So a few weeks ago I decided I was going to paint my nails.
Pretty normal, right?
Well, I went to the store and bought this stuff …
It’s by Nutra Nail and it says it will give you the same results as a Shellac manicure from the salon.
Of course I bought it and followed the directions and waited for magic to happen. Unfortunately there was no magic.
The very next day I had cracks and chips. SO basically I had just spent $9 on a lengthy nail polish application process that didn’t even last 2 days.
Hate that.
Then I remembered that I had seen THIS post on Pinterest. I decided to give her experiment a try using the “Activator” in the Nutra Nail kit. I just changed a few small things.
Here’s what I used:
The color I used is Essie Ole Caliente which a super cute and springy orangey-red shade. And I also used my favorite top coat No Chips Ahead by Essie.
You will do one hand at a time.
I didn’t apply a base coat, I started with the “Activator” which smells a whole heck of a lot like Super Glue. On clean, dry nails paint a thin coat on all fingers of one hand. If you use too thick a coat the polish will remain tacky and never really set up.
Immediately paint on a coat of your color. The “Activator” should still be wet and the color will kind of combine with the “Activator”. When you have a coat of your color on all the fingers of your first hand, go ahead and paint on a second coat. Again, don’t wait until it’s dry.
I waited about 5 minutes before starting on my other hand, just to give my first hand a bit of dry time.
Now repeat the process on your second hand.
Let your second hand dry about 5 minutes.
Now finish with your clear top coat (No Chips Ahead) on both hands.
I found that after the first coat of Top Coat dried I needed to add a second coat of clear to get a super shiny finish.
It’s now 4 days later and I don’t have any chips!
The one thing you will definitely need is 100% Acetone Polish Remover to take off the polish.
While the finish on my nails wasn’t as smooth as a salon Shellac I will definitely try this with all different colors!
Cool. I’ll have to try this. Thanks for sharing
ok wait- is this a good or a bad review on the Nutra Nail stuff? I’m confused….. I don’t even bother with nail polish anymore because it chips so quickly. It would be great to have a solution for that.
Well, like I said, the Nutra Nail kit didn’t work for me, it chipped and cracked the next day. BUT the “activator” mixed with regular polish and a good top coat worked great. And “Nicole” left a comment that Sally’s sells the Activator by itself, albeit a different brand, so that would be a great alternative!
do you know the name of the brand that sally’s sells?
Yep, I agree. Nutra Nail does not work. But now that I have two bottles of activator I’ll try your trick. Thanks for sharing! Plus you can buy more activator at Sally’s (different brand but I assume the same result would be achieved.)
Do you know what the brand is at Sally’s? Or, would it be called something other than “Activator?”
They rub alcohol on the nails to get them to shine at the salon:)
They wipe alcohol on your nails at the salon to get rid of the tacky feeling
do they apply alcohol after the color coat or the top coat?
They use rubbing alcohol to dry the nail polish. If I remember right, my m-i-l does it after the first round of steps and again after the second round.
I also tried the nutranail- it sounded so good, and it was TERRIBLE. It was all peely and ruined my nails. i recently tried the new revlon color stay gel and I was really happy with it. I tried the base, color and top coat to be fair and it lasted a solid 5 days-no chips at all. I’d love to see you guys review it and see what you think!
I used essie “over the edge” painted 3 coats to get the dark color and let my nails dry then added a coat of the essie “good to go” top coat no chips stuff and it has lasted 1 week without any chips or peeling. I didn’t apply a bottom coat to my nails.
does anyone have tips on using Gelish…it works, but when I wipe away the sticky residue, polish comes off.
I am dying to try that! You have to use a UV light on that, right?
Gelish requires a curing light usually only at salons it is another brandname of shellac
I bought the Red Carpet Gel Starter Kit and it’s fantastic
I usually refrain from using the colors and just stick to the base and top coats since you can use non-acetone remover to switch colors while maintaining the gel base. I also use the UV light to cure regular nail polish and dry faster. It’s worth $60 but you get what you pay for. It’s a fantastic investment. $60 gets you more than $60 worth of manicures. I highly recommend it.
Tip from my dermatologist…repeated uv light exposure can cause skin cancer so be sure to apply some sunscreen to your hands (just avoid your nails) before placing them under the uv light
I am an older hairdresser…I have used Gelish, and it works perfecftly….if it isn’t, you are not exactly following the directions…..I did use an ordinary polish for color and it did wipe off, so didn’t do that again…..and it is not alcohol that is used to wipe off, it is the fluid that is in the kit, to be used for wipe off….big thing…follow directiions
I bought that stuff too and it was a total disappointment! I will have to try that.
i saw the pin on pinterest too and bought the nutra nail just for the Activator. i also got the essie 3 way coat. i havent tried it yet but will this weekend.
I aslo like the nail effects by sally hansen. i”ve had it on about a week now and it just now chipping.
Try Couture Girl Gel Polish System. THE BEST AT HOME SHELLAC EVER! I get 3 weeks of solid wear out of mine and they look BETTER than the salons!
How difficult is it to remove the polish? My nails always seem weaker and thinner when I get gel manicures from the salon. I sure would like a gel polish that is easy on the nails!
Anything that requires pure acetone is going to require you to either soak your nails in acetone or you can drench a cotton ball and wrap with aluminum foil over each nail. You let that sit for a couple minutes and then you can just wipe off the polish.
Where can u get that?
This stuff didn’t last me one day at my job.. of course my job requires me to wash my hands about every 5 minutes… What worked better was the kind with the led light.. lasted 8 days with no chips… Unfortunately it’s a pain and takes FOREVER.
Shellac is not a general term. It is a Name Brand. What you are doing is NOT Shellac. What you are doing can not be compared to Shellac. For all the women who want a real Shellac Manicure, please go to a reputable salon who will use the real CND Shellac. It is a fabius product, far superior to anything that tries to be a look-a-like.
I think it was just used in the way that people use Kleenex for all kinds of facial tissue. The tip is great and she explains that it is inferior to the salon gel but for cost conscious women it is a great idea. She CAN compare it to Shellac all she wants. Anyway either your snarky comments show you sell CND product or are on a very high horse that you should consider getting off of.
A lot of people use the general term “shellac” and that’s ok. Shellac is a hybrid of polish and gel, so what we’re really considering is soak-off gel products. I agree with Dee that Shellac is wonderful, but there are a lot of other professional products out there that are just as competitive. I do nails and I use both Shellac and OPI Gelcolor. I personally prefer OPI, but some of my clients prefer Shellac. I think it would be difficult to find a non-professional product that would give the same results as “Shellac”. This is one area that you should treat yourself and get that mani that’s going to last two or even three weeks.
I wanted to say the exact same thing! Thank you!!
*fabulous. (spell check, ugghh)
Dermatologists are seeing a significant increase in cases of skin cancer among women who use nail systems involving UV light like CND’s Shellac® or OPI’s Axxium®. The UV light that “sets” the polish is basically a tanning bed for the back of your hand. Alternatives to such systems not only will help save money, but will reduce the risk of skin cancer. That’s a win-win.
I used the Gelish and didn’t have that problem, but found that it didn’t last more than a week, so I was doing weekly repaints like with normal polish, so I returned it…not worth the $120 I spent on the kit and light. I find great results with regular polish (have been using a lot of Essie or Opi) with Opi Start to Finish as a base and top coat.
My go-to nail top-coat, miracle worker: Seche Vite (French for Fast Dry). Buy it at CVS, Ulta, Sephora, Walgreens, etc. It does get thick after a while, and they sell Seche Restore – a great thinner.
Rub your nails with rubbing alcohol after removing old polish and before applying your base coat. This helps to remove extra oils and gives a clean surface for the base coat to grip to. Use your favorite base coat, mine is Orly Bonder. Apply a coat of polish to each finger on one hand. When you’re done with your little finger start back with your thumb and apply a second coat. Repeat for a third coat if necessary.
While the polish is *still wet* paint on a reasonably thick coat of Seche Vite. Less than five minutes later your manicure will be dry to the touch, though it’ll take about an hour (maybe less, I’ve never timed it!) for it to fully cure. You can do stuff after five minutes, but be reasonable about it.
The Seche Vite gives a very nice super glossy look to the manicure and helps keep the polish from chipping. I am fairly active with my hands and I can go about a week before I need to replace my polish. I have gone as much as two weeks without more than minor tip wear!
The whole manicure takes me about 10 minutes, or less, from start (taking off old polish) to finish (being able to get up and do stuff), so I tend to redo my nails every three-four days or so. If I don’t use the rubbing alochol at the beginning of my manicure my polish has a tendency to not stick to the nail and just peels right off!
If I get polish on my cuticles/fingers (I always do!) I take a tiny brush (E.L.F. concealer brush) dipped in 100% acetone and remove the mistake. A brush gives you better control than a q-tip.
Do you know if Seche Vite is “3 free”?
One of my friends and I both tried this method (separately). It did not work for either one of us, and we followed directions to the letter, and ended up costing about $20. The polish still had not dried within three hours – I finally gave up and removed it with 100% acetone.
I ended up just using the Essie 3 Way Glaze as base & top coat, with Ulta nail polish, and it is fabulous. My manicurist complains whenever I wear Ulta polish because it does not want to come off.
I would also like to know the name of the “Activator” from Sally’s. I can’t find it online…
I have used this product and it still chips. I was disappointed.
Trying this tonight!! yay!
Tried this tonight and it worked AMAZING!!!!! Used this super cute OPI polish
thanks for the tip and saving me $35 a month, haha!
My aunt is a beautician/ manicurist and the shellac doesn’t even work on my nails. I can get it professionally done and 2 days later I can litterally peel off the product in a full sheet of color off my nail beds. My aunt told me that this just means my nails aren’t poreus. The more pores (rough) your nails are the better they are at holding on to the nail polish…if you touch my nails they are completely flat. Which I like but I don’t even bother painting them anymore – since nothing works. So just know that things like this just depend on your body chemistry.
Can you use a fast dry spray after polishing? I usually use OPI rapid dry.
IBD 5 second brush on gel resin is the “activator” that is sold as Sally’s. It is essentially a really thick nail glue.
I use this to keep my nails strong. I also use an activator spray, such as All Seasons Gel Cure- also sold at Sally’s. Clean and prep nails, making sure to push back and remove and cuticles. Paint on gel resin, spray with activator spray, wait one minute, and reapply. Leave alone to wear a natural look, or lightly buff if you want to add polish (my polish stay on for a week or more with very little wear- usually). After a week it needs to come off and be reapplied- just soak of with acetone soaked cotton rounds, wrapped in foil.
i have had no luck with home manicures and keeping color on until I started using this!
I have tried several different types of diy Shellac and have discovered that the true Shellac CND really is the best kind. I order is on ebay from a store called the Salon Store. It is about $68 for a base, top coat and three colours. The shellac lasts longer and dries harder than anything else I’ve tried including gelish.
I’d highly recommend this product for anyone trying shellac at home. Just remember to wrap the tip!
http://www.ameliasgirlfriends.com/2012/10/the-shellac-part-2.html
Used the nutranail gel perfect on my nails… I’m on day 9 with just a few chips on each hand!
But I will try this with my existing polish!
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You can buy the “gel nails” at your local beauty supply store. I have used a $30 start up for 2 years now!