I keep practising but cant see much improvement...it takes me so long..I try to do it carefully but I just cant seem to do it..I seem to end up causing marks that i cant get rid of on the tip (not sure if this is what is refered to as shadowing?) and sometimes the tip breaks off at the smile line..grrr gettin so frustrated! I find the hardest part is blending the line of the tip into the natural nail without actually filing on the natural nail as well.

Any TOP TIPs for blending TIPs?

I use Performance tips where I can, they dont need any blending......but if I must blend, then I do alot before apllying the tip to the clients nail, pre-blending, pre-tayloring!
Saves alot of time!

xxxx

Get tips you don't have to blend.......Creative Performance don't need blending.

I pre blend tips purely cos i find it easier and quicker....then i apply the tip and a few strokes with 240 and its gone.

What tips are you using ...?

Im using tips supplied by essential nails, I tried some nsi tips and there was a huge difference...my course tips were really really tough in comparison as the nsi tips seemed really softed when i filed...but alhough easy to file down i found these difficult because they were white so i needed to file away all the well to find the smile line...then the tip would just break off the end!

I used my essential tips yesterday and pre blended them to save time, but i still managed to make a mess on both of them...two of them the tips just broke off at the smile line, a few were ok and a couple i managed to file a little hole in the tip!

Im trying to be careful but not sure if its me or the tips lol

White tips are not to be blended hun, thats why you were having problems with those.

The quality of the tips makes a big difference. NSI tips are the reason I started sculpting. LOL. I wouldn't imagine that essential nail ones would be the best quality either, but then if you get it down with those when you get some good ones it should be easy.

spot on !!.....the whole point of a white tip is so that you have the smile line ready...you don't blend it away.

i dont understand...they have a well area though? So you dont file any white tips? Do you jut stick them on at the smile line then?

The well is your stop point..its there to use for butting up to the natural nail...NO white tips need to be blended, all you do is apply then and then softly remove the shine so the L&P can adhere.

White tips only suit nails that have enough free edge length on them or your white will be too low down onto the nail and look rather silly.

As stated you dont blend them and the well area is there so you have sufficient area to adhere to the nail. The best white tips are the well-less ones as you can choose where you position them on the nail better.

Hi hun, Unfortunately its that famous P word again......PRACTISE. Its sucks I know and we've all been there. Personally I wouldnt use my Nail Trainer to practise blending on - purely because they cant tell you if there is any pain - which of course there shouldnt be.

The one tip I was tought when I was training was to blend the WHOLE tip not just the bit with the line. Only on natural tips obviously, because like already stated you do not blend white tips at all.

So I would prep the nail, Size and Pre Tailor the Tip and apply. Then I'd cut the tips to the desired length. To Blend I use my 100/180 file and i start at the bottom on the nail and gradually thin the tip. When I am happy with the thickness of the tip I then go very lightly over the join mark, avoiding the nail plate at all times. Its about file agles at this point.

With a bit of patience and a lot of practise you will have it mastered in no time. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. HTH

wiht the ceative no blend tips are they ok to use eith gel ?

Blending is much easier if you pre-blend and thin the contact area and then always make sure you use long strokes as you file and never file one area for too long when the tip is on the nail. Always make sure your file is fileing the exact area that you want it to(alway angle your file slightly, so not to cause damage to the natural nail.
I personaly use a 150grit to start fileing and switch to a 180grit as i get closer to the natural nail.

You can also buy a product called Tip Blender wich you apply a little to the contact line when the tip is on the nail and it softens the tip and becomes easy to file.

Hope this helps

XXX LOU

This is just my opinion but tip blender is awful stuff. It didn't seem to me to make anything much easier, just gunked up my abrassives.

I was told that using tip blender or acetone could lead to service breakdown as it will continue to soften the tip even after the overlay is applied?

White tips are supposed to require nothing, not even the corners taking off (otherwise they'll look worse than they do already!). You just apply the white tips, overlay with your chosen products and refine the sidewalls, xx