Gel extension with nail form

[Isabelle81]

Hi all
This is my first post as I'm very newly qualified. I tend to use nail forms more than tips in all the practice nails I've done and they've turned out fine, and the 'clients' and I have been really happy. Today for the first time I practiced longer nails on myself as all my 'clients' so far had wanted shorter extensions. I've attached a picture as I'm hoping someone could offer me some guidance as to why I have such an obvious dip between my natural free edge and my gel free edge...I had the nail form fitted as snug as poss. Thank u in advance!!

 

[justanailaddict]

it looks like you didn't blend out the gels properly at the 'apex'; you can see how they sort of bulge out right at the middle. are you buffing your enhancements prior to coloring to smooth everything out? when I began working with hard gels i found i often had to apply more coats of the hard gel (since my sculpting wasn't as good) and followed with alot of buffing/filing to get to the proper shape. with more practise you will be able to 'build' that shape as opposed to filing down to it.
the extended portion also looks somewhat flat, which will also contribute to unevenness in shape since it's not 'following the natural curve'

 

[Isabelle81]

Thank you so much for the reply... I did buff with a white buffing block, so maybe I didn't buff long enough? How do you suggest 'building' the shape as I float the gel on the form and fill in the centre of the entension - maybe I need to use a more generous amount of gel?

 

[justanailaddict]

the entire point of buffing is to achieve to proper shape, so perhaps the question shouldn't be whether you buffed long enough but rather if you buffed it into the correct shape. as for building the actual nail, everybody has their own method- I would suggest practising until you find one that works for you.

personally I like to build just the extension portion first with a thicker builder gel, cure and remove forms, then 'fill in' and go over the entire enahancement+nail with a thinner, more self-leveling gel. this is where I would 'build' the apex. if needed I will go over with a 3rd final layer to smooth everything out. buffing will come last after everything is cured to get rid of any bumpiness.

There are lots and lots of great videos on youtube on sculpting extensions.

 

[Isabelle81]

Thank you, I really appreciate your suggestions. Practice practice practice!!!