Shellac Manicure Makes It Easier to Look Good

It must be nice to be a guy.

They get up in the morning, shower, shave, brush their teeth, get dressed and they’re out the door. Women, on the other hand, have a few more steps to go through before they are ready to greet the world.

At least, I do.

There’s makeup to be applied. Hair to be dried and styled. The day’s attire to be grudgingly chosen after a closet full of perfectly good clothes is scrutinized and deemed unacceptable. Jewelry and perfume and shoes and a handbag also must be selected.

It’s exhausting. By the time you’re ready to walk out the door, you feel like you need a nap.

Some women even go that extra mile, making sure that their nails are manicured.

I love the idea of perfectly polished fingernails. I just don’t like all the work required to keep them looking that way. Lovely nails require a lot of maintenance. Every time I’ve ever had a manicure, I’ve been lucky if it lasted two days before the polish started to chip.

A friend of mine once shared some advice she had given to her teenage daughter about nail polish.

It’s either on or it’s off.

Her point was there is no in-between. When your polish starts to chip, it must come off. Nobody’s nails look good with chipped polish.

I have to agree. For this reason, I rarely bother to polish mine. I just don’t have the time or the desire to maintain them, but when I heard about a new kind of manicure that’s supposed to last much longer than the 14-day standard of a regular manicure, I had to try it.

The on Rowan Road offers something called a shellac manicure.  Creative Nail Design Inc. makes this gel-based product, which has been on the market for less than a year.

The manicure starts out the same way that most do with a quick soak in some warm sudsy water, filing and shaping of the nails and some cuticle care. Next, the manicurist wipes the nails with a dehydrating solution to remove excess oils. This helps the base coat adhere better.

The manicure includes a base coat, two coats of color and a top coat. Unlike a standard manicure, each coat must cure for three minutes under an ultraviolet light. No need to worry about your hands sporting an odd tan, though. It isn’t that kind of light.

After the top coat is applied and cured, the manicure is rock hard, and you’re good to go. I was able to reach into my purse, bump my nails on the counter and even rub in some cuticle oil immediately afterward, and still my nails were perfect.

The shellac manicure appears to be impervious to any damage this chick can dish out.

I’ve showered, typed, cooked, cleaned (Well, I thought about cleaning, at least), exercised, shopped, met with clients and gone about my daily routine, and still, nothing damages this manicure.

It’s day 11 of my manicure, and my nails continue to look fantastic. The ladies at the Nail Shack told me that I would probably notice outgrowth of my nails before I noticed any compromise in the look of the polish.

They were right.

While I’m not yet ready to remove my shellac manicure, it should be noted that you can’t just soak a cotton ball in regular polish remover and be done with it. You have to soak your nails in a pure acetone remover for about 10 minutes, and then the polish will begin to flake off. Fortunately, this kind of remover can be purchased inexpensively at in the Cranberry Mall.

I love this product. It would be perfect for vacations, where you don’t want to be fussing with your nails, or for brides who don’t want to wait until the last minute to get their nails done.

It’s also perfect for chicks like me who already spend enough time getting ready each day without having to worry about their nails.