Recently I was blessed to participate in a CND Shellac Workshop because I got ‘shellacked’ by an experienced CND Education Ambassador, Michele Huynh.
She did a demonstration on how to apply and remove CND Shellac nail polish. Her application was flawless and removal was a breeze. My nail (only one nail got done) looked great. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to know how long it would stay since my shellac was removed the same day…:-(..It had to, so I can show you all on how to remove Shellac.
Alright, let’s continue on how to apply CND Shellac. Also beware this is a heavy-picture article.
1. File edge of the nail with 240-grit nail file, to shape the nail. With CND Shellac, you would never file your nail bed.
2. Push back and clean cuticles with cuticle pusher. Notice that this is a dry manicure.
3. Cut any hang nails or cuticle if necessary with cuticle nipper.
4. Wipe clean nail with lint-free nail wipe soaked with CND Scrubfresh.
5. Shake, shake vigorously the CND Shellac Base Coat so the ingredients mix well.
6. Apply a thin coat of CND Shellac Nail Base Coat. The key to get a good result is to apply every layer thinly, said Michele.
7. Cure under 36-watt CND Shellac UV Lamp for 10 seconds. Make sure your middle finger touch the end of the tunnel before starting the process.
8. Apply a thin layer of CND Shellac nail polish. In this case, I used Rock Royalty. And cure for 2 minutes under Shellac 36-watt UV lamp. To clean the messy polish application on the cuticle or skin, just use the wood cuticle stick to wipe clean. Do it before curing the polish.
9. Apply another thin layer of CND Shellac nail polish. And cure for 2 minutes. If necessary, you can apply an extra layer for dark coverage.
10. Apply a thin layer of CND Shellac Top Coat. And cure for 2 minutes.
11. Wipe clean the nail with lint-free nail wipe soaked with 99% Alcohol. It has to be 99% Alcohol. If less than 99% it won’t show the full shine. After wiping, the polish should be dry, hard and not tacky.
12. Apply and massage CND Solar cuticle oil on nails. And here’s CND Shellac nail polish Rock Royalty.
I also asked her some questions I often heard regarding CND Shellac application. To keep it short, I’ll just post the answer below:
- It’s not uncommon to hear customers complain about her nails getting dry after using CND Shellac. Michele suggests to use CND Solar Oil every day to combat this problem. If Solar Oil is used often, there shouldn’t be problem of dry or splitting nails.
- Regarding nails that are not cured properly, check the bulbs. Perhaps one of the bulbs is out. Also on CND Shellac 36-watt UV lamp, you can press the Reset button to see how many hours left for the current bulbs. Also shake, shake shellac coats or polish to make sure the ingredients mix well.
- Her choice for French Manicure is Cream Puff or Studio White (an off-white) for the white tip and Clearly Pink and Romantique (more opaque) for the pink. Here’s her French Manicure with Studio White and Clearly Pink.
- Using less than 99% Alcohol won’t show the full shine of Shellac. Make sure when buying, you get only the 99% Alcohol.
- For customers with weak or splitting nails who want to use Shellac nail polish, she advices to use Brisa Gel as a foundation before using Shellac. The purpose is to strengthen the nails before applying Shellac.
Finally, take a look at these photos on Shellac colors and products that were used.
I noticed using pump bottles like these make application process less messy and easier.
CND Shellac Moonlight Roses over Asphalt. Michele was sporting this color. If you like this color, take a look at other photos above. Those purple nails are hers.
That pretty red nail is Red Baroness. Two coats with CND Top Coat.
You can get all these products at Esther’s Nail Center. We have all new CND Shellac Fall 2011 colors in-stock. Check us out.
