Hi guys,

I've been doing NSI acrylics now for about 6 months and lately I've found myself leaving a bigger and bigger gap inbetween the cuticle and sidewalls and the acrylic in zone 3.

I know why I'm doing it, I'm terrfied of bringing the cuticle and sidewalls in contact with the product and causing lifting however even with the gap I am leaving occasionally I will still see lifting!!!

Please help, I've had someone ask for an infill now after a week and although her nails do grow ridiculously fast I think in some parts it down to me as well.

Have you got any tips for applying in zone 3 and the side walls to keep the product thin and with an adequate size channel without it being visible.

Thanks in advance!!!

You will eventually come to a happy medium, to be quite honest, if you get the angle of your file correct, you should not be able to tell where the acrylic starts (or blends into the natural nail).

This is the true "art of nails" and making them look real, it also makes lifting issues a thing of the past.

You can also go "quite" close, then before filing, push the cuticles back again.

I'm just concerned that if I get too close then the product will touch the cuticle and even if i do create a gap, the lifting will still occur because the product has come into contact with the skin.

What a great tip, thats really helpful yet simple, I`m alaways a bit wary of cutting folk with my file - sorry for butting in...this is why I love this site!

Karen x

I trained with NSI 6 years ago. Practice really does make perfect. I was just like you when I started.

I found that if I used the last bead of acrylic slightly wetter, I could just pat it at the right angle and it looked great. I swept the gap lightly afterwards with a pointed brush, then lightly brushed the nearly set acrlylic back over the rest of the nail. (Make sure it has nearly set as you don't want to take the acrylic off the nail. )

You will find what works with you in time. This might not help but up until last year, I always used my size 8 round brush. I still love it but I also use a size 6flat brush which I find is much easier for getting right up to where the eponychium begins without touching anything . I think the round / flat brush is a bit like marmite. Love it or hate it but it may be worth a go if you are having problems.

Sam xx

Thats great Sam, I've been thinking its time to change my brush for a while anyway, I've just had a look on the website though and I cant see a size 6 flat brush only a size 6 round- do you mean just flatten the brush yourself?