Review Gelish Nail "Polish" Treatment
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free skin care · Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:47 pm

Hi RS

The place you went for your manicure, must not have carried many colours. Gelish actually has 48 colours and many places are advertising a special if salons pre-order the new 2011 colours. They are more expensive than regular nail polish, so many of the salons are slow to get all the colours available. The other thing I have found a little frustrating is that because the system is so new, there are a number of professionals out there who are stating things like "they don't carry that many colours" ... when in reality it is, 'we' don't carry the colour. I had one nail tech tell me about the cost of the system and the limited colours. She inflated the cost of the LED light by $400 - telling me it was over $700!!! When I told her that that went against what the research I had done, she quickly changed her tune.

What I ended up doing was ordering some colours that I really liked from the U.S. It is a silly thing to do, but I knew that I would be continuing to use the Gelish system and wanted to know that I could get the colour I wanted. I do the same thing when I go for a pedicure - I always bring my nail polish with me. Even though the Gelish isn't something you can apply at home - it won't dry with curing it under a UV or LED light, I know that I will have the colour I want when I go. I just bring my Gelish with me. They've gotten used to me at my salon !!! Laughing

If you were going to go to the same place regularly, you could ask them to order a specific colour for you, or you can order it yourself and bring it in. There are a few places I found that didn't ask you to provide a licence # for ordering. I ordered from here, but I don't know that I'll do it again - UPS charged a stupid amount of money.

http://www.cosmeticslk.com/gelishsoak-offgelsystem.aspx.

Unfortunately most of them seem to only ship to Canada by UPS. UPS is outrageously expensive for internationaly shipping. Even though the shipping cost they quote you is approximately $16, they charged me an extra $44 when it arrived. They charged me brokerage fees. I'll never order from anyone who only ships UPS from the U.S. again. I had never used UPS before and was not happy when my colours arrived. Good news is that I probably won't have to. My salon is carrying a lot of colours right now. they only ordered a few in when they first got the Harmony Gelish line in, because they wanted to see what the response would be. They are carrying more and more colours now.

This blog has a lot of the colours on the thread. The thread is huge, but many of the posters have attached pictures wearing the colours; it gives you a really good idea about how the colour actually looks. I chose my colours by looking here. I found a few red examples:
http://forum.purseblog.com/the-beauty-bar/gelish-soak-off-gel-polish-606728-74.html

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-beauty-bar/gelish-soak-off-gel-polish-606728-68.html

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-beauty-bar/gelish-soak-off-gel-polish-606728-67.html

The other option I've heard of people doing is that they get a lighter colour of Gelish done - it will allow you to last the full 3 weeks without having to go for a re-apply, because the new growth isn't as obvious. when they want a darker colour for a change, they just paint over the Gelish with regular nail polish. When you remove the nail polish, you just have to make sure you use an acetone free nail polish remover. As long as it is acetone free, you won't damage the Gelish. When you remove the nail polish, your Gelish colour will still be there.

free skin care · Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:52 pm

I've always used the darker Gelish colours. Bella's Vampire is my favourite colour, but I also like Night Reflections.

Recently, I've been put off of Gelish. I strongly suspect it is due to the nail tech and not the product. She is a sweetheart and I always enjoying seeing her, but the last 3 applications haven't lasted on me. I'm lucky if I get 3 days before it either chips or peels. I think it is because she is applying the product too thickly, but even though she has tried to correct it, it is continuing to happen. While she always says to come back if there is any problem and they will correct it (free of charge), she is so busy that there are NEVER any openings. There are only 2 nail techs at the spa I was going to and they are always booked.

I tried Shellac this week and ... so far ... like it better than Gelish. It is much thinner - more like regular nail polish, but my nails still feel protected. They don't have the same number of colours, but the colours they do have are very similar to the OPI colours. The colour Fedora is very similar to OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and Red Baroness is very similar to I'm not really a waitress. They are coming out with more colours at the beginning of March. Here is the link to the product:
http://www.cnd.com/Products/Color/shellac-colors.aspx

The other thing I like about the Shellac is the removal strips. When my salon removes the Gelish, she soaks cotton balls in acetone and then wraps my fingers in foil. I still end up with acetone all over my finger. When I got the Shellac application, they used the removal strips from this company to remove the Gelish. The Gelish is a lot more difficult to remove. The strips keep the acetone contained in the strip and on the nail. My hands didn't smell like acetone after I left. When I get a removal of the Gelish, my hands smell all day.

I have to see how the Shellac stands the test of time; I am on day 4 and it looks perfect. Shellac appears to be more popular in this area; there are a number of salons who do it. Most of them don't charge you for a removal if you are having a colour application. If your's does, it is definitely worth asking about it. Most of the ones I spoke to were very willing to skip the removal charge if you were going to have regular applications. At this point, I'm certainly leaning towards Shellac, mainly because the spa I went to has a lot of staff and very convenient hours; I won't have an issue getting in to get my nail repaired if it does chip.

With Shellac, you get a fresh application each time. With Gelish, they will file down the product and reapply the same colour over it. With Shellac, you always have the Shellac removed and a new application put over it. The nail tech who did my nails showed me how to conceal a chip if I wasn't able to get to the salon. She had a small chip in her's; she used the OPI nail polish and touched it up. It matched the colour very well. With Gelish, the nail polish was so much thinner, that any touch up with a similar colour didn't provide enough product. There was a noticeable ridge where the chip was. I also got a noticeable ridge after the first week where the new growth was. The ridge often caught on my hair. To help alleviate it, I'd gently buff the ridge and then apply a top coat. It helped some, but it was still there.

Price wise, Shellac and Gelish are pretty similar. They charged me $35 for a refill of Gelish (same colour) and $55 for a new colour application. For Shellac it is $45 each time. Both charge $20 for a removal if you're not getting a new application. Some places charge $35 for Shellac, but charge the $10 removal fee.

Another bonus about Shellac worth mentioning is that it is "Three Free". It doesn't contain Formaldehyde, Toluene or DBP (Dibutyl Phthalate).

free skin care · Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:18 am

Cost - really depends on the place. Most of the ones I found charge between $10 and $15 more for a Shellac treatment. It really depends on the place. Also, if your someone who likes to soak their hands, be exfoliated, etc etc, you have to ask that ahead of time. Many places charge more for that application, but also don't do the extras when they do the application. Initially, I thought it was because your nails had to be dehydrated for the product to adhere to it; however, the last application of Shellac I had, I did have the whole thing (exfoliation, etc etc).

Now for my final review on both ... I'm no longer using either product Sad

I found a really good nail spa / nail tech and went there for another Shellac application. I had been assured by every other place that I went to that I could continue to use Gelish repeatedly without a break. I was told the same thing about Shellac - except from the place I now go to. They told me that they strongy recommend to their clients that do 2 applications of Shellac and then take a break for a couple of weeks. Because you have to soak your fingers in acetone each time you get a new application, it really dries out your nails. This place said that they like their clients to prevent any damage to their nails by taking a break. The other place I had been going to said that as long as I was really diligent about applying the Solar Nail Oil, I could easily go from application to application without a break in between. I was obsessive about applying the oil. My fingernails are so ugly without something on it, that I didnt' want to take a break. I easily put the oil on my nails 10 times or more per day. I also use very good hand creams (i.e. Jurlique) throughout the day. This is the first winter EVER that my hands were not dry at all.

Even with the oil and lotions, my nails were really bad when they removed the Shellac. I had been using Gelish for approximately 9 applications and I did the Shellac for 3 applications. Between the two products, I had been doing it back to back for approximately 4 months. My nails were covered in white spots. My nail tech told me that she suspected I had gotten away with using the product for this long without my entire nail splitting (like right down the nail bed) because I had been so diligent about the applying the oil. She told me that I shouldn't have any application - not even regular nail polish for at least a month, and probably 2mos. OMG - at the risk of sounding vain I had finally (for the first time in my life) not been embarassed a bout my hands. The thought of going back to weark splitting and thereby dirty looking nails (the dirt gets in between the layers of the nails and I can't get them clean) was really upsetting for me. I realize they are only nails, but I didn't want to back to hiding my hands again.

This nail tech told me that anyone who tells you that you can do Shellac repeatedly, without taking a break is lying to you. I am repeating what I've been told, so I'm not looking to create arguements with anyone. I had been told comlpetely conflicting information and can't say which one is telling the truth; however, I can speak from my experience. Even with applying the oil, my nails were really really dry. I suspect that they don't get as dry with Gelish if you don't keep changing the colour. My nail tech said that it isn't the product that dries your nails it is the acetone they use to remove the product. If you were using Gelish and sticking to a colour or a clear (or french) application, I suspect you wouldn't have run into the same issue.

I ended up researching products again and have now gone to artificial nails. Rolling Eyes

I was lucky to find an amazing nail tech. They recommend the Solar brand of nail by CND. I am thrilled with them so far. I got him to cut them short. The nail barely extends past the pad of my fingertip. He said that it depends on how quickly my nails grow, but that most of his clients come every 2.5 wks. Some have really fast growing nails and have to come every 2 wks and some only come every 3. Most people come every 2.5 wks for a fill. You don't have to soak off the tips until your nails have grown out and they need to be re-done. They usually estimate that is every 3 times.

To be fair, Shellac isn't recommended for people with weak nails. I did get some conflicting information on that, but most say that it won't significantly strengthen your nails. I do think that Gelish is better for weaker nails. If you don't want to ever take a break, than I think you are better to go to some form of artificial nail. Just my opinion of course, but I'm sharing it. Smile

My nail tech will file my nails if I want to come in every week. He said that most of his new clients come in really often at the beginning, because they aren't used to the length. As they get used to having longer nails, they can easily go between appointments without filing them down.

Before going to artificial nails, you really have to do your homework and find a good place. I read a lot of hoopla about 'Solar Nails'. Solar nails is a CND product. If you don't see CND or Solar on the label, you aren't getting solar nails. I asked my nail tech about it and he said what some less reputable places do is just put the tip on your nail and then do the coats over it. With solar nails you have a pink powder that is applyed with a liquid on the pink part of your nail and a white powder on the white tip of your nail. It definitely takes a lot of skill because it is done with a paint brush. He dipped the brush in a CND product and then into the Solar white powder and applied it to the white tips. He did the same with the pink powder and applied it to the pink part of my nail. They look great.

With the Solar nails, I can still paint polish on them if I want. The polish tends to adhere better to artificial nails, apparently, so it will normally last longer. When I remove it, I will still have a french manicure with lots of shine. I think it is pretty cool.

Time will tell if I'm officially in love, but it is looking promising right now !!! For all those Gelish and Shellac users out there - good luck and I hope you're able to continue with the product. I do think it is a great option, but unfortunately, it didn't work for me long term.

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