Originally Posted by The Nail Geek

Do your smile lines need an orthodontist?
Here's a walkthrough on creating consistently beautiful smiles that has helped countless technicians make smile line fast and easy every time.

An orthadontist for those smiles

A smile line can either make or break the appearance of a Forever French enhancement.
The purpose of a beautiful smile line not to follow the clients natural free edge line; it is to elongate and ‘stretch’ the pink appearance of the nail bed. Flat smile lines widen the appearance of the nail whilst overly deep smile lines can make the nail look ridiculous.

The most aesthetically perfect smile line is to mirror the cuticle line.

In this demonstration, I am using Retention+ and Perfect Color White powder. My brush is the Master Series Pro Styler I affectionately call ‘Bob’.

The bead.

Ensure a medium wet mix ratio. The bead should have a texture similar to an orange peel.

If it is too wet... The white will be more translucent and the bead harder to control.
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I place (not squish) the bead on the tip away from where I want the smile line to be. As soon as I start to press and smooth the bead, it will move forward.

If I placed the bead too far to begin with, the smile would begin on the second knuckle. And that friends... would kind of suck.





I avoid wiping Bob while I work. Doing this drains most of the monomer out of his belly making it more difficult to keep the bead at a medium wet consistency. Most techs wipe at this point to have a firmer feeling bead. Waiting 2 seconds will achieve the same result without sacrificing long-term workability.

Pressing...

The technique I use consists of small, gentle presses back and forth across the smile line. I avoid trying to perfect one side of the nail at a time, as I would end up injecting most of my liquid into the first half of my smile as the other side sets up. I also avoid smashing and dragging the product. The bead will smooth out and do most of the work for you if you don’t beat it into submission.

I begin by placing the flag of Bob about 1/3rd of the way down the bead while gently pushing in a 45-degree angle toward the points of the smile (away from the centre).

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Once the bulk of the line has been drawn, I smooth out Zone 1 for even distribution and minimal filing.




I walk along the smile line with the flag of my brush to ensure that the edge is sharp. This helps to prevent pink from Zone 2 making the white murky looking.

Note that the flags of my brush do not go over the line itself.

I turn my Bob to its side, and use the points of his flag to ‘tickle’ in the points of the smile.
If attempted too soon, you can run a risk of loosing sharpness and clarity.

If necessary, I walk back along the smile, pushing the surface slightly forward to sharpen any soften edges.


Back bobbing

If it looks as if I had a freaky fit while creating the smile, or if I need to perfect it, I simply drain any monomer from Bob, and ‘tuck’ away any unwanted squiggles or soft edges.
I avoid using a wet brush otherwise I increase the risk of overexposure to my client.


I always try to create the smile with technique, not by Back-Bobbing

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• Hold your Bob like a pen, not a chopstick.
• Balance yourself by making sure both of your hands somehow remain in contact with one another during your application.
• Keep the angle of Bob at a downward (so your mimicking the angle of the nail) as you work.
• Keep a tiny margin between the flag of your brush and the smile line as you are pushing it into place. If the flag of your brush is right on the smile line, you will create a rougher line.
• Avoid pressing with the belly of the brush… you wont see the line you are making and you will most likely be saturating your clients’ skin with monomer.
• Always work evenly from side to side. This will help keep the Zone pliable and evenly saturated.
• Use a gentle touch to ‘guide’ the line into place.
• Use smaller beads and add more if needed in a ‘layered’ fashion to avoid that lovely marbleising effect.
• Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables.