Shellac is the brain child of a California company called Creative Nail Design, more commonly known as CND. The company says it spent five years perfecting the product. Shellac is frequently described as a hybrid of the popular gel manicure.
With gels, a thick substance is applied to the nail to build up a new surface. The gel is hardened under UV light, then smoothed and sculpted with an electric file before adding polish. Until now, gels have been the "hot new thing" in nail care.
But gels get low marks from many consumers because of the potential nail damage that can result from soaking nails and fingers in strong acetone, and abrasive filing to remove the gel residue.
Shellac offers a more nail-friendly solution by taking gel to the next level -- no sculpting or filing, just thin coats of polish on your natural nail, with a brief time for curing under a UV lamp between every coat. Ahern says the UV is used for 10 seconds after the base coat, and two minutes each between the two coats of color and the top coat.
Shellac nails are available through Diamond Nails Duquesa - https://www.facebook.com/diamond.nails.543?fref=ts