Rebalance Advice Needed - Desperately

[julie-b]

I've just completed my first couple of re-balances since completing my training. I really need some help from you guys!

There was a fair bit of lifting but I think I know why. Part of it is due to my inexperience as these were my initial attempts at L&P - I'm hoping that my more recent attempts won't be quite so problematic! Anyway, I filed down the acrylic to remove the lifting. I've subsequently had a read of the tutorial on file technique and re-balance and I wonder if I am being a bit over enthusiastic with the filing resulting in more of the acrylic coming off than is necessary. (I'm not quite sure if that makes sense but there did seem to be an awful lot of the acrylic that came off, more than I'd anticipated by the appearance of the lifting). Anyway, I also filed down zone 1 so that I could re-situate the smile line etc. However, I did end up with an overly thick zone 1. So how do I avoid this - is it just by filing zone 1 even more? When I'm faced with excessive lifting am I better to just soak off the enhancements and start over? I am definitely improving re technique, particularly with smile lines, but would like to create a more "delicate" and refined enhancement. One of my other worries is over filing. I do my best not to allow my file to have contact with the natural nail but on occasion this is unavoidable if I'm to manage to get rid off the lifting at the sides. So how do people avoid this (yes I know by not incurring lifting in the first place but in an emergency!). I have found that doing a re-balance takes as much work and time as doing the full enhancement - in fact even more so! Also, despite filing the acrylic until it was smooth I could still see the fill lines beneath the new acrylic - what am I doing wrong?!? One last thing (honest) if you're doing a rebalance, do you overlay the whole of zone 1 with new acrylic or just the smile line and then file it down until it's smooth? I have been covering the whole area but found that the acrylic went over the end of the free edge so ended up using a form to stop that happening. What should I be doing?

If anyone could offer me advice (until I save up for a 1:1 with my educator!) then I would be most grateful.

Best wishes

 

[luckybird21]

hun, u sound like all nail tech's when they first finish training!:wink2:


firstly i beleive with the lifting getting bigger problem it is because you are filing on the lifting, and not below it. basically if you file on the lifting l&p as you file the l&p vibrates and cases the lift to go further and further down the nail plate so u are chasing the lifting rather than erradicating it! so basically, you place your file below the lifted product, on a nice bit of product which is still nicley adhered to the nail plate. so basically u thin out the good stuff, and the bad lifted stuff will just fall off! i hope this makes a bit of sense to u!!!:lol:

basically this applies to with your problem with lifting at the side walls, file next to the lifting not on top, then u shouldnt have the problem of damaging the nail or surronding tissue. also when applying the product in the first place try not to get the product too close to the side walls.

to get a nice thin elagant enhancement takes time, dont rush it, as then it will all be thick as u havent got product exactly where u want it, and u end up having to file away half of the product at the end. basically in order to get a rebalance to be thin, as u said, you need to be totally thining out zone one.

basically a rebalance, is as such starting from scratch. you start off totally thining out the product, and when you apply the product you are basically repositioning everything, such as the smile line and the stress point, this is why for a rebalance you should be charging not far off of a full set. a infil consists of just putting product in zone 3, but im sure u know this allready!

i know u havent asked this, but i know i found this when i first started nails, so i might aswell say it just in case u too are having this problem. i found when i went to do a infil after 2 weeks i would have to do a rebalance instead, as the white had grown down too much so i had to file it all down to reposition the smile line, even tho the stress point was basically where i wanted it. this was because i was doing the smile line a inccy bit too low. i was basically putting it where the natural smile line was (exactly) so it became very visable very quickly. i soon learnt that if u applied the product just a iccle bit higher, it would last longer and after 2 weeks u would only have to do a infil, and then 2 weeks later a rebalnce, saved me time, and made me less disheartened! u dont need to do it too high just a couple of milimeters higher (not that im measuring) so it doesnt look stupid, and still looks natural (well as natural as white can be!)

im sure ure thinking shut up crazy girl i already know this, but hey!thought id add it in just in case!

as with ure other post, all i can say is dont i half waffle, (and over use the word basically!)
HTH!:wink2:

 

[julie-b]

thank you so much for your advice Sarah - and I didn't think "shut up" once - far from it! I will definitely take on board your comments and I'm sure they will be invaluable to me and my poor clients!

Best wishes

 

[crystal100]

"One last thing (honest) if you're doing a rebalance, do you overlay the whole of zone 1 with new acrylic or just the smile line and then file it down until it's smooth? I have been covering the whole area but found that the acrylic went over the end of the free edge so ended up using a form to stop that happening. What should I be doing?"

I wondered whether this was possible too...do you have to re-do the whole of zone 1 or just the smile line area and blend down to free edge?

 

[luckybird21]

if i remember rightly from when i did my training, this is called a backfill when you just re-apply the white to the smile line, and not all the way down to the free edge.

i think it all depends on the state of the nail when the client comes for a rebalance. you may find the best thing to do is thin out the enhancement and back fill. specially if the nails are sculpted in p&w, the tip would clearly be fine at the edge and just need filling in at the smile line. if you re-apply the white to the whole of the tip again, then the enhancements just end up being too thick, even tho u thined them out, as you are adding extra product to areas where it is not needed, ie the very end of the tip.

i know what you mean about the white going all over the free edge, when i first started i used to have the same problem. and you find yourself waisting so much product.

hth.(and makes some sence!)

 

[tanyamoniq]

I had a quick question along these lines... If you're doing p&w on a nail biter and their smile line is farther up than normal, putting the white slightly above their natural smile line would put the white halfway up the nail, which IMO looks ugly. How do you go about giving pretty nails to these clients?

 

[Mani-fique!]

I've been doing some reading up on posts for this very dilemma... there are a couple of ways you can deal with it.... you can use flawless pink if you use L&P so it hides the natural smile line.... if you use gel (which I do) then from what I can gather.. you do the smile where it will look right.... then do a coat of something like 'negligee' which adds a nice natural finish and disguises the natural smile line...

I've yet to try this myself..... tomorrow in fact!

I would also like to know if when you first do the set whether its easier to do a natural rather than P&W and do a french paint. Would doing a permanent french be better or is is a matter of preference? I was going to use natural tips and just do an overlay in clear then enamel.... in what ever my client wants whether its french or one colour.....but I'm not sure.... What do you lot find is the best way on a nail biter?

 

[AngieLHN]

Hi julie, l have found Geegs tutiorals fantastic for this problem, the file control ones are great! one tip when doing a rebalance is to start at the tip thining all down the nail all the lifting comes off much easier and l don't have to chase the line up the nail! they look like a new set when l'm finished now, l'm much more confident now (l used to hate them) l'm trying to cut my time down l currently take hour and a half to 2 hours and l want to get down to hour 15/ hour and half, print off the tutiorals they are really handy also the nail geeks perfect prep is good! good luck x

 

[julie-b]

thanks Angie - I agree the tutorials are fab. I've already printed them out and they're in my folder, I've have another read over them.

Cheers

Julie