Gel nails

[Vanquisher]

Most places that I've been use the terms gel and shellac interchangeably. Shellac being a brand name.

[SoonerTexan]

This is all so confusing to me! I have pitiful nails

[MrsK]

This is all so confusing to me! I have pitiful nails

Don't bother. I used to be fastidious about manicures. I don't have time or money for the maintenance now with the kids. And housework ruins my nails too. I've actually been cutting mine with a clipper and filing them short since Lambie was born and my nails are stronger than ever. Maybe we can do manicures when our babies are older.

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[poky]

OK, my nail appointment was today, and I got the scoop on the names of the different types of nails:

Acrylic and the gel I get are "nail enhancements" - they're to strengthen (and sometimes lengthen) your nails (this is why I started doing this years ago; they stand up to my typing all day).

The new long-lasting colored stuff is often called "shellac" because that was the trade name of the first version to come out (I think it was CND's product). It is a trade name, though, so that's why other brands don't call theirs that. What they all really are is "gel polish" (as opposed to "gel enhancement"). They're a polish because they have color, but they're gel, so they last a lot longer than normal polish, and have to be soaked off.

She said it's not good to file gel polish off - she knows people who are impatient and won't wait the time it takes to soak them off (cotton with acetone on each nail, wrapped in foil), but it's really thin, and can hurt your nail to file it - it's much better for your nails to take the time to do it right. She said she'll sometimes *buff* a gel polished nail to get a top clear coat off, but she never files them. Kris, I'd find someone who does it right; they might cost more because it takes more time, but it'd be worth it. She knows some people say not to put gel polish right back on after taking it off, but she's convinced that if you remove it properly, for most people it's not a problem (different people have different tolerances, of course). She's had clients who've been putting gel polish on every two weeks since it came out, with no problems.