FlybyNight said:
I have just finished my first L&P (clear) on natural nail tips! Can find fault though. Didn't see it until I put the polish on. The sidewalls were a tadge ragged on one or two. Obviously a filing problem. Frightened of cutting the client :|. However, the reason for this thread is that as I proceeded, the balls of powder became smaller and smaller and were impossible to make larger even with vast quantities of monomer!! They also then became watery, not holding their shape very well. Can anyone in the know explain what happened? I have a sneaky suspicion that the monomer became contaminated somehow and started acting differently. Very confusing.......
There are a couple of possibilities...the first thing that comes to my mind is porduct ratio. Typically your ratio should be 1 1/2 parts powder to 1 part liquid. This ensures a minimal amount of shrinking. All enhancements shrink somewhat as they cure because the monomers link up, get close and harden. Most acrylics shrink between 3 and 20% (You can find this information in Doug Schoon's book Nail Structure and Product Chemistry Simplified) The wetter your product is, the more it will shrink. Shrinkage above 12% causes all kinds of problems, cracking, chipping, peeling and pretty much any other disaster you can think of.
The second thing that comes to mind, is that since your ratio was off, you got a little "friend" or semi hardened bead of acrylic in the belly of your brush. Because your belly was full, you were unable to pick up the correct amount of liquid thus perpetuating the situation. Both of these things are easily corrected however. They just take some practice.
Start with a clean brush (by clean, I mean free of product or packing gum if it is a new brush) and practice your product ratio. Use a piece of wax paper, wax side up, or some inexpensive tips. (if you use tips you can practice your filing techniques also) Fill your brush by dipping into your dish all the way to the bottom until no more bubbles come out of your bristles. Drag your brush along the side of the dappen dish 3 or 4 times to drain excess liquid. Draw a slow straight line through your powder making sure not to go deeper than the flag (the dark tip of the hairs). Pull the bead out and look at it, you should have time to say going, going, gone, and the out side of your bead should have the same texture as an orange peel. It shouldn't have powder remaining or be sagging. If there's powder you're too dry,
do not use it!! If your bead is drooping, you may dip it back in the powder, to add a little more, but be sure to look at the texture before using it.
Ok, so now you have a perfect bead, place it on your tip and watch it, if it slowly spreads and flattens slightly it's perfect. If it runs as soon as you drop it it's too wet, if you have a hard time getting it off your brush and on to the tip it's probably too dry. Let the bead rest about 5 to 7 seconds so that the monomers completely saturate the polymers, and begin pressing your bead. Do not wipe your brush after dropping the bead on to the tip unless the manufacturer's directions tell you to. ( this changes the amount of liquid or monomer in your brush, and may be the source of your conamination)
After you have the bead where you want it, wipe your brush before going back in to your monomer. If your brush has powder in it, even little bits that have started to harden, it affects your ratio. Sometimes in our strive for perfection we work try to make the product work, instead of letting the product do what it was designed for. Most quality products are self leveling, and cure enough to be filed on with in 3 to 5 minutes. If it is taking longer that that to get your bead where you want it, that might be part of your confusion. ( the product in your brush is hardening and making your life difficult)
Geeg has some great tutorials on brush control and bead placement, be sure to look at them.
I hope I wasn't too long winded, and you got what you needed from my answer.
