Beautiful, well-groomed nails give a woman charm and attractiveness. It’s completely unpleasant to look at short, chewed nails with peeling varnish.
Therefore, a woman who loves herself does not allow her nails to be unkempt. Now, even if nature has not endowed you with good, strong nails, you can resort to cosmetic procedures for nail extensions.
With its help, you can give your nails any shape and length. But lately, coating nails with shellac has become more and more popular.
Shellac is a resin obtained from tropical plants, widely used in the production of plastics and varnish. In cosmetology, shellac is a special coating for nails that combines varnish and gel at the same time. That is, shellac is a varnish with the properties of a gel.
Shellac is used to cover only natural nails. It looks like a good professional polish on your nails. But at the same time it has the properties of a gel . The coating does not fade, does not fade, does not lose shine, or cracks.
Extensions negatively affect the structure of the nail, damaging them and thinning them. Shellac, in turn, allows the nail to grow freely , while saving it from delamination and cracks. Long extended nails are quite inconvenient.
How many pairs of tights has each woman torn with artificial nails? In addition to all of the above, long nails today are vulgar and unnatural. Therefore, you can safely make a choice in favor of shellac rather than acrylic extensions.
The coating has a lot of positive qualities. Gel polish has remarkable properties - it lasts a long time on the nails compared to a regular manicure, and has a beautiful glossy shine that lasts a long time.
Shellac is very easy to remove from nails and it does not take much time. Shellac, like all coatings, also has its disadvantages.
Pros of shellac
- can be used on any length of nails . And due to the fact that the coating strengthens the nail, it begins to grow faster.
- lasts about 2-3 weeks, while no chips or scratches form on the surface. The coating is smooth, shiny and uniform. Household chemicals do not affect the wear time of the coating.
- It can be easily and quickly removed even without visiting a salon. You just need to buy a special liquid.
- does no harm . No formaldehyde is used in its production. Therefore, shellac can be used by pregnant women and those who are susceptible to allergies.
- large palette of colors . There are about 250 shades of gel polishes.
A little about the product
This is a combination of gel in liquid form and professional varnish. Shellac is odorless and contains no harmful ingredients. The product is perfect for those who adore a bright, glossy manicure, which is not only a worthy decoration for their fingers, but also strengthens and protects their nails.
It is dried in an ultraviolet lamp. This happens quite quickly, so girls don’t have to worry about scratches or sagging marks appearing on under-dried nails.
What do you need for a shellac manicure?
First of all, you will definitely need a special UV lamp , which is used for gel nail extensions. It is not at all necessary that the lamp be of the same brand as the rest of the necessary liquids and gel polishes.
It is better when the lamp power is 36 watts. Then the coating will dry quickly.
You will also need a degreaser and liquid to remove the sticky layer. Instead, you can use nail polish remover with acetone or alcohol.
The base and top coating cannot be replaced with anything, since the quality of the manicure will partially depend on these coatings. And the most important component of a manicure is shellac coating in the color you like. They exist from different companies and manufacturers.
It's up to you to decide which coating to choose. But it’s better to read reviews about each gel polish before you start working with it.
To remove shellac you will need a special liquid and sponges . Instead of a special liquid, you can use acetone solvent. And instead of special sponges, you can take simple cotton swabs and wrap them on top with foil.
The application procedure requires care, otherwise you can ruin not only the entire manicure, but also the nail plate.
Main advantages
The coating is popular among lovers of complete nail care due to a number of properties:
- Easy to apply, almost like regular varnish;
- You can wear it freely for about a month;
- The delightful glossy shine remains for the entire period of wear;
- It is much easier to remove than gel, even at home;
- Removal is carried out with a nail file or liquid;
- Treats nails more carefully than extension gel;
- Strengthens weak plates;
- Together with it, you can use medicinal compounds if necessary;
- Huge variety of brands and color palettes.
This type of coating is quite expensive, especially in Moscow stores. On the other hand, the quality of the product justifies the price.
How to apply shellac correctly?
- The first step is to prepare the nail and cuticle, shape the nail plate , process and trim the cuticle.
- Next, the nail is polished either with a special grinder or with a special file. Those villi that rise above the surface of the nail and give the nail adhesion to the gel polish. Therefore, how long the coating on the nails will last depends on proper sanding.
- After sanding, be sure to disinfect and degrease the nail. This is necessary for an even coating of the nail.
- Base layer. It is necessary to strengthen the nail bed and prevent the harmful effects of using shellac. When applying the base, you need to paint well and seal the free edge of the nail with it. The base layer should be thin and applied once. Dry the base layer in a lamp for 30 seconds.
- A layer of gel that needs to be dried in a lamp.
- Second layer of gel polish. Also audible in a lamp. The second layer can be used to seal the tips of the nail, applying the coating along the very edge.
- Top coat applied in one layer and cured in a lamp.
- After applying all layers to the nails, you need to remove the polish around the nail.
- And the final stage. To soften the cuticle, which dries too much under the lamp, you need to apply oil to it .
You can remove shellac either in a salon or on your own. To do this at home yourself, you need to have a special liquid. To do this, you can use regular nail polish remover with acetone, cotton swabs and foil.
Apply liquid generously to a cotton pad cut in half. Wrap the disc around your nail and finger and place foil on top. Leave for 15 minutes to act. After the cotton swabs with solvent are removed from the fingers, there will still be gel polish on the nails, but it will soften well.
This soft gel can be removed with an orange or plastic stick. Afterwards the surface is polished with a polisher.
Tools and materials
Regardless of whether a manicure is being done on short or long nails, the specialist should have:
- UV lamp;
- nail file, orange sticks;
- shellac;
- base;
- lint-free wipes;
- degreaser with antibacterial effect;
- cuticle softening oil.
The result is largely influenced by the quality of the purchased goods. Therefore, buy proven products that have many positive reviews from customers.
How to care for your nails after shellac?
Although shellac, compared to extensions, is a fairly harmless product, if used incorrectly, nails can begin to break and peel. To prevent this from happening, it is better to remove shellac using special means and non-metallic sticks.
It doesn't take much effort to restore your nails.
To do this, you can do salt and oil baths, masks with lemon, iodine net . It is important to do this regularly, not once a month.
To do this, take a teaspoon of salt per glass of water. Soak your nails in water for 15 minutes. You can add vegetable and essential oils and lemon juice to such baths. After the bath, lubricate your hands well with nourishing cream. After this, you can massage using vegetable oil, which will nourish the nail well.
If the nail needs to be put in order urgently and there is not a lot of time, you can make an iodine grid. At night you need to apply a small amount of iodine to your nails. By morning, the iodine will be absorbed and will not leave yellow spots on the nails.
Removing the coating
For competent and gentle nail polish removal, you can purchase products such as:
- special solvent;
- cuticle oil;
- orange stick;
- foil and sponge
We soak the sponge with removing liquid and apply it to the nail. Wrap in foil to secure. After 10 minutes, when the product has processed all layers of shellac, remove the remaining layers.
Manicure ideas
You can create different types of manicure using shellac.
To make your manicure beautiful, you need to choose colors that will harmonize with each other. You should not choose glossy and matte varnishes at the same time.
It is better to take coatings of the same texture. It is better to draw a smile by hand without using stencils, because they can remove the previous layer. Each applied layer must be dried thoroughly.
You can make designs on your nails, glue rhinestones, and stickers. Ombre manicures and moonlight manicures have become especially popular lately.
Ombre manicure is a smooth transition of colors along the nail plate. Moon manicure is something similar to a French manicure, but the smile is located at the base of the nail.
Stylists' recommendations for choosing
The professional experience of specialists helps women find exceptionally high-quality products. Let's look at a few recommended brands.
Shellac from CND
Most masters prefer this brand, considering it the best. The product is thick enough that just one coat is enough to cover. And the tones are rich and do not leave streaks or stains.
Good durability ensures no damage. The volume of one bottle is 7.3 ml. This is enough for about 15 or even 20 procedures. But there are also disadvantages. Among them is a small range and a high price - from 1000 to 1500 rubles.
In'Garden So naturally
The product is in many ways similar to the previous version with the only difference: it does not thicken so quickly.
The composition contains natural ingredients that do not harm the nail. However, long-term wearing is not recommended, since strong fixation for a long time can make the nail plate not as attractive as before. For example, some clients complained about the appearance of yellowness.
Color Couture by Entity One
The development of this variety took several years, which contributed to the thought out of many details. The varnish is quite easy to use, it can self-level on the nail, which allows you to hide the unevenness of the plate.
We also note the convenient design of the brush, making the process a pleasure. If the owner is careful, the product will last up to 3 weeks. The palette includes more than 100 shades: cold and warm colors, mother of pearl.
Reviews
“I really liked it. I went to the salon once and went for 2.5 weeks without thinking about my nails. It actually lasts a long time, has a rich, rich color, and shines very beautifully. It’s more convenient than just painting your nails with polish.” - Alice.
"Beautiful colors. Nothing else impressed me, to be honest. Lasted about two weeks. A regular manicure using a good varnish and a sealer can achieve the same effect, but it will cost less. I won't do it again." - Diana.
Photo gallery
In this article we tried to tell everything about shellac. In conclusion, here are a few photos of a beautiful manicure for inspiration.
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