Gelish or Shellac?

[Gill0816]

Hello so I am at the very beginning of training to become a nail tech, very excited but have a few questions about products!

So what is best gelish or shellac? When looking at cnd there does not appear to be a big range of colours so am wondering what other brands are out there? Also can you use a uv lamp with these products? I am asking as want to make sure I am using genuine professional products but whenever I try to find information online I am being bombarded and don't know what is safe and what is not! Are most sites safe that you would have to provide a certificate to use? Also do you have to be trained in certain types of gel or is it just a gel qualification for all? Thanks

 

[Gill0816]

Ahh okay then I will head your advice, I think it because there are other sites such as crystalnails4u.co.uk have colour changing and chrome colours, which are beautiful but I can't seem too find much info on them which makes me a little nervous compared to shellac were there is so much information!

 

[ClaireP]

Ahh okay then I will head your advice, I think it because there are other sites such as crystalnails4u.co.uk have colour changing and chrome colours, which are beautiful but I can't seem too find much info on them which makes me a little nervous compared to shellac were there is so much information!

Also it's worth having a look into Gel II sold by The Creative Beauty Group in the UK, they have colour changing polishes too. You're right not to trust every company out there as many don't have the rights to sell these products and could be counterfeit. The official UK distributers for CND Shellac are Sweet Squared and Ellisons online. Harmony and Sallys are the distributers in the UK for Gelish. I use both CND Shellac (love the application and removal but limited on bright colours), Harmony Gelish (for the bright colours, good application but some colours fade and some require 3 coats, removal is also easy if you buff off the top coat before removing) and I'm looking into Gel ll (claims longer wear, great colour choices and colour changing but I've not tried it myself yet). I would chose a product you want to start with (after lots of research) and train with that brand eg CND for Shellac, Harmony for Gelish and The Creative Beauty Group for Gel ll. You will need a manicure/ pedicure qualification to do the gel polish courses, then you can buy pretty much any gel polish. Each system works differently so always worth investing in the training to get the best out of it for you and your clients. I hope this helps xx

 

[Donna Ewins Beauty]

How about gell ll yhat has colour changing gek x im considering it too x lots of good reviews x

Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[Gill0816]

Ahh I will definitely have too look into those then! Am glad I am not being silly, as I feel if your charging someone then you should be giving them the best. For the gelish as shellac would have to use their own top a PhD base coat for each? Also can you use a cnd lamo for both? Or have to have their separate lamps

 

[ClaireP]

Ahh I will definitely have too look into those then! Am glad I am not being silly, as I feel if your charging someone then you should be giving them the best. For the gelish as shellac would have to use their own top a PhD base coat for each? Also can you use a cnd lamo for both? Or have to have their separate lamps

You're not being silly at all. I use each system fully. I use CND PEP products for both eg Cuticle Away, Scrubfresh, DSperse. I use CND Shellac base coat, Shellac colour coat and top coat cured in my CND UV lamp. Gelish (I don't buff the nail) PEP, CND Scrubfresh, Gelish PH Bond, Gelish base, colour then top coats cured in my CND UV lamp. I hope that helps xx

 

[Gill0816]

Ahh okay, yeah that sounds brilliant! Really helpful. Does gelish take the same amount of time to cure under a uv lamp as it would for shellac? Does gelish leave the sticky residue that shellac does? Also when doing nail art do you use the gelish/shellac and how ,one would you cure it for? I have heard some people use acrylic paint? Sorry for 21 questions haha

 

[ClaireP]

Ahh okay, yeah that sounds brilliant! Really helpful. Does gelish take the same amount of time to cure under a uv lamp as it would for shellac? Does gelish leave the sticky residue that shellac does? Also when doing nail art do you use the gelish/shellac and how ,one would you cure it for? I have heard some people use acrylic paint? Sorry for 21 questions haha

In CND UV Lamp: Gelish base coat 60secs, colour coats 2 mins, top coat 2mins. Yes Gelish has a tacky layer, not as much as CND Shellac so glitter and foils don't 'stick' as well in my opinion but still works just more of a challenge. Nail art, if using Gelish I only use Gelish to do nail art and visa versa with CND Shellac as I don't mix products as your insurance won't cover you. I cure each colour separately if you need to overlap so as to ensure a proper cure. If it's say dots around the nail (not overlapping) I apply ontop of the cured colour coats, then cure finally topcoat. You can also use Acrylic paints but make sure it's completely dry before top coating and curing. I can't recommend the training with the brand you chose highly enough though as you learn all these things and more. You can then 'top up' your knowledge on here and watching YouTube tutorials by fellow geeks xx