My Manicure!

My Manicured Nails!

Finally wanted to get my fingernails manicured.  I decided to go with the Shellac and French Nails. This was my first time doing the shellac method, so it will be an ongoing evaluation to whether I like them or not  and how much the on-going cost will be, and how long between manicure visits. 

My real fingernails had reached the end of my fingertips, so I wanted to treat myself. Well, actually my daughter treated me to a manicure.  

I love the French Tip look, I love my nails! My nails actually look a lot longer due to the way the manicurist applies the white tip at the end of the nail. My nails are so shiny and healthy looking.

My fingernails were done on May 22, 2014. Today is May 25th and my fingernails look great! No smudges, no chips on my manicured nails. 

I am told the manicure will last 2-3 weeks. As your nail grows there will be a gap around the cuticle and this is when your nails will need to be redone or repaired a little....really not sure what is going to happen . 

I have been reading up on the Shellac nails, it is the rage of manicures because they last 2-3 weeks instead of 3-4 days. 

It looks like it will be a monthly expense to get them redone. From what I am reading, a manicure costs $20 to $30, plus tip, but the shellac manicure will run $30 to $40, plus tip. 

I have been reading up on the correct technique in removing the shellac nails, most say use the cotton ball and wrap the nails with the aluminum foil and it takes about 10 minutes before the remover will start to work on the shellac before the manicurist can scrap off the shellac. Wonder how much scraping we are talking about?  I wonder if it is the same method that we use to remove or strip furniture? It kind of sounds like it.

From what I am reading the wrapping of the nails in cotton and then applying the foil is the best thing to do for removing the shellac. Once the remover has stayed on the nails about 10 minutes, it is best to pull off the wraps, then cotton away the excess shellac and not scrap it off. 

It is 7 days since my manicure and my fingernails look great. 

There is a tiny gap where the nail polish is growing out from the cuticle area on 3 fingers where the polish was a little thick and this area is hard. As a picker, I would tend to pick at this area, but I am restraining myself constantly and telling myself to leave it alone!

This area no one would notice except you and if you are a picker like me.

I have been using cuticle oil (Vitamin E) on my cuticles daily and thick hand creams and of course the Vaseline treatment at bedtime to keep my cuticles soft.  As long as my cuticles are soft and not loose, I will leave them alone.

I can tell now that I am going to have to put a bandaide or something on my thumb cuticle area so I do not bother the area...maybe a very thin strip of a bandaide.  Tried the bandaide, it would not stick so I tried a short piece of clear tape. I cleaned off the area with some tiny alcohol wipe so the tape would stick, applied the tape, when the ends loosen, I cut those off with some scissors. I have nothing to pick at now except to rub my finger over some smooth tape... might have to do the other thumb too. Stressful times right now and I am picking. Relax....relax....relax...

I still have my nails after all the stress I went through today...still stressing, but managing it. 

I did manage to pick off the rough spots on the thumb nails that were hard. They are smooth now and not noticeable from the picking I did. It would of been noticeable at the cuticle growth area if there was a dark color to the nails. My nails are clear and the new growth near the cuticle is not noticeable. So, another day saved with the shellac.

The clear tape I did use near the new growth gap did work temporarily, but the tape eventually falls off. 

You can also see some of the edges on the nails wearing, I would think by 14 days, it would be time for another shellac if colors were worn. I am going to try to go for a month before doing anything, that is if I do not pick too much at the nails. Yes, I know it is bad to pick at the nails. 

It is a process I have to learn to deal with, and that is the learning not to pick because it is bad for your nails.  Not only would I pick at my nails to get the polish off, I would also would bite off the nail polish, which is just as bad.  By doing all this picking and biting at the polish, I was probably taking off layers of my healthy nail. 

I am a slow learner. Years of picking and biting my nails takes time,  a lot of time is needed to break habits and make new habits.

Then...do I remove the shellac myself or spend the $5.00 or so to have it removed for me. 

At least I know or I can actually see the actually growth that is occurring at the cuticle area which is something I have never seen before. Nails grow! Imagine that! 

Note to self: Let the manicurist file the nails, they are the professionals for the nails not you!

By filing them, I was removing snags and making them even.  But once the nails started growing, I would tend to file my nails too much.  Filing my nails meant I was taking care of my nails instead of  biting them. When in actuality I was filing a lot of the growth off of them. 

When my nails grew in the past, I also had trouble when the nails breaking on the sides and catching on things that would make my nails break.  The manicurist files the sides of the nails a certain way so your nails do not catch on things. 

Shellac makes your nails hard but not too hard and with the proper manicure I have managed NOT to break one nail since the shellac.

Prior to the shellac this time, I used nail hardeners on my nails about every 2-3 days and only managed to break one nail. I don't even remember the break, but the break was not low on the fingernail. I just had to even the nail some. So really, my nails have done very well in not breaking.

Ok, I did not want to take any chances and my manicure peeling or flecking off within the next week because I wanted this manicure to last a long a possible. So,  I decided to apply Nail Envy (Nail Strengthener) by OPI, one coat.

I was already using the Nail Envy prior to getting the Shellac French Tip, so why not. I wanted my French Tips (the white part to stay intact).  So, as of today May 31, 2014,  I applied the Nail Envy. 

June 1, 2104 Another coat of Nail Envy Nail Strengthener applied to my fingernails. 


I cannot believe my nails have lasted this long! Usually they have already split or snagged on something. Then I am back to short nails and nibbling. My hands feel so clean and pretty the way they are now (nice pretty French nail manicure).

I quit using the Nail Strengthener to my nails, why? I have not idea, I just did and removed it with regular nail polish remover. My shellac is still intact, there was no damage when the nail strengthener was removed.

I do have a small chip on the left side of my thumb finger. I figured this was not sealed well with manicure. 

I am getting a powerful urge to remove the Shellac from my nails and letting my breathe between the shellac applications. 

June 2, 2014: I am trying to resist the urge to remove the Shellac. My nails still look great. You can barely see the new growth at the cuticle area with the nail color I am wearing. The areas on the nails where the new growth can be seen are all smooth, so no need to pick the areas.  So, why do I want the Shellac removed? 

The only reason I can come up with is I want to do nail care and apply polish to my nails. But, my nails look great!  So, I keep telling myself, "leave your nails alone." I still think about it though. 

Finally got a newspaper to update my nails. French Tip still in really good shape. You really cannot see the new growth near the cuticle, but it is there. This is the 12th day.

Here is the picture of the chip on the thumb. I am thinking because it was in the corner of the thumb and close to the skin area that it was missed with the shellac polish layers.

The chip is pretty small and not really noticeable except to me.  If more of the main fingers start chipping off then the shellac will be coming off. I will take it off myself.

I found a UTube video to guide me  removing Shellac from my nails. 

More links: Removing Shellac,
                             Removing Shellac

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the shellac was applied, No change in the nails. I started using the Nail Strengthener again...just something to do.

I was looking at my nails yesterday...well, I look at my nails everyday a lot...anyway, this is the longest I have ever had my fingernails! I can not believe it. I have no urge to bite my fingernails, but still have the urge to pick if there is a rough spot on the sides of the nail or around the cuticle. So, it is real important at this time to continue to keep my cuticles healthy and soft and not dried out and hard. 

I actually cut off a hard area near the cuticle, so make sure you have a cuticle clipper to snip away any hard cuticle that you are picking at so you don't end up picking or biting at it. 

I really think I broke the biting of the fingernails! I cannot imagine me biting these nails!

Oh! I am still using my finger pads for everything when using my hands. It is a process to learn and it is automatic now. As I said previously in some posts...if you are a long time nail biter, you do not use your fingers the correct way in order to save your fingernails. So practice using your finger pads! Do not use your nails as tools to open soda cans or grab at clothes (especially wet clothes from the washing machine). 

1. I still use my hands when washing dishes. If I have to do some heavy cleaning, think I will be wearing some gloves. I have not done heavy cleaning, but I did do some gardening a few weeks ago and I did wear gardening gloves (I am glad I did). 

Three weeks: Well....Manicure still intact! The left thumb chipped area remained the same until a week ago. I did a lot of painting, pre-painting prep work, sanding...hmmmmm, no gloves used here.  The left thumb nail ended up peeling...really thought the nail had broken until I looked at the nail. So, I ended up taking that shellac off, there was not much shellac left to it. 

My manicurist said he could redo one nail, so I went in to get one nail done.  Another manicurist prepped the nail, he did so much sanding of the nail compared to the first time. 

I was starting to get nervous with all the sanding he was doing. Anyway...I will go back to my first manicurist for the next shellac.  But, my first manicurist did apply the "smile line" (the white part of the french tip). 

The new nail is a lot brighter compared to the others. I actually like the other nails, they appear normal, not so bright like french nails with the bright white. Three weeks! Wow! I am impressed!

I can see new nail growth just beneath the white smile line on the french nail on 4 nails. It does not look bad, so I will see how long I can last.

I am not sure how I like long nails though, I can really feel them when typing and doing stuff. I am shocked the nails have not split on the sides of the nail (a low split). Pictures tomorrow hopefully.

Next day: I did file the nails down some to remove some of the length. Long nails get in the way of typing and using pad on the computer, especially the thumb and middle fingers. 

The constant hitting of the nails start to make the fingers uncomfortable.  Still trying to get pictures uploaded.