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Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:43 pm  |
| I used to have one many years ago for gel nails and loved it. My sister owned a hair salon and picked it up for me at a supply store. It made it very easy to do repairs on my nails myself. |
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No longer answering PM's due to numerous weird messages. |
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:03 am |
i have one and do my own shellac nails. i bought the cheapest uv light i could find on ebay and it works great. the only problem is getting the technique right doing it yourself... took me about 10 attempts before it was looking decent.
hth |
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:22 am |
| What are the issues with getting it right? |
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:04 am |
| karenlee wrote: |
| What are the issues with getting it right? |
Its hard to say...I thought I was pretty good at applying nail polish...and the shellac goes on easily...but you need to get a really nice clear/clean line around the cuticle and also take care to coat the nail tip/edge, otherwise it will peel quickly. It seems important to be neither heavy handed or light handed with your coats...they need to be just right. It is worth the effort though..I just did mine tonight and they look fab.
hth |
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:49 am |
| Thanks Rebecca. How about removal, is it easy? My fear is that the removal process (even with the professionals) is quite damaging to the nail. |
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Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:43 pm |
I use Shellac too for DIY gel nails at home. I find it just as easy as using regular nail polish, if not easier. After curing the base coat, I find the colour goes on really smoothly - much more smoothly than regular nail polish - so I’m able to get cleaner lines.
A bit of caution with the UV light unit. I initially bought the cheapest UV light I could find on ebay, after a year, it doesn’t work properly. I’ve learned that the UV light bulbs from cheap units have a short life. When I first got the light a year ago, I could cure the Shellac base coat in 10 seconds, now I need to cure it for 2 minutes and more.
I got fed up so I bought the CND official UV lamp for Shellac. I haven’t used it yet but I’ve heard really good things about it.
The removal is pretty easy, I used to peel the gel off, but it would damage my nail. Now I soak a cotton pad with regular nail polish remover and apply it on the gel, after maybe a minute, the gel would melt a bit which makes it easier to peel off without much damage to my nails. |
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Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:44 am |
| karenlee wrote: |
| Thanks Rebecca. How about removal, is it easy? My fear is that the removal process (even with the professionals) is quite damaging to the nail. |
sadly I find mine mostly peel off after about 5 days...but certainly it is no problem to remove with acetone.
Kaloee...do you have any issues with peeling? I just had one nail peel off completely in the shower after only 24 hours? I think I am doing everything right...??? Wondering about curing longer...do you think it would make a difference?
cheers |
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Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:17 am |
| The first time I had it done (professionally), my nails were a mess. It lasted about 4 weeks, until the polish grew out quite far, so it was quite a good job. But, after removal, I had to leave my nails bare for about 2 months to grow the damage out. |
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Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:53 pm |
| karenlee wrote: |
| The first time I had it done (professionally), my nails were a mess. It lasted about 4 weeks, until the polish grew out quite far, so it was quite a good job. But, after removal, I had to leave my nails bare for about 2 months to grow the damage out. |
Are you referring to shellac or acrylic/gel nails? With shellac there should be no damage to the nail bed..it goes on just like nail polish. With both acrylic and gel the nail bed is filed down...and needs to grow out...The only way shellac should damage your nails is if it peels off and brings some of the nail surface with it. I have the opposite problem, the shellac doesn;t seem to adhere enough the the nail. |
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Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:48 pm |
| Rebecca1 wrote: |
| karenlee wrote: |
| Thanks Rebecca. How about removal, is it easy? My fear is that the removal process (even with the professionals) is quite damaging to the nail. |
sadly I find mine mostly peel off after about 5 days...but certainly it is no problem to remove with acetone.
Kaloee...do you have any issues with peeling? I just had one nail peel off completely in the shower after only 24 hours? I think I am doing everything right...??? Wondering about curing longer...do you think it would make a difference?
cheers |
It only lasts 5 days?/
Really?
My regular nail polish lasts at least 8+ days and grows out or else I would not change it.
I've had strangers ask if it was gel nails as my topcoat is very shiny.
I use the Mavala Colorfix topcoat,all the others I have here (sally hansen,Essie) are not as long lasting and do not have that long lasting wet look shine.
The only reason I have other top coats is Mavala is not sold near me and I try others when I run out until I can get someone to pick up Mavala or I travel somewhere that sells it. |
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