.
The Official CND Shellac Service, is an in-salon treatment only.
There has been a lot of debate as to whether Shellac and gel polish manicures could be linked to cancerous cells, because we have to use UV lights to cure the polishes. Like with anything that has to do with UV, caution is always key, so apply an SPF 30+ sunscreen, at least 20 minutes beforehand. Note, we use the CND Shellac UV lamps for anything that requires curing. This lamp has specific timed settings and spotlight technology so it targets your nails and doesn’t stay on longer than needed.
Another important question that many clients ask us, and applies to both gel and shellac, is whether or not your nail beds can “breathe”, and if having the layered polishes hinder this. Just like your hair, your nails are already dead.
However, your cuticles and nail bed are very much alive, and caring for them is very important. Make sure you never try to rip the polish, instead get booked in for a professional removal, or follow the steps for proper DIY removal, like with an Offly Fast Kit. Be sure to condition and moisturize your cuticles and nail bed regularly with CND Solar Oil. A great feature of SolarOil, is that it’s designed to penetrate through Shellac products and will keep our nail bed moisturized, and your cuticles at bay.
“I believe in the three C's of great nail care. One. CARE: Commit to a regular schedule of manicures to keep cuticles at bay. Two. CONDITION: Keep nails conditioned daily using CND Solaroil™ Three. COAT: Always keep nails coated to protect them from the elements!”
JAN