geeg
Judge Gigi-Honorary Geek
I cant speak for all brushes so I will use Creative Nail Design brushes in my examples.
You may think all brushes are the same, but they are not. Many students and amateurs try to save money by buying brushes for doing nails at an art store! Brushes for doing nails differ from art store brushes in several respects. Most art store brushes are made of squirrel hair, which is way too soft to work with the materials we use in our business. The weight of the bead alone would make the hairs bend and no snap or pressure can be created with a squirrel brush. Even if you find a brush made of firmer material, art store brushes use glue for holding the hairs in the brush, which is often dissolved by the monomer liquid used in making nail enhancements. There is nothing more irritating than hairs coming out of your brush and getting into your work. The handles of art store brushes are not finished in a material that can withstand exposure to monomer liquid and they become sticky and unsightly. So use the correct tools for the job you are doing. Good brushes cost money; there is no cheap option for your most important tool.
Pure Kolinsky red sable is the preferred hair chosen for nail brushes because it has the perfect amount of snap and resilience to work a bead of acrylic into place. Plus the fact that Creative brushes are all hand-tied and not glued into the ferrule of the brush so there is no chance of contamination of your monomer liquid or the brush falling apart if it is cared for correctly. A good quality brush that is looked after properly will last a good year even in a busy business.
The pure kolinsky red sable brushes have a characteristic dark portion at the end of each hair and this dark portion is known as the flags of the brush. It is only the flags that we use to pat, push, press or smooth the acrylic beads. ( Note: If you use Gel products, the brushes are completely different and will be explained in a later tutorial along with different techniques).
The belly portion of the brush (located behind the flags) is the part of the hairs that hold and dispense the liquid into the bead. It is not necessary to ever use the belly to press the acrylic bead. Using the belly portion of the brush is unwieldy, unnecessary, and can cause liquid monomer to slop onto the skin, which can lead to overexposure and eventual allergy. I know that some educators teach to use the belly of the brush. If you have been taught that way, try to unlearn this habit. You can produce much finer quality work by using a brush in the correct way.
The shaft is the base of the hairs of the brush and provides the firmness and 'snap' needed for sculpting.
The ferrule or metal portion of the brush houses the hairs.
A brush can be used with the hairs flattened, like a paddle or rounded and to a fine point depending on what you want to achieve with it.
Pressing or patting is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Smoothing or stroking- is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Pushing or pulling - is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Nudging - is done with the side of a flattened brush, or with the fine point of the brush.
Detailing or perfecting is done with the fine point of the brush.
We are going to discuss angles!! Many of you may quite naturally do many of the things suggested, in which case move on. But for many to whom brushes and how they work is pretty foreign territory, I suggest that you read slowly and carefully trying to visualize and digest each segment of information before moving on to the next segment otherwise what is simple will seem complicated.
The angle created between the brush and the nail is crucial in determining the way your product moves. The angle is created in two different ways or a combination of both ways.
For example: If the finger is too low or the brush handle is to high, you are going to create a sharp angle. If this happens, then the bead of product you place on the nail is going to be scooped up by the brush and deposited further toward the free edge as you work, creating a thick, barrel-shaped unattractive nail enhancement. To create gentle curves and natural looking enhancements, the movements must be subtle and no drastic angles should be used.
Maybe a good way to visualize the relationship between brush angle and product is to think of a beach where the sand is all lovely and smooth and flat. If you gently stroke your hand flat along the sand, you wont disturb it very much. But if you raise the flat of your hand up off the sand creating an angle, and just use your fingers, you will scoop the sand along building up a pile and disturb the smooth surface. Experiment with your brush and some product on tips and see how changing the angle affects what you do.
As discussed in part 2, the correct balance plus a gentle angle between the brush and the nail will make your work much easier and the result more beautiful and that is the goal you are trying to achieve. Create the perfect nail with your brush and then you will not need to do much filing to finish. Remember our mantra Filing is boring!! Work with your brush not your file.
Angle Number 2
As well as the angle between the brush and the nail, there is another thing to think about; and that is the relationship between the flat side of your brush and the angle of it to the curve of the nail. Take one concept at a time and this wont sound complicated.
If you stroked the flat side of your brush down the centre of the nail, the whole surface of the brush would be in contact with it, right? But if you kept stroking the brush in the same way and moved a little further to the side of the nail, only half, or even less, of the brush would be touching the surface unless you twisted the brush a little bit to alter the angle of the flat side, so that it all stayed in contact with the surface.
So, when you smooth the product from north to south down the length of the nail, at the same time, you also have to twist the brush at each stroke to keep the flat side in contact with the curved surface of the nail. By the time you get to the sidewall of the nail, the flat side of your brush should be at a right angle to the way it was when you started. Doing this ensures that the product does not build up and become thick at the sides.
For students and amateurs, one of your most common problems is thick product in the wrong places, which causes your work to be unsightly and to suffer with problems like lifting. Learning about angles 1 and 2 and how these angles affect where your product ends up, is crucial to becoming an artist and not just a mechanic.
You may think all brushes are the same, but they are not. Many students and amateurs try to save money by buying brushes for doing nails at an art store! Brushes for doing nails differ from art store brushes in several respects. Most art store brushes are made of squirrel hair, which is way too soft to work with the materials we use in our business. The weight of the bead alone would make the hairs bend and no snap or pressure can be created with a squirrel brush. Even if you find a brush made of firmer material, art store brushes use glue for holding the hairs in the brush, which is often dissolved by the monomer liquid used in making nail enhancements. There is nothing more irritating than hairs coming out of your brush and getting into your work. The handles of art store brushes are not finished in a material that can withstand exposure to monomer liquid and they become sticky and unsightly. So use the correct tools for the job you are doing. Good brushes cost money; there is no cheap option for your most important tool.
Pure Kolinsky red sable is the preferred hair chosen for nail brushes because it has the perfect amount of snap and resilience to work a bead of acrylic into place. Plus the fact that Creative brushes are all hand-tied and not glued into the ferrule of the brush so there is no chance of contamination of your monomer liquid or the brush falling apart if it is cared for correctly. A good quality brush that is looked after properly will last a good year even in a busy business.
The pure kolinsky red sable brushes have a characteristic dark portion at the end of each hair and this dark portion is known as the flags of the brush. It is only the flags that we use to pat, push, press or smooth the acrylic beads. ( Note: If you use Gel products, the brushes are completely different and will be explained in a later tutorial along with different techniques).
The belly portion of the brush (located behind the flags) is the part of the hairs that hold and dispense the liquid into the bead. It is not necessary to ever use the belly to press the acrylic bead. Using the belly portion of the brush is unwieldy, unnecessary, and can cause liquid monomer to slop onto the skin, which can lead to overexposure and eventual allergy. I know that some educators teach to use the belly of the brush. If you have been taught that way, try to unlearn this habit. You can produce much finer quality work by using a brush in the correct way.
The shaft is the base of the hairs of the brush and provides the firmness and 'snap' needed for sculpting.
The ferrule or metal portion of the brush houses the hairs.
A brush can be used with the hairs flattened, like a paddle or rounded and to a fine point depending on what you want to achieve with it.
Pressing or patting is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Smoothing or stroking- is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Pushing or pulling - is done with the brush hairs flattened like a paddle
Nudging - is done with the side of a flattened brush, or with the fine point of the brush.
Detailing or perfecting is done with the fine point of the brush.
We are going to discuss angles!! Many of you may quite naturally do many of the things suggested, in which case move on. But for many to whom brushes and how they work is pretty foreign territory, I suggest that you read slowly and carefully trying to visualize and digest each segment of information before moving on to the next segment otherwise what is simple will seem complicated.
The angle created between the brush and the nail is crucial in determining the way your product moves. The angle is created in two different ways or a combination of both ways.
- You hold the finger in one position and raise or lower the handle of your brush or
- You hold the brush in one position and raise or lower the finger or
- You use a combination of the two movements
For example: If the finger is too low or the brush handle is to high, you are going to create a sharp angle. If this happens, then the bead of product you place on the nail is going to be scooped up by the brush and deposited further toward the free edge as you work, creating a thick, barrel-shaped unattractive nail enhancement. To create gentle curves and natural looking enhancements, the movements must be subtle and no drastic angles should be used.
Maybe a good way to visualize the relationship between brush angle and product is to think of a beach where the sand is all lovely and smooth and flat. If you gently stroke your hand flat along the sand, you wont disturb it very much. But if you raise the flat of your hand up off the sand creating an angle, and just use your fingers, you will scoop the sand along building up a pile and disturb the smooth surface. Experiment with your brush and some product on tips and see how changing the angle affects what you do.
As discussed in part 2, the correct balance plus a gentle angle between the brush and the nail will make your work much easier and the result more beautiful and that is the goal you are trying to achieve. Create the perfect nail with your brush and then you will not need to do much filing to finish. Remember our mantra Filing is boring!! Work with your brush not your file.
Angle Number 2
As well as the angle between the brush and the nail, there is another thing to think about; and that is the relationship between the flat side of your brush and the angle of it to the curve of the nail. Take one concept at a time and this wont sound complicated.
If you stroked the flat side of your brush down the centre of the nail, the whole surface of the brush would be in contact with it, right? But if you kept stroking the brush in the same way and moved a little further to the side of the nail, only half, or even less, of the brush would be touching the surface unless you twisted the brush a little bit to alter the angle of the flat side, so that it all stayed in contact with the surface.
So, when you smooth the product from north to south down the length of the nail, at the same time, you also have to twist the brush at each stroke to keep the flat side in contact with the curved surface of the nail. By the time you get to the sidewall of the nail, the flat side of your brush should be at a right angle to the way it was when you started. Doing this ensures that the product does not build up and become thick at the sides.
For students and amateurs, one of your most common problems is thick product in the wrong places, which causes your work to be unsightly and to suffer with problems like lifting. Learning about angles 1 and 2 and how these angles affect where your product ends up, is crucial to becoming an artist and not just a mechanic.
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