Is a Two Week Long Manicure Possible? CND 'Shellac' Says Yes

by Grace Gold (Subscribe to Grace Gold's posts)
Posted Apr 22nd 2010 at 10:00AM

CND Shellac promises nick free nails for two weeks straight. Courtesy Photo

Nail polish nicks drive us batty.

And we also can't stand wasting away precious time sitting through multiple cycles of a hand dryer, only to end up with a smudge anyway.

But a new product by CND, launching in 2,000 salons nationwide starting May 1, is looking to transform the entire mani and pedi experience -- and all of the time-killing and chipping annoyances that come with it. The product, called Shellac, is a glossy hybrid between nail polish and nail gels, and promises to wear at least two weeks straight without so much as a chip or crack.

Just like a regular polish job, Shellac is painted on with a base, two coats of color and a topcoat - though between layers, fingers are treated underneath ultraviolet lamp machines, so nails dry to an unsmudgable, hard and shiny finish.

"Our chemists invented a modern solution to the normal polish inconveniences that frustrate women. Shellac is fret-free and convenient. Women can finally get their time back," says CND co-founder and style director Jan Arnold.

While two weeks is the promised time for fresh-looking nails to last, women have successfully pushed their luck longer. In fact, we hear that CND nail technician Roxanne Valinoti even gets up to four weeks of wear out of a Shellac manicure, since her natural nails are healthy and cuticles well oiled and taken-care of -- which makes for a stronger nail plate.

Shellac is part of a new generation of colored gels that stretch the previous notion of how long a salon manicure was believed to last. Many salons in the U.S. tout gel manicures as what's kept them running during harsh economic times because it's considered by clients to give good bang for their buck.

"In the downturn of the economy, consumers didn't frequent nail salons as much. This is a great way to stretch to two weeks or even longer and have great looking nails," OPI Founder Suzi Weiss-Fischmann told The New York Times.

Yet there are drawbacks to this seemingly warrior-fighter version of nail polish.

A selection of shades from CND's new Shellac line. Courtesy Photo

Shellac is expected to cost 50% more than a basic manicure, though the final cost could be saving you in the long-run if it means less trips to the salon to get regular manicures.

Shellac also requires a 10 minute soak in specially-made wraps meant to limit acetone exposure to the nail beds, to allow you to remove the gels whenever you want to change colors. This can be tough to pull off at home if you don't want to be chained to going back to the salon. And budget corner shops may not have manicurists professionally trained in taking the gel off, which puts you at risk for nail damage if you have a poorly skilled removal somewhere other than where you received the gels.

And while the results may be pushed past two weeks, the fresh look of the manicure won't last that long.

New growth near the cuticles after about 14 days will show an obvious half-moon of growth -- but penny-pinching women have already figured a way around that. Some are going clear near the cuticle and saving a touch of color for a french-inspired tip, while others are trying Calgel manicures where color starts out light at the base and graduates into a deeper hue as you work up to the tip.

As of now, Shellac comes in a full range of the most-worn hues, from a black Fedora to a sheer pink Negligee and red-hot Tropix.

Writer experiences have been mixed. The New York Times' Catherine Saint Louis claims that chips hit three of her Shellac-painted nails before two weeks were up, but Michelle Mismas of the AllLaqueredUp.com blog raves her Shellac trial persisted on flawlessly in spite of repeat attempts to bang her nails up.

Stay tuned as we give Shellac a whirl to test out first-hand if the gel stays as as shiny and true as the 2 week-long claim.

A girl can hope, can't she?

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