My personal recommendation for girls and women of all ages who suffer with brittle nails, is to avoid gel polish (shellac) at all costs. I say this because the gel polish comes in direct contact with the natural nail, and therefore must be removed with every appointment to ensure a clean surface to reapply. To do this, acetone must be used, which while safe on healthy nails, can strip the nail of oils and therefore dry out brittle nails even more.
Therefore i recommend an acrylic overlay. Acrylic can be applied directly to the natural nail, without having to be removed until it is grown out. This can be topped with gel polish of your choice. Thus, when removing the gel polish for a refill/change of colour, acetone is not used. Instead, the color is filed from the nail, without the file ever making contact to the natural nail, due to the overlay.
The overlay acts as a seal to keep all layers of keratin in the nail together, and keep in all the natural oils. It also protects the nail from handwashing, and cleaning agents which ultimately dry out the nail.
For more information, don’t hesitate to contact me on my instagram @Ali_Nailsxo