Tip blending what is the correct way?

[sharron]

:cry: Ive just started in college one afternnon a week doing a VTCT nail enhancement course, my problem is, ive missed 3 weeks and when i turned uo for my first lesson I wasnt shown anything and had a 18 yr old girl do 2 of my nails.which are veryvery sore, anyway my problem is when they applied the tip to my nail instead of blending it with acetone like ive alway thought, the girls had been shown to blend the nail by filing it, well the young girl who was working on my nail was actually filing my own nail and the tip ended up cracking , she still applied 3 layers of gel and to be honest it was awfall, the tip wasnt stuck to my pinky nail there was a great gap under it it was pointing up like a sky jump and my thumb nail which is very sore was cracked and the tutor came over and said they were very good....I cant beleive it, i work already with nail products and my boss has shown me the basics and even now im sure i could do a better job, im soooo dissapointed as i wanted to get a qualification so i could go on to do conversion courses but if the teaching is going to carry on like it is i dont think i can carry on...
But just to clarify does any of you qualified nail techs blend your tips by filing, i understand that a lot of tips dont need blending..

Im going to ask the tutor if i can blend with acetone as my nails hurt..
sorry this is such a long one but i was really looking forward to this course and now im dreading monday

Sharron

 

[scattyfox]

I always blend my tips with a file, tip blender and acetone just melt it and make a mess. have a search for tip blender and you will find lots of thrads on this subject and very recently.

its a way of cutting corners but you ahe to be taught properly to file a tip and i am sure we all made the mistake of filing the antural nail in the begining and ahve had sore nails at some point.

HTH

 

[holliejayne]

I always blend mine with a file too. I think most people do. Its very easy and I dont even know any other way of doing it! x

 

[talented talons]

I always blend with a file. Its all to do with file control and the angle at which you file. If you do it right, you will not file into the natural nail.You always work from the tip of the free edge backwards when blending, so you are thinning out the tip first them you blend in the tip to the natural nail, which, if done properly should just flake away.

A good way of practising file control is to get a full well tip and paint it red. Then try fileing in a certain place and see what happens. You will file into the red polish, (when its dry) which will show you if you filed where you were aiming for or somewhere completely different. Its a good way to show yourself how to file evenly. Hope this makes sense.:lol:

 

[tamimac]

This is a great tip for learning good file control and the way I was taught. Speak to your teacher and tell her your concerns, maybe she was just trying to encourage the young girl. You said you werent there for the first few lessons, maybe that was her showing improvement!!!
Asfor blending the tip using acetone, won't that weaken the glue bond between nail and false tip?
Dont be discouraged hun. We geeks seem to spend our whole careers learning new tricks of the trade and improving our skills.:hug:

I always blend with a file. Its all to do with file control and the angle at which you file. If you do it right, you will not file into the natural nail.You always work from the tip of the free edge backwards when blending, so you are thinning out the tip first them you blend in the tip to the natural nail, which, if done properly should just flake away.

A good way of practising file control is to get a full well tip and paint it red. Then try fileing in a certain place and see what happens. You will file into the red polish, (when its dry) which will show you if you filed where you were aiming for or somewhere completely different. Its a good way to show yourself how to file evenly. Hope this makes sense.:lol:

 

[dids]

I agree that tip blender and acetone arn't really the way to go. Blending is definately the best. Perhaps in future if you come across the same problem again at college (someone filing your nail plate and making it sore) you could politely tell them that it hurts and that they are filing your nail. After all the last thing you or they want is to file through the nail bed and make you bleed. I'm sure in the long run they would appreciate your honesty as long as it is constructive.

 

[geeg]

Do a search on tip blender

You will find many interesting facts about its use (or not to use, as the case may be)

 

[sharron]

Thankyou for this I will certainly try and put this into practice, I am going to ask my tutor as ive missed spme lessons if she could go through some things with me as she just lets the girlls get on with it so im sure she sill have time to show me what i need to know , well hopefully,
Thankyou for all your replys....theyve been a great help

I always blend with a file. Its all to do with file control and the angle at which you file. If you do it right, you will not file into the natural nail.You always work from the tip of the free edge backwards when blending, so you are thinning out the tip first them you blend in the tip to the natural nail, which, if done properly should just flake away.

A good way of practising file control is to get a full well tip and paint it red. Then try fileing in a certain place and see what happens. You will file into the red polish, (when its dry) which will show you if you filed where you were aiming for or somewhere completely different. Its a good way to show yourself how to file evenly. Hope this makes sense.:lol:

 

[exceptionail]

I know this subject has been done time and time again but i find it all so interesting.

I initially trained with Star Nails in 2001 then again with Backscratchers in 2003, both of which trained me to blend using a file. I only have training in f/glass so i decided to go back to college this term to learn l&p and Gel. My tutor says that i must blend using either Tip Blender or Acetone! She has told the class that we will ruin the nail if we use a file!! I personally don't favour blending the tips using blender or acetone, mainly due to using a file for the past couple of years, but surely whilst training its important to teach all three methods and let the technician make up their own mind as to which one best suits them?!? Just a thought.

Also a new thing i have learnt on the course - (which I’ve never heard before and it would be great if someone would enlighten me) - my tutor says that its the 'thickness' & 'weight' of the product that makes the nail thin out. A student queried why her nails may be so thin after visiting a local salon (thought to be a NSS). My tutor said it was because the product was most likely too thick so too heavy for the nails, which causes them to weaken. How bizarre, can this be true?

 

[haylznailz]

Hi there

When i first came into the nail industry tip blending was my worse nightmare
i used to dread it, an when doing my training i used to always have problems getting rid of the seam......... however it does come with practise an in time you will pick it up an become quicker....... at college i feel they are taught incorrectly an thats why the students end up damaging each others nails...
i speak from experience as when i had my salon the students i used to have at my salon as placements were taught incorrectly an one of them had a hole in the middle of nail due to a student fillin incorrectly.

I myself file my tips before applying them an then file from right to left, get rid of the seam in seconds an feel it does help filling it before hand as theres less filling near the natural nail.......... tip blender i have used in the past some techs say its quicker an less dust an filling........but i tend to get on ok without it

but maybe try that when your applying natural tips pre blend the tip before applying it rather than just stickin it straight on



xx

 

[jac extreme]

my tutor says that its the 'thickness' & 'weight' of the product that makes the nail thin out. A student queried why her nails may be so thin after visiting a local salon (thought to be a NSS). My tutor said it was because the product was most likely too thick so too heavy for the nails, which causes them to weaken. How bizarre, can this be true?

Its more likley if it was an NSS salon that the thinness was because they used a drill and mma, to make mma secure to the nail bed you have to really rough up the surface of the nail getting rid of a few nail plate layers in the process and then using a drill to blend tip and on a rebalance will get rid of a few more, the end result will be thin nail beds,

 

[geeg]

1. My tutor says that i must blend using either Tip Blender or Acetone! She has told the class that we will ruin the nail if we use a file!!

2. But surely whilst training its important to teach all three methods and let the technician make up their own mind as to which one best suits them?!?


3. My tutor says that its the 'thickness' & 'weight' of the product that makes the nail thin out.

1. Your tutor is merely doing what so many college tutors do and refusing to take the time to teach students a SKILL. They think tip blenders are an easy get out for teaching the skill used in blending with an abrasive. There are many negative contra actions when using tip blenders which you can read about if you do a search on - tip blenders here on the site.

2. No .. it is important to teach the skills involved in our profession and not 'short cut' unsafe methods because it makes life easier for them.

3. Your tutor needs a class!! Nonsense. If anything, our bodies usually compensate for extra stresses and strains on it by building up and becoming stronger not weaker.

Wearing enhancements, of any type, does not damage or weaken natural nails. Over filing, drilling picking and bad nail technicians do.

 

[mooredianne]

hiya, i was taught the tip blender/acetone method at college and hated it. To get round the issue (our tutor would not let me cut out the well area), I used to size up my tips and then give them a good going over with a file beforeglueing the tip in place. That way, you have thinned it out without touching the natural nail. You have to watch what you are doing though, so you don't completely shred the tip!! I just pretended to use the acetone when the tutor was looking!! Not a great way to get an education, but it got me through the course and able to go to creative and learn the real deal!!