File Control!! Part 2


Now that you've got a grip on the new filing technique (pun). I thought it might be a good idea to move on to the method of actually thinning and blending a tip so that the job is made as quick and easy as possible with no nail plate damage.

First of all, why do we blend and thin tips anyway? Clearly some just cut out the well of the tip, adhere it to the plate and apply product to it. So why do the work if it isn't needed?? Well the work is needed for several reasons.

1. Sometimes for the sake of beauty it is necessary to blend a tip.
2. Always it is necessary to thin out a tip for the sake of strength.
Those that do not do this will have clients with more breakages than those who do.
Those that do not do this will have free edges that look wide and bulky; also known as 'Egyptian Hats' (a phrase coined by Jan Nordstrom-Arnold many moons ago).

Those who use tips, (some all of the time, and some only when they feel sculpting is not an option) should be trying to get as close to a sculpted nail as possible. To do this, it is necessary to blend away the tip well area (for clarity) and to thin the rest of the tip (for strength).
The product is always stronger than a tip so thinning out the tip is important so that the most product can go on top of the tip and still have it look thin and beautiful. In other words, you are only using your tip as a foundation or a 'canvas' for the product to cling to.

The following is the method for thinning and blending a tip in the most efficient way possible using the grip taught in part 1. I use a 180 x 240 abrasive for this job.

Most technicians start to blend a tip at the well area!!! Here's a better idea!

It is more efficient to start thinning the tip at the free edge and then move back towards the well area which is blended LAST.
Why?
Because it is the safest way to ensure that absolutely no nail plate damage is caused and it is quicker. Anything safe that makes filing quicker is worth doing as filing is SO boring!

Think it through!

If you start to thin at the free edge, you are going to progressively thin the tip and eventually the well area as you move towards it!!
By the time you get there (to the well area) you will already have gone a long way toward getting the work done in that area, as the abrasive moves up and down while you work. The good thing is you will not have even touched the natural nail plate during the process and most of the work will be done.
Once you actually reach the well area, slow down, switch to the smooth side of the abrasive and Take great care during the last few moments (while you blend the last bit away) that your abrasive stays on the well area of the tip and does not touch the plate.

Using this technique is quick, efficient, and it only takes a little thought and a responsible attitude toward the health of your clients' natural nails to do a good safe job.