CREATIVE L&P RETENTION +

[Nails at Home]

I took the Creative Retention + L&P course a couple of months ago . Although I seem to be getting on OK now doing full sets after a few teething problems at the beginning I've not had much practice on rebalances (most of my clients are still gel clients).

On doing a rebalance which went wrong on my mum the other day I've seeked advice and been told contradicting advice from two people at Creative. I originally had a problem with the edges cracking on full sets and was told by a Creative representative that I should seal the edge with product (as I always do with my gels) but on doing my first proper infills for my mum the other day I realised this would not be possible as the free edge is filed back into a neat shape and then product is only applied into zone 3! Obviously I followed the procedure without the free edge having more product applied and hoped for the best but within 2 days of doing my mum's nails she was complaining of the edges cracking away (this was on her natural nails by the way not tips)!

I've called Creative again and was told that the edges do not actually need
sealing as long as the product is pressed onto the nail properly by proper use
of the brush. The lady did warn me that natural nails sometimes grow away from the product and therefore it is adviseable to remove the client's natural free edge from time to time (forgotten how long she said) and replace with tips to stop this happening. Surely the natural nail scenario wouldn't be the reason why they were flaking so quickly? Would it just be down to my not applying the product correctly? If so, wouldn't this have happened soon after applying the original sets even though I sealed the edges (these have been lasting very well recently so I'm really worried about the rebalance procedure).

In the end I've totally rebalanced all her nails again (within 3 days of the
previous one! :sad: ) and am now scared of doing any more maintenance treatments on L&P and yet I've got 2 to do in the next week on my friends! Aaaargghhh - scared!!! :cry:

Please can someone help? I feel like I hate L&P cos it's taking so long to
master - where do you think I'm going wrong?

Thanks very much - Michelle x

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

When re balancing any nail either tipped or natural overlays. you check for product adhesion..............
If it is cracking then there is no proper product adhesion.

Zone 1: thin out the entire zone until a new seal is found..........
bevel the nail to expose a small area of keratin, this will be re-sealed during new product application........
Reduce the length of the nail.....make sure you support the nail during this or you can cause trauma to the nail bed..........
Zone 2:
Thin out the entire zone and taper to wards the sidewalls......until they are flush with zone 1..
Zone 3:
Check for growth rate, and any lifting
thin this zone to re balance it to the others.........
check all zones and make sure you have a nice even surface, and no lifted coating is left behind..............
Prep the nail and then overlay with your L&P, working from zone 1-3.....
Rebalance means re balancing the nail, making sure the apex is back where it should be......and your smile line is smiling nicely in the right place..........

An infill is where you just replace the growth rate with product at the cuticle edge........... but you still have to check all zones for any sign of lifting , cracking or damage..................

HTH

 

[Nails at Home]

Thanks Ruth - I'm going to try and take that in later (got to get to my Plastic Surgery live programme in a min ). Can I just say though that I called it a rebalance cos Creative don't seem to use the word infill - it's the infills I seem to be having the problem with rather than the rebalance cos I'm able to practically redo the nail at this stage anyway. Could you give me a step by step for the infills please? Really appreciate your help - thanks.

 

[The Geek]

Hey there

Sorry to hear that you had contradictory info... I do not believe in removing product from time to time... there is really no need to subject the natural nail plate to such severe dehydration processes unless really needed.
Anyhoo... onto your problem...

There could be a number of problems happening.
On natural nail overlays, I will usually apply a form to the nail to ensure that I accurately form a clamp around the natural nail. This clamp is ever so slight. The reason I do this is to prevent what little shrinkage occurs with a L&P system that may lead to it pulling away from the free edge of the natural nail. If the product pulls slightly, you can get free edge cracking.

Another thing that can cause the free edge cracking with an overlay is going too wet with your mix. Many times when people do an overlay, they brush out (smooth) the product too thin and too wet along the edge. This can cause excessive shrinkage (where even a clamp wont hold) as well as excessive weakness.
Another point that can contribute is curling of the natural nail free edge.

As for the Rebalance vs infill: In the states, the general terminology is fill. A rebalance vs fill is more of a conceptual thing than a specific set of steps you follow.
The concept of a rebalance is to maintain the health of the natural nail while it grows by keeping the original structural 'balance' of the enhancement intact.
Many people do 'rebalance' the nail and call it a Fill (or infill). A fill implies that you are simply applying product in zone 3 without really restructuring the nail at all. Fills also usually carry connotations like nipping product as well.

Whew! Hope that helps

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

I just had a fab idea......LOL well I have some at times lol............... Go and do the rebalance class.......... It is just the stuff to help you out here........
And it is one of the Masterclasses, so one step closer for the complete Nail Technician Certificate...............it takes you one step up and away from your foundation level......... just a thought but worth thinking about!!!!!!!

 

[Nails at Home]

Think I'm really dumb tonight :cry: find it all quite a lot to take in but thanks nail geek and Ruth for your help - will try and read it properly when not trying to watch "Plastic Surgery Live" also! :o But the idea of the rebalance class does sound like a very good idea - do you know how much it costs and is it just 1 day?

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

I am not sure of the costs of the rebalance class.......yes it is one day and well worth doing, but so are all the Master classes............Call Leeds the Acadamy advisors they will be able to give you all the prices and info and class locations.........................You go for it, best thing I ever did..........

 

[sequinto]

Think I'm really dumb tonight :cry: find it all quite a lot to take in but thanks nail geek and Ruth for your help - will try and read it properly when not trying to watch "Plastic Surgery Live" also! :o But the idea of the rebalance class does sound like a very good idea - do you know how much it costs and is it just 1 day?

Hi There totally agree with Ruth on rebalance class i was havin so many probs with rebalancing done this class and hey... u learn so much more i have now come on in leaps n bounds this class is a must for evry1 who does nails cos after all if u cant rebalance u have no buisness hth