DIY gel nail colours - shellac, gelish etc

ali-t

Does anyone do these themselves and how do you find it?

I had shellac rockstart nails done today and am loving them but at £25 a shot and it only lasting a couple of weeks it is an expensive habit. I also have used calgel but it is more fiddly to do and I don't think I would get such good results with it.

I have been browsing tonight and could buy all the stuff I need for around £70 which is pretty much what it would cost me to get shellac nails done at the salon over the festive season.

Any one do it themselves that has positive or negative tales to tell? Or even any beauty therapists/nail technicians who have a view?

**Juice**

First thing I'd say is be careful buying on Ebay as there is quite a lot of fake Shellac floating around of late - plus the thing that worries me is the cheap lamps being bought, at best they might not be fit for purpose and not cure your nails properly, at worst they might be unsafe.

I'm a trained beauty therapist, though not working in the industry, and I've been getting Shellac etc put on in a salon near me for a while but I'm going to do this myself in future I think as I have accounts with a few suppliers and can get the proper stuff myself. It is meant to be a professional service, not a DIY one but tbh it's not that different to painting your nails, and if you can do that well you can probably do Shellac with practice.

skypie123_2

Which lamp would you recommend to get Juice?

**Juice**

For Shellac, CND recommend the CND lamp as the only effective way of curing Shellac properly - there'sa difference to it looking cured and actually being cured properly, this can affect how long it lasts. For other types I'd either go with what the gel polish manufacturer recommends or from a beauty supplier - there's some lamps on ebay for about £18 that I get the feeling will be "buy cheap, buy twice" but I've not used these myself so can't judge, they might be fine but don't think I'll be trying them!

Meant to say the UK distributor for Shellac is Sweetsquared and to register and buy Shellac products (including the lamp) from them you need to show manicure/pedicure qualification certificate.

lf846

I use Shellac at home and have done for nearly 6 months now. I bought a cheap lamp from ebay and it does the job fine. The start up costs are high but by the third time you have covered your costs compared to a salon. Also if you get bored of a colour and want to change you are not stuck waiting for an appointment. I agree about buying the real Shellac polish though not the imitation ones. They may cost a few pounds more but are definitely worth the difference. As to ease of use, if you can paint your own nails, you can shellac your own nails.

skypie123_2

Can you give me a step by step guide If846 please?
Like how long do I cure them and how to get them off?

Sazzarella

Not gel nails but you can get the Rio quick dip acrylic nails from Argos for £20 and lasts about 10 goes. Comes with the DVD that shows you what to do. Only comes with plain nails though so I've been buying French tips from eBay

sweetme

skypie123 wrote: »

Can you give me a step by step guide If846 please?
Like how long do I cure them and how to get them off?

There are loads of tutorials on you tube

minnie123

I borrowed a gel nails kit (Rio) off a friend and did my own using french tips - first time I had done anything like it and they looked amazing - only lasted a week until a couple of the tips fell off though. My sister is a beauty therapist and she was shocked when I showed her and told her I had done them myself she admitted she thought they would look rubbish. I know you can buy the better quality lamps and gel off ebay which I was considering. I am also interested in the the diff types eg, shellac, gel etc... If I manage to grow my nails to a decent length does anyone know which of the systems/products will keep my nails stronger whilst wearing. I don't really enjoy the feel of false nails. x

lf846

Skypie123 there are lots of sites that give instructions and step by step. Also youtube has lots of demos on techniques and advice. But usually base coat requires 20-30 seconds curing, colour coat 2 mins curing, top coat 2 mins curing. After this they are completely dry and hard wearing.
To remove you need to soak in acetone for approx 8-10 minutes. They do have foils but it is easy to create your own (again check youtube) or I use a tiny bowl to soak my finger tips.
My nails definitely feel much stronger when they have the Shellac on and they break far less (they are usually very weak and prone to splitting).

**Juice**

if you google you can find a Shellac instruvtion booklet, or there's a recent blog post at Miss Lucy Loves blog showing how she does it, I saw it over the weekend.