It is after formal and the nice manicures are starting to chip away, but some are still going strong: the Shellacs.

Many girls have found that getting Shellac makes their manicure last longer with less chipping and cracking. Shellac is a lot like normal nail polish, it is just painted on to the nail, but the drying process is different the nail is put under a UV lamp to dry instantly.

A normal nail polish manicure costs somewhere around $15 where as a Shellac manicure costs almost double, bringing the final price between $30 to $40.

Even though it costs much more, some students think the Shellac’s benefits outweigh the price.

A big thing that students like about Shellac is the longevity of the manicure.

Sophomore Kira Roman said, “I like Shellac over regular nail polish because it lasts way longer because it doesn’t chip as easily. My last manicure lasted almost a month.”

Although Shellac lasts longer it does have its downsides, like the removal process. The salon wraps the nails in acetone wraps for 10 minutes and that dissolves the nail polish.

Roman said, “It’s really hard to take off, you have to go back to the salon and it is a lot more effort than regular polish.”

Another downside to the long lasting manicure are weak nails after the polish has been removed.

Veronica Pontis, a sophomore, said, “Shellac destroys your nails. I have weak nails, so the damage it does is pretty bad.”

Some students love Shellac and think the price is worth the long lasting manicure however it comes at the cost of healthy nails.