I’m sitting here typing this post, looking at my pretty pink nails. Nails that are rarely pretty pink.
I don’t bother getting manicures. Between my kids, my household chores, and my instrument playing, I’m lucky if nail polish lasts a day.
Until now.
11 days ago, I got shellaced. Or, more accurately, my nails did. Shellac is a “hybrid gel nail polish” that has the thinness of traditional nail polish with the durability and toughness of more hard-core “nail enhancements.”
I’m in love with it because I can have the best of both worlds–my hands can do everything they need to do AND I can have pretty nails.
I’ve done the dishes, played catch with my kids, played piano, played flute, cooked, put kids in carseats, gone shopping, given baths, worked out, and typed on my computer. I have made zero changes to my routine since my manicure 11 days ago. And my nails are as shiny, pretty, and pink as the day one.
I’ve tried acrylic nails and loved how they made my nails look…but hated how they made my nails feel. Shellac is night-and-day different.
It may seem silly to rave about nail polish on this blog. But seriously…with the vast majority of music therapists being women–women who use their hands and need them to be functional–it seems appropriate to share a beauty trend that can work for us, doesn’t it?
Shellac takes about 45 minutes to apply and dry and costs about $5ish more than a traditional manicure. You can use this site to find a shellac salon near you.
orcid.org/0000-0001-8665-1493
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this!!
One major bummer about playing the guitar all day is the wear and tear on hands and nails. Not a very attractive result. I love manicures, but always felt like I was wasting money if I was just going to ruin it the following work week. This is something that I’ve never heard of but definitely am going to try!!
Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome! Thank you so much for posting this at the PERFECT time. I’m getting a manicure for my best friend’s wedding on Thursday and have been worried about instantly ruining it…but not anymore 😀
So glad this will help you both! I’d be interested to hear whether you have the same awesome results I’ve had 🙂 ~Kimberly
I’ve been waiting for this post ever since you teased about it a week or so ago. I can’t wait to try this. 🙂
I’ve done this once before and loved it! I plan on getting “Shellaced” before my vacation at the end of June! Thanks for posting the site to find a salon – I didn’t know where one was in Cincy! Here’s to pretty, pretty nails!
yay! I can’t wait to try it
I agree, I got a shellac manicure and loved, loved, LOVED it while it was on! However, do you still have yours on? Wait until you have to remove it. Or better yet, just keep getting it filled or replaced. I ended up taking it off after 3 weeks (which you have to do with pure acetone), and my nails were so brittle afterwards, and they peeled, that it’s taken 2 months for my nails to finally get back to healthy shape.
@Caylyn You’re right–acetone is hard on nails! That’s what I had to use when I had acrylics awhile back. Here’s hoping regular nail polish works! 🙂
I’m surprised they didn’t tell you how to remove the polish, because they gave me specific instructions that it has to be 100% acetone, and that you have to soak the nails. And they were right. You can’t just wipe it off, it has to soak for about 5 minutes, and then the polish starts peeling off. Both my sister and I weren’t such a fan of shellac after it was removed. So my suggestion would be just keep getting it filled or repolished. 🙂
@Caylyn Interesting…I was never told that. In fact, I was told that regular nailpolish will work, it just takes a little longer. I’ll be taking the polish off this weekend after a couple dinners and nights out. I’ll report back on how the removal process goes 🙂 And for those wondering why I’m taking it off after a mere two weeks…the polish looks great, but my nails are getting too long and it’s driving me nuts! 🙂
I like what you guys are up too. This kind of clever work and coverage!
Keep up the wonderful works guys I’ve you guys to my own blogroll.
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