Sensationail Nail Shield Review - Stop Damage from Gel Polish Removal

Many people ask me if Shellac and Gel polish are damaging. My answer is the ever vague ‘it depends’ and it depends on a lot of things really, what your nails are like to start with, how the application and removal is done and whether you are allergic to acetone or not. Even with correct removal, sitting around with tin foil and cotton wool on your nails isn’t the most fun of activities.
A product that is specifically designed to avoid damage and make gel polish removal easy is a product that I want to try, and that’s what today’s post is about. The new Sensationail Nail Shields.
Sensationail claims the Nail Shields will create a protective barrier between your natural nail and the gel formula, and can be peeled away without damage after two weeks of wear. The nail shields seemed like the perfect answer to problems of damage or lengthy removal times. The tiny clear sticky decals promised the same two weeks of wear you’d get with a traditional gel polish or shellac manicure, minus the acetone soaking and any damage to the nail plate.

If you’re familiar with nail wraps or Minx nails, you’ll have no trouble working with these. For everyone else, it might be a bit tricky at first.
To apply you give yourself the usual manicure (file, shape, cuticle work) then wipe nails with a lint free pad or kitchen roll soaked in the gel cleanser or nail varnish remover, this removes any oils from the nail that will stop the decals sticking. Stick on and smooth out using the wooden stick provided and trim off some of the excess at the end of the nail, fold the rest over the end of your nail and file in a downward motion. From there, you can layer the base coat, gel colours and topcoat on as usual.
Tip on How to Apply

• Pick the right size sticker for the nail before applying; it’s better to be a bit small on the nail than too big.

• Use tweezers if you find that easier to peel the shield off the plastic backing.

• The shield must be smooth on the nail with no ridges or bubbles or your gel polish is just going to peel off straight away. So for the first few times, while you get the hang of it, really take good care to smooth everything down with an orange wood stick.

• Apply in good lighting so you can really see what you are doing as they are transparent and very thin.

• Fold the excess over the end of your nail and file off using a nail file in a downward motion, filing side to side can cause problems with lifting.

Sensationail Nail Shield Under Gelish Watch Your Step Sister
How did They Fare?
I didn’t make it to two weeks, as the gel polish started to peel on a few nails after day 11. This may well have been ‘user error’ and not applying the shields correctly as the problem nails were all on my right hand, which is much harder for me to do than the left, being right handed. So at 11 days I had to admit defeat and peel off the rest of the nails, which, true to their claims left my nails smooth and with no damage at all and they were very easy to get off.
Overall
I think after a few goes, the Nail Shields work as claimed, they are a little tricky to apply and if you can get a friend to help, I would assume you can also take them to the salon with you before your professional manicure, and having someone else do them I bet they would work even better. If you are allergic to acetone or have problems with your Shellac or Gel Polish causing damage when it’s removed, then these are definitely something to pick up.
You can use these with all brands of Shellac or Gel polish even though they are made to work with the Sensationail brand, which is a great brand that I have reviewed previously –see link

You can buy these for £8.00 for 88 stickers, a nail file and an orange wood stick from here http://www.sensationail.co.uk/nail-shields-peel-off-base-gel-nail-strips.htmlor from Boots