Shellac...Gel-lac...this stuff rocks!

I’ve been wearing acrylic on my nails since I was old enough to pay for them, I believe I was 17 when I started getting them done regularly. Two weeks ago I wanted to give my nail beds a break. In the past, when letting my nails rest, I’ve never gone without the acrylic for more than a few days. With this product I’ve gone 2 weeks! The application is supposed to last for 2 weeks without breaking or chipping. As advertised, I did in fact go 2 weeks without my nails breaking or chipping, I probably could have gone 3 weeks. Instead of getting the acrylic back on, I decided to do another application and go 2 more weeks.

I like this Shellac/Gel-lac product and because I’m excited about it, I’m going to tell you what I found out about it. I promise, I’m not advertising! This info is for your own FYI, in case you want to check it out. My nail tech introduced me to this product called Shellac or Gel-lac (depending on the manufacturer). Since I wasn’t familiar and it was out of my acrylic comfort zone, I Googled it before I took the plunge. The product is supposed to have the durability of gels, but is applied like nail polish with lacquer colors. My nails actually feel pretty strong! You ladies that wear acrylic know what I mean. Once you take off the acrylic, usually your nails are really soft and break very easily. While I was searching the net about this product, I also found that they have pink and white colors available…so I may be able to retain my French manicure look after all! Woohoo!

It’s like a gel with nail polish color and application. Your nail tech will brush on the substance just like nail polish. Your hands sit under a light for about 1 minute between each coat. There is a base coat, two color coats, then a top coat. The light hardens the gel substance. No sitting while your nails dry for 40 minutes...bonus! I’m so used to regular polish, I thought it was crazy when I was done I got up and left…no worrying that I’ll smug a nail. Very cool. I may even try it on my toes!

You have to soak the nails in pure acetone to remove it (just like acrylic), but it only took 10 minutes to soak off, versus 30 minutes or more to soak off acrylic. My nail tech charges me the same price as a acrylic fill in ($25), which I usually get every 2 weeks anyways. Plus I’m actually saving money by not having to get a fresh acrylic overlay every 6-8 weeks, which is almost double the cost of the fill in.

Here is a picture of my second Gel-lac application, which got done yesterday. I'm loving the pewter grey color!