File control !! Part 1 - Getting a Grip.


So many people on the Nail Geek site mention blending tips as though it is some horrible task that they will take many steps to avoid if possible. But there are times we all need to do it.

I got to thinking that this must only be the case because some are finding it hard to do and/or it is taking you so much time.

We've already said that blending in a tip without causing any nail damage is a skill and all can learn it. But if tip blending is taking you allot of time, there can only be one or two reasons:

1. You are using tips that are difficult to blend (some are very easy) or,
2. You are not filing efficiently so it is taking allot of time.

Buying good quality tips is the easy bit.

Using your file efficiently will take a change of grip, and perseverance until the new process feels comfortable ( it does feel weird for a few days until you have mastered it). Here is the tip that a teacher of mine (bless her) passed on to me many years ago and I in turn have passed it on to many others. Now I will share it with you.

Most nail technicians do not hold their abrasives correctly for the job they want to do. Most hold the abrasive with their thumb on the top and their fingers underneath and file that way for most jobs. We tend to change the grip for doing the sidewalls and shaping. But 90% of the jobs we do are done with the grip described above.

When I want to do a job and get it over with as quickly as possible (blending tips and removing product) with the minimum amount of effort and the maximum amount of efficiency, I hold it this way:

Grab hold of the abrasive as if you were shaking hands with it. Then extend only your index finger out and onto the abrasive. Then lifting your elbow and placing the abrasive onto the product (still holding it the same way) start to do your work with your finger over the area you are filing. This way the maximum pressure is under your finger where you want it to be and this in turn removes the product faster and gives you more control and reduces the chance of causing a burning sensation because there is no air trapped under the abrasive. Remember the girl guides ... air plus friction = fire (ouch!)

Holding the abrasive in the old way with thumb on the top, gives too light a pressure which takes too long, gives you less control so that it is easier to damage the natural nail, traps air between the abrasive and the product which in turn causes a heat sensation, and bends and kinks wrecks your abrasives.

5 good reasons for learning to hold your abrasive in a different way for those times when there is a 'job of work' to be done. Enjoy learning something 'new'.
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