Blending Tips - whats your view?

[SthrnComfort]

Hi all,
I am trained in Creative (sitting exam at end of this month), and I am just wondering what people views are on blending tips.
I was taught to always blend the tip before applying any product, and told this was for the product to adhere to the natural nail better. But I have read and talked to people who don't do this. There is a girl in my class you never blends her tips; she just applies a white tip and goes from there. I think she does apply some white over top of the tip. This is not the way we have been taught so I don't know how she'll go in her exam!
Anyway, I just want to get peoples views on this. Please state what product you do use if you use this method.
Also if you don't blend, do you apply more white over the attached white tip?
I hardly ever use tips now as I sculpt more, but I do have the od client in where tips are better to start with. ie a nail biter.
Thankyou in advance, and I'll keep an eye on the thread for all your ideas

 

[loubylou]

You definitely need to blend the tips hun,
the thinner the tip the more product you can apply to the nail with out it looking bulky, this is really important as you get the strength from the product not the tip,
if you don't blend the tip it will not last very long at all as it will be weak, you keep blending when using tips, as for the other person i don't know how she will go on in her exam as creative have built a lot of there reputation on using white polymer to create the smile line and here in the uk using a white tip is a no no

 

[bling nails]

You definitely need to blend the tips hun,
the thinner the tip the more product you can apply to the nail with out it looking bulky, this is really important as you get the strength from the product not the tip,
if you don't blend the tip it will not last very long at all as it will be weak, you keep blending when using tips, as for the other person i don't know how she will go on in her exam as creative have built a lot of there reputation on using white polymer to create the smile line and here in the uk using a white tip is a no no

I wouldn't say white tips in the UK are a no no, I personally don't use them but there are still many tech's here in the uk who does.
With white tips, you dont blend them in, you would lose the crisp smile line, but they have to be buffed over to remove the shine so product adheres onto it, if not it will lift from the white tip.

 

[Bagpuss]

You wouldn't blend a white tip...you just remove the shine (cos you would spoil the smile line)...its fine to use white powder over them....(although apart from practising your smiles i don't see whats achieved by this)....however i don't personally like the look of white tips as i have rarely seen nail beds that can carry them off well...(they would have to be nice long nails beds)

All other tips i would recommend blending them as a blended tip is stronger. As to pre blending or not...thats your choice...you'll know which you feel better doing once you have done both. Some say pre blending is quicker and means its less blending whilst on the nail...others say that pre blending can make fitting the tip difficult as the well isn't as strong and so can spray out at the well corners and make pressing the tip on feel less firm.

Its all down to your personal preference....HTH x

 

[Jen Smith]

French White tips dont need to be blended, just the shine taken off before product applied. Most white tips will need the well cutting or filling out before applying to the nail. This is why white tips are generally used for quickness. If she is applying white powder over the tip she is probably using the tip as a template until she gets used to applying good smile lines. Learning how to apply pink and white is very hard at first.. but becomes easier with lots of practice.

Some people never learn how to apply white powder and resort to using white tips all the time. Each to their own! I prefer to have the choice.

EDIT: Angie is a quicker typer than me lol!!!

 

[loubylou]

I wouldn't say white tips in the UK are a no no, I personally don't use them but there are still many tech's here in the uk who does.
With white tips, you dont blend them in, you would lose the crisp smile line, but they have to be buffed over to remove the shine so product adheres onto it, if not it will lift from the white tip.

When i said white tips are a no no in the uk i meant in the eyes of creative, i know a lot of people do use them but creative do not encourage us to use them , my fault i should have explained it clearer

 

[Bagpuss]

When i said white tips are a no no in the uk i meant in the eyes of creative, i know a lot of people do use them but creative do not encourage us to use them , my fault i should have explained it clearer

Mmmm not sure about that hun...they do sell them...:lol: :hug: x

 

[Cathie!]

You're doing really well, sculpting the majority of your clients after such a short time as a nail tech, if you are sculpting well, why on earth would you want to go the white tip route?

I don't think your friend will do so well in her Creative test if she is using white tips plus white and clear or whatever.

Blending natural tips is essential for maximum strength of product and also if you don't blend a tip, you'll get major shadowing under your pink where the tip isn't blended and the overall look will be quite pants.

Which ever system you use, this will be the same.

Keep up the good work and blend those tips, I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[geeg]

When i said white tips are a no no in the uk i meant in the eyes of creative, i know a lot of people do use them but creative do not encourage us to use them , my fault i should have explained it clearer

This is actually not a true statement at all. Creative even produce a French tip in fact they were the first company to produce a French Tip so, on the contrary, they do not think it is a no no to use them.

What Creative do think is that you should know and be able to do nails without using white tips .. why? Because we believe in teaching technicians the skills they need instead of just teaching short cut methods. If you never learn to apply white powder then you can't keep the French look going during months of rebalances now can you. So learn your skills first and then if you feel you must short cut then you can do so .... but somewhere down the line you need to know how to apply nice smiles yourself with white powder if you are ever going to be any kind of a technician.

But about tip blending, Creative take a similar stance. It is their commitment to you to help you to learn to blend in tips without causing damage. Sometimes you NEED to do it so you might as well learn from the start how to do it right. We would not be doing the right thing by our students if we did not teach these basic skills.

You are always going to meet the 'short cut merchants' in this industry. My advice is that you have gone to the BEST to learn your skills. Now use what you have learned (as it is in your best interest) and don't let others lower your standards by short cutting before you have even learned the basics.

 

[SthrnComfort]

thankyou for your responses everyone.
whenever i use tips i do blend them down. i was taught to pre-blend so ive always done that too, except when im chatting too much and forget, so just have to blend while on the nail lol.
i guess i was just wondering why people do use the white tips. i see that it is a quick way. but if you have to pretailer the nail such as removing some of the well, wouldnt this take away the nice smile line that it was originally made in?? or are the wells quite small on white tips and just the sides need shaping?

 

[geeg]

thankyou for your responses everyone.
whenever i use tips i do blend them down. i was taught to pre-blend so ive always done that too, except when im chatting too much and forget, so just have to blend while on the nail lol.
i guess i was just wondering why people do use the white tips. i see that it is a quick way. but if you have to pretailer the nail such as removing some of the well, wouldnt this take away the nice smile line that it was originally made in?? or are the wells quite small on white tips and just the sides need shaping?

People generally use white tips because they can't do nice smiles using white powder! Some use them only when doing their own nails for ease of application.

The method of application is is to reduce the well using curved scissors (or an abrasive) so it is the same length as the natural free edge. Then apply so that the tip matches the natural smile line and then apply your one colour overlay or use white and pink.

 

[angel fingers]

thankyou for your responses everyone.
whenever i use tips i do blend them down. i was taught to pre-blend so ive always done that too, except when im chatting too much and forget, so just have to blend while on the nail lol.
i guess i was just wondering why people do use the white tips. i see that it is a quick way. but if you have to pretailer the nail such as removing some of the well, wouldnt this take away the nice smile line that it was originally made in?? or are the wells quite small on white tips and just the sides need shaping?

some brands of white tip have smaller wells than others. with certain ones you could get away without pre tailoring the well.
then there are the well less tips that need no pre tailoring of the smile line at all.

 

[geeg]

some brands of white tip have smaller wells than others. with certain ones you could get away without pre tailoring the well.
then there are the well less tips that need no pre tailoring of the smile line at all.

I prefer tips with wells to protect the free edge of the natural nail and for cleanliness. I hate seing the natural nail hanging beneath the tip. I like it nice and neat and wholely encased by the well.

 

[Ignatz]

After all this conversation about blending tips, could someone please tell me what is pre-blending? I've never been taught to pre-blend with Creative! So how to do it?
Thanks already all!

 

[Bagpuss]

Its when you blend the well area slightly with your abrasive prior to putting the tip on the nail.

Pre tailoring is when you tailor the tip (removing the well...filing the sides...basically anything to make the tip fit just right...or to achieve the desired well)

 

[SthrnComfort]

in my Creative training, we were also taught that pre blending also involved filing down some of the top of the tip so there is less filing once the tip is applied to the natural nail.

 

[Ignatz]

Its when you blend the well area slightly with your abrasive prior to putting the tip on the nail.

Pre tailoring is when you tailor the tip (removing the well...filing the sides...basically anything to make the tip fit just right...or to achieve the desired well)

Thanx.. I just learned that since I started I've pre-tailored every single tip I've ever applied..!

 

[RAQUEL]

Does anyone use the "cut out " method?? i do this if using white tips.. i was trained to use white acrylic ( and yes i do do it) but if a client specifically asks for a white tip what do you do??

 

[ValencianNails]

if a client specifically asks for a white tip what do you do??

Apply white powder... it gives the same 'whiteness' but it's better strength-wise because you can apply it over a blended tip instead of just taking the shine off the white tip.
Product applied over a blended tip gives a stronger enhancement than product applied over an unblended tip.

 

[RAQUEL]

Apply white powder... it gives the same 'whiteness' but it's better strength-wise because you can apply it over a blended tip instead of just taking the shine off the white tip.
Product applied over a blended tip gives a stronger enhancement than product applied over an unblended tip.

get what you are saying but i have clients that specifically request white tips- they love it- i hate them- but sometimes you have to give them what they want whether your professional integrity permits it or not- cos they will only go around the corner to some other salon who will give them what they want- badly!!!- so thats why im asking what do ya do??? its less time to apply a white tip with an overlay than doing pink and whites and its money i certainly cannot afford to turn down- if thats what they want- as long as they realise they will not be as strong as the correct option!!