Discoloured whites?

[jodipodi]

:irked:Need some help with a little problem, after I have finished doing a set of nails I find the tips especially start turning a yellowy orangey colour sort of grubby looking. I dont use topcoat as I was taught to buff to a high shine-what could be causing this-it comes off only when its filed off slightly? xx

 

[Bev Rose]

Could your brush be contaminated?

When you clean your brush in fresh monomer, be sure you get right down the ferrule to the placce where it's clamped into the metal. When you then wipe it on a lint free wipe, it should leave no mark, if it leaves a yellowy stain, then it's got old product in, which can come out into your whites.
When you store your brush, having cleaned it, don't store it with the flags downwards, as this will allow any old product that has been missed by cleaning come down into your flags. Always store your brush flat, but make sure it's been well flushed out with FRESH monomer first.

 

[jodipodi]

Thanks hun, Ill try that-have been told Im working a bit wet so could be product left on the brush. Soooo awkward trying to get the right consistency!!

 

[Bev Rose]

Working to wet will do it!

try practising your picking up of beads.
I used an old tip box lid. When you've got your bead, pop it down onto the lid, watch it settle, if it starts to run and flatten, then your working too wet, if it stays lumpy your too dry. It should settle slightly and then 'dome'. Your bead should look like frosted glass - this is based on CND Retention+, which I see your using CND in your profile.

Working too wet will bring you other problems too later on - at infill time there's likely to be lifting & pocket lifting, plus having the monomer running into the clients skin is an over-exposure hazard.
I'm prone to working too wet sometimes - even after 5 years!

I find my brush can get clogged & my monomer become cloudy with my pinks sometimes - particularly when I'm pushing the product up close to the eponychium and pulling down again, to get it to disappear! It only seems to happen when I'm using my EzFlow 508, never when I use my CND Pro-styler.

 

[jodipodi]

Im going to have to really knuckle down this weekend and practice hard. Feel like its gonna take me forever to be good enough xx

 

[geeg]

Im going to have to really knuckle down this weekend and practice hard. Feel like its gonna take me forever to be good enough xx

It won't ... and getting the right mix ratio is not the BIG mystery so many make it out to be.

Really it is simple and reading the tutorial entitled "getting the right mix" may help you. The way I teach students how to make beads, has them doing it in no time at all perfect every time. You can see when it is right and you can feel when it is right so where is the big mystery?? Relax and experience the right look and feel and you will be away.

Bev Rose has given you great advice re your brush and caring for it. Cleaning and storing correctly make all the difference AND .... using your brush. Yes, you must use it frequently. If you let your brush dry out completely, even when you have cleaned it correctly and stored it correctly, it will cause yellowing of the product. USE it or LOOSE it. Once contaminated, your brush is never the same again. :hug:

 

[jodipodi]

Aaahhh maybe that aswell then Geeg, finding it difficult to get models to practice on so maybe my brush is drying out too much. So when Im not doing clients what do I do with my brush?? Also when I make my bead it always looks like wet sugar but what wet sugar looks like to me could be sodden wet to everyone else!!! lol xx

 

[geeg]

Aaahhh maybe that aswell then Geeg, finding it difficult to get models to practice on so maybe my brush is drying out too much. So when Im not doing clients what do I do with my brush?? Also when I make my bead it always looks like wet sugar but what wet sugar looks like to me could be sodden wet to everyone else!!! lol xx

As long as the bead looks like slushy snow or wet sugar (some say like cellulite :lol then it is fine to lay it down .. what it should not look like is shiny and glassy then it is too wet and you should take another little scoop of powder before you lay it down.

Hopefully when you see the wet sugar stage, the liquid in your brush should be nearly (not completely) gone so that when you press the bead you are not adding a tonne of liquid from your brush to the bead.

 

[jodipodi]

Yes Geeg 80% of the time it looks like a sort of pitted orange peel so think its right. When it doesnt I either dip in a little more or start again. Sometimes it sticks a bit to the brush when I press out but Im not sure if this is because its a bit dry or if Im not letting it settle enough-will have to 'trial and error' tommorrow. Thank you for your advice xx