"Sealing" the acrylic?

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SoonerGirlNails

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Hi all, I'm new to nails (licensed in October of 2015). I'm in the U.S.

I do mostly hard gels, but I'm working at a nail salon which does acrylic. My boss has shown me a few times how she wants the acrylic nail to look at the end. She gives great advice on shaping the nail, except I am having a hard time doing what she calls "sealing" in the acrylic at the cuticle.

Basically, after applying the acrylic, you take the edge of the e-file bit and run it around between the acrylic edge near the cuticle and the actual nail bed, thus "sealing" the acrylic to the nail at the cuticle.

This gives me NIGHTMARES. I have tried and end up hitting the nail bed and going into the natural nail. The ladies who come in for a fill have the tell-tale "rings of fire" where either my boss or the other nail tech has filled in the nails and bumped against the nail bed trying to "seal" it in.

Hard gel is so different and I am at a loss when it comes to this part. Is there a different way I can deal with the cuticle area without doing this part?

Thanks,
Beth
 
I get that she wants the L&P to be smooth at the cuticle, thats what we are all aiming for but you don't need an e-file to do that, just a few strokes with a 240 grit hand file will achieve the same look without damaging the nail plate.

why not do it with a hand file and how her you can achieve the same look with no damage. I maintain an e-file should never be used on natural nail.

ETA - of course this is assuming the product has not been applied too thickly in the first place
 
Hi Beth...I am also struggling with this problem...I've been slowly doing acrylic refills and drilling the cuticle area gives me ANXIETY. My manager has shown me how to e-file the cuticle area, but I usually end up not drilling enough and then my coworker has to finish drilling the nails for me to prevent lifting. Sometimes I'll even drill too much near the edges and then I have to go back and add more acrylic. Any help please?
 
How much longer does filing by hand take compared to e-filing?
 
I get that she wants the L&P to be smooth at the cuticle, thats what we are all aiming for but you don't need an e-file to do that, just a few strokes with a 240 grit hand file will achieve the same look without damaging the nail plate.

why not do it with a hand file and how her you can achieve the same look with no damage. I maintain an e-file should never be used on natural nail.

ETA - of course this is assuming the product has not been applied too thickly in the first place

Thank you! I am doing fairly well not getting the acrylic too thick at the cuticle, so I will bring some 240 files from my home (she only has 80 and 100 grit files at the salon). I use an e-file bit with a rounded safety tip. I've been using this around the cuticle area and it doesn't hit the natural nail, but I can't quite get the "sealed" look she wants.

I think finishing up with the handfile should be a great solution! I will try this on my practice hand first and see how I do with it. Thank you!
 
Is it possible to get the acrylic too thin at the cuticle area? I did a set on my boss's nails to show her what I was doing, and the next day she showed me how the acrylic seemed too thin at the cuticle and was white around the edges where it had lifted a little. Would using a hand file correct this? I'm worried I might treat it like gel and thin it too much.
 
Another way to avoid over filing the nail plate (we don't and can't touch the nail bed!) is to keep the product flush on application which minimises the need for filing. Have a look for Greg Salo on YouTube and he has an excellent video showing how easy, with the right technique it is, to have that flush finish.
 
Another way to avoid over filing the nail plate (we don't and can't touch the nail bed!) is to keep the product flush on application which minimises the need for filing. Have a look for Greg Salo on YouTube and he has an excellent video showing how easy, with the right technique it is, to have that flush finish.

Thanks for the video reference! I have to do a set on Saturday and will watch his video and practice before then! Videos are SO HELPFUL! :)
 
hanks for the video reference! I have to do a set on Saturday and will watch his video and practice before then! Videos are SO HELPFUL! :)
It really is a good video and if you're anything like me I'm a very visual learner so I need to see things in practice.
 
It really is a good video and if you're anything like me I'm a very visual learner so I need to see things in practice.
Im the same as you pure i found this video brilliant! X
 

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