I'm going to check this out, the name alone sounds so heathy and good looking.

....Jane

I haven't, but a friend did. She said the polish lasted a month on her fingernails! The downside was that since it was removed, her nails have been peeling. I would love to hear others' experience.

Never heard of it. Do they file your nailbed down to do this? Does the process damage your own natural nails in the process?

I am not a polish fan, only for pedi's, so I am not up on all of the manicure-type services available. I do know that I really don't care for the look of the acrylic and gel nails. Would rather see a woman's hand with short manicured natural nails. JMHO

Pioneer Woman just did a 4 part post on her experience with them. They don't come up in order on her website so I put them in order for you here. I think this is the same product you are considering.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/02/shellac/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/02/shellac-manicure-update-7-days/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/02/shellac-manicure-update-14-days/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/03/shellac-manicure-update-the-removal/

Soaking would still be somewhat damaging.

Never heard of it (will read links), but OPI has a product called Bonded that helps polish adhere and last longer. I'm not a polish fan on fingers either - other than french manicure. I use the bonded on my toenails also.

tina

I had a french manicure done -- the ends stayed nice & never chipped, but the bottom where my nails had grown out didn't look good after about 10 days. The removal process wasn't hard - they just wrapped cotton soaked in acetone around my nails. It did not damage my nails.

I tried the Shellac about five times, loving it the whole time. I then started doing some research on the product. They recommended that you let your nails breathe or they would start becoming damaged. When I took my polish off for a week, my nails were very brittle and started breaking. My nail salon tech said that is the problem with Shellac. I am back to doing regular manicures. I started taking Omega 3 vitamins, AND all of a sudden I have strong nails, which I have never had!

Update: I've had 3 shellac manicures so far and have decided to stop because it's ruining my nails

Shellac #1 - loved it! Nails looked great and stayed strong for 2 weeks. Only removed it because there was that "fake nail" separation starting at the nail bed. No nail damage after removal.

Shellac #2- Tried a new salon because of a Groupon. Nails were done by a hair stylist rather than nail tech. Big difference. Shellac failed quickly (ie chips & separation). After removal I noticed a couple of my nails were peeling at the tips.

Shellac #3 - Used a true nail tech and they looked great. Again staying nice for 2 weeks until the "grow-out" bothered me. After taking the shellac off about 1/2 my nails were peeling badly.

Verdict: Will I try it again? Maybe but only if I have a very important event and my nails are in terrible shape. Like Ginakay said above, I would not recommend back-to-back Shellac manicures.

Jennifer

My girlfriend tried it and loved it - but after a few months she stopped because her nails were becoming brittle. She said she'd only do it if she had some special event to attend.

Yes I have tried it and loved it-until the removal. Basically the same as gel or acrylic. The removal process includes soaking for 10-15 mins while they attempt to scrape off the gel. Mine was difficult to remove and they actually filed my nail beds. After about 4 times I stopped and haven't done it again. My nails were damaged, peeling slightly and brittle. Good if your going away and want to keep the manicure pristine for a few weeks. But I wouldn't use it repetitively.

Professional Nail technician here:

There are several different types of "Gel Nails" THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!

***ASK YOUR SALON WHAT BRAND THEY'RE USING ON YOU!!!

The GENUINE CND SHELLAC BRAND does NOT -EVER- need to be filed off ever! The other brands such as Gelish, Axxium, etc are TOTALLY DIFFERENT! They are true Gels, so with this product, the entire natural nail bed needs to be filed on top of the nail and the surface etched (taken off) = nail damage for the product to attach properly. The new nail growth at the cuticle also needs to be filed for adhesion EACH TIME A NEW MANICURE IS PERFORMED WITH THOSE TRUE GEL PRODUCTS. Also, with each new manicure, the top coat seal needs to be filed off (yet again) -off the top of the nails to allow the acetone to penetrate and take the gel off. Remember, every time you file off a layer of the top of your nails, you're making them thinner and thinner. PEOPLE WONDER WHY THEIR NAILS ARE BEING DAMAGED? True Gels are just as damaging as Acrylic Nails.

Many nail technicians/salons call anything "Shellac". KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING!

ONLY THE CND SHELLAC BRAND is a true non-nail damage soak off gel-hybrid.(Hybrid means: Not a true gel, not a polish).

Your nail technician should use nothing stronger than a WOOD (not metal) cuticle stick to scrape off any remaining soft gel during the removal process -after the 10 min Acetone removal process. NO FILING!!! NO FILING!!! If any filing is necessary, it is NOT the Shellac brand!

I also would like to make another BIG caution as well...

I myself am very cautious regarding products unregulated and coming from China. I only buy CND BRAND SHELLAC, & CND lamps and bulbs from an authorized Creative Nail Design (CND) distributor. If a salon buys a knock-off or other manufactured nail lamp from China, with no regulation, health importation checks, or company quality control, how do you know how much UV strength is actually being emitted from those bulbs? How do you know what is in that polish? How about the ingredients? How do you know if ingredients in a non-CND product are coming from Japan (radiation)?

I personally would NEVER fool around with my own health or the health of my clients by buying knock-off products for this item. It's not worth the few dollars per item to save.

I am not against buying knock-off's in some situations, but I do not buy knock-off's from the internet etc. for anything I put on my body or face that can be absorbed, or ingested. You just don't know what's in them.

I haven't and probably wouldn't - putting a bug secretion on my fingers just sort of grosses me out.

Beth, thanks for clearing that up, I would have never known. I really wanted to get my nailed Shellac'd yesterday and thought of this thread (before you posted) and went ahead with a regular manicure. I did have my nails(not shellac'd) but another brand, and it just didn't last on me, especially worth the 35.00. The color lasted, but it became dull pretty fast. But, I have never tried the true Shellac. I might give it a try when I get back from our trip, as I think the salt water would damage them quicker than normal.

If you want really long lasting polish that you can do at home, I suggest Incoco dry nail polish strips. A friend gave me a set of the French Manicure strips and they lasted about two weeks! There is a bit of a learning curve to getting them on, but they do stay on. They used to sell them at Walgreens, but at least in my area they have been discontinued there. I did try the Sally Hansen strips that look similar, and they didn't work at all.

After reading this I think I will stick to simple nude polish.