OPI gel polish

[GORDONCHICK]

I've heard a lot about Shellack and Axiom but not much about OPI gel. Is this a polish the home user can use without investing in some kind of curing lamp? How is the polish removed?

[violetsmile]

I've heard a lot about Shellack and Axiom but not much about OPI gel. Is this a polish the home user can use without investing in some kind of curing lamp? How is the polish removed?

 

It uses an LED cure, which of course retail over $200. The cure time seems to be much shorter than Shellac or UV for Axxium (I think that uses UV not LED...I could be wrong). The polish is removed with a thorough acetone soak, which can be done at home with polsih remover soaked pads, wrapped in foil for several minutes. I've known people who have worn it with 3+ weeks (I never could because of growth), but what I really like is that if you're bored with the color, you can paint over it temporarily, and remove that with non-acetone polish remover without hurting the Gel Color. It does lose its shine a little fast for me, but I think adding a new top coat (regular polish) will help with that.

 

I'm just regurgitating research here--I'm planning to get my first Gel Color mani before my cruise in a month!

[LEXIpoo]

I love my gel manicures! (where they use a gel powder instead of acrylic and set your hands under UV lights) they make my nails look so much better and lasts longer.

 

I've used the gel polish once though..I wasn't fond of it because it started to chip a bit (and it was hard to get the whole thing off so that I could change the polish :eek: ) so yeah, I probably won't go that route again.

[GORDONCHICK]

I have a shellack manicure set for Saturday, but I bought it for $15 on Urbandealite. The salon told me the shellack mani takes 45 minutes, so I don't think that's too long. But I'm not a huge fan of having to go get a mani. Now a pedi - that's another story! All for those! I'm rough on my nails and cannot keep polish on so I stopped doing it (and I was doing the whole sticky base coat and the seche vite top coat w/OPI polish).

 

I'm not putting gel nails on top of my nails - they are strong and thick enough on their own and I don't want to damage the nail bed. I just thought the gel polish might be a better alternative to the shellack or axiom manis but it doesn't sound like it.

[kbmeow]

the gel nail with powder are not the same as the polish. the shellac , gel and such are all more or less the same. They work the same was and they take some soaking to get off. You need the lamp etc to do them at home

[Seraphine]

the gel nail with powder are not the same as the polish. the shellac , gel and such are all more or less the same. They work the same was and they take some soaking to get off. You need the lamp etc to do them at home

 

 

Gel nails do not involve powder, no matter what your nail tech tells you. Acrylic nails are made with liquid&powder, and gel nails are made of a viscous gel (sometimes clear, sometimes coloured).

 

Gel and acrylic have some similarites, but they are completely different to Shellac and other gel polishes. Gel polishes are very thin, and can't be used to lengthen nails - if you want length, you have to have gel or acrylic done underneath first. Gel polishes are DIFFERENT than coloured gel - the latter is much more built up and can be very heavy and difficult to remove, but gel polishes shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to remove when done properly.

 

OPI's gel polish is quite new to the market, and while I haven't tried it yet, I imagine that it will be fairly good if it's like most of their other products. It's really best to speak to a trusted nail tech to see what will work best on your nails.

[GORDONCHICK]

Seraphine - since you're a nail tech, I love reading your info/posts. I have a nail that is cracked and wonder if I should get some kind of patch over it before the shellac mani tomorrow? Just wondering since the shellac is so hard to get off if it would provide any support for the cracked nail? Between the extreme stress over the last 6 months and me being normally hard on my nails, of course I cracked a couple of nails (I already broke two off last week and it just made me sick).

[Seraphine]

Seraphine - since you're a nail tech, I love reading your info/posts. I have a nail that is cracked and wonder if I should get some kind of patch over it before the shellac mani tomorrow? Just wondering since the shellac is so hard to get off if it would provide any support for the cracked nail? Between the extreme stress over the last 6 months and me being normally hard on my nails, of course I cracked a couple of nails (I already broke two off last week and it just made me sick).

 

 

Hi Carmen!

 

For a cracked nail, I would reinforce a client's nail with a small amount of gel first, and then apply the Shellac. Depending on the size of the crack, it might just be a small drop on the crack, or it might be a thin layer all over the surface of the nail.

 

Shellac is pretty tough, but if it's on top of a stressed area, it can still tear. It's a very flexible product - you won't feel like your nails are brick hard afterward, but it's very protective.

 

There are a lot of places offering discounted Shellac manicures, but make sure you're getting the real thing. If the bottles say "Blue Sky Shellac", is definately fake. The tech should be using a lamp that says either Shellac or CND Brisa on it (or Creative Nail Development, which is their old name), and not a generic lamp. Also, the tech shouldn't be mixing products... no using NSI base coat, then Shellac, then OPI topcoat. Same product line must be used through the whole procedure.

 

I've reported a few of these places when I've seen the ads (I know that Shellac isn't on their product menu, but a cheaper product. But if they advertise it's a "Shellac Manicure", they need to be reported for misrepresentation). If you think you aren't getting the real thing, speak to the manager and make sure you get what you pay for.

 

I don't say these things to scare you - it's just that a lot of people are taking advantage of clients who don't know what to look for. Then the client gets a substandard manicure and thinks the product is rubbish.

 

Please come back here and let us know how you got on, Carmen!

 

 

 

 

*** Also, most places offering Shellac on a Groupon/Living Social deal will charge extra for a removal. You can do your own removal at home, easily and safely. Please check out this video, done by a trusted CND nail tech named Holly Schippers:

You don't need the CND remover wraps - you can make your own with 3" squares of tin foil, and cotton pads (cut them into quarters).

 

You can email me if you've got any more questions :) dawn @ highfive nails. com (no spaces)

[GORDONCHICK]

Thanks. I will let you know how it goes. I already have the cotton pads and foil, so I'll do the removal myself. Thanks for the pointers on what to look for - it's really helpful!

[GORDONCHICK]

Update: all CND products were used except for a nail primer (OPI). It's really freaky that my nails were dry dry the moment I walked out! I still found myself being extra careful just because. I hope CND comes out with more colors. I wound up wiht tutti fruitti but would have like one a little more purple and some shimmer.

 

So far, so good. The tech said with my strong hard nails, it should last about 3 weeks. She said the girls that were there before me, they had thin nails and she told them to hope for theirs to last 10 days. She uses both gelish and shellac but doesn't like the axiom product - she says it's inferior in her opinion. She's been playing with OPI gel polish, but said she didn't have good luck the first couple of times. She said she'd try it a few more times and won't use it on clients until she's happy with it.

[Seraphine]

Update: all CND products were used except for a nail primer (OPI). It's really freaky that my nails were dry dry the moment I walked out! I still found myself being extra careful just because. I hope CND comes out with more colors. I wound up wiht tutti fruitti but would have like one a little more purple and some shimmer.

 

So far, so good. The tech said with my strong hard nails, it should last about 3 weeks. She said the girls that were there before me, they had thin nails and she told them to hope for theirs to last 10 days. She uses both gelish and shellac but doesn't like the axiom product - she says it's inferior in her opinion. She's been playing with OPI gel polish, but said she didn't have good luck the first couple of times. She said she'd try it a few more times and won't use it on clients until she's happy with it.

 

Sounds like it was a pretty good experience! I'm a little befuddled why she would use a nail primer (OPI or otherwise) when Shellac doesn't require it... it's really a waste of her product, and the Shellac base coat is designed to go on bare nail. Strange...

 

Shellac has just released 6 new colours, and there is also a lot of layering potentials for more choices. Here's some examples (this sheet is from the first colour launch, but so many others are available now - try seeing "Fingernail Fixer" on Facebook... she catalogues all the options so we don't have to experiment ourselves!) My favourite is Blackpool, with a layer of Negligee, which makes a shimmery navy blue.

 

For a shimmery purple, try Shellac's "Purple Purple" :)

 

One other thing - the best way to make your Shellac last (and to prevent dryness in your natural nail) is to use cuticle oil every day. Keep a bottle on your nightstand and put it on before you go to bed... this way you aren't going to be washing it off right away and it has a chance to soak in.

 

Also, when it comes time for removals, do NOT let a tech file them off with an electric file (totally overkill, like swatting a fly with a cannon), or soak your fingers in a bowl of acetone. This is too drying, and removals can be done with much less acetone using the foil method I mentioned earlier.

 

Enjoy your nails! I love the "instant dry" feeling too, and the shine is better than any regular nail polish I've ever worn.

[GORDONCHICK]

Purple Purple is pretty but too blue for my fingernails (toes, maybe). I'd like to see layering of Purple Purple and Tutti Fruitti though!

[Seraphine]

 

Image #89 is a photo of Rubble layered with Moonlight & Roses - it makes a lighter purple shade.

 

 

I can't find a shot of Purple Purple mixed with Tutti Fruitti, but Image #7 is Rock Royalty (a darker purple) mixed with TF.

 

 

* you might have "like" the page to get to be able to see the images, but it's worth it as she's done so much work in finding the colour combinations.

[GORDONCHICK]

That's fantastic! There are several combos I really like there. I didn't have to like her page to see the photos, but I did so I will see anything new she posts.