Some advise on EZ flow application please.?

[Jo's Nails]

Hi Guys,
I did my first day of training today at the Carlton institute using EZ flow products.
I am still not sure of my training, I don't mean to moan all the time but I thought it would have been more in depth.

We went through a little theory first, then went on to application.

Consultation, She showed us record cards??

Sanitation, one tiny spray of beauty works sanitizer over files and one on each hand. She didn't explain about the product.

Prep, push back cuticles remove eponychium.

Apply EZ bond dehydrator twice. I have never used a dehydrator before but to apply it twice, I don't see the point in that?? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Choose and size tips, pre tailor to fit, apply using brush on resin, remove surface shine from nail and plastic tip.

Blend and apply the line eliminator, I don't know why she used this?

Apply primer twice, again does EZ flow primer need to be applied twice???

The brush was taken out and she loosened the bristles with her fingers and wiped on tissue. I thought that if you touched your brush it could get contaminated.

The brush was dipped into the monomer all the way to the bottom of the dampen dish passed the metal bit of the brush, again I thought that dipping the brush too deep could ruin your brush and cause the hairs to fall out.

The brush was then wiped on tissue we were told to have tissue handy as we would do a lot of wiping.

The powder was used straight from the pot, when I asked why she wasn't putting the powder into a dampen dish she said this way is easier.

She tapped the brush into the powder three times along the length of the brush and not the tip so instead of the bead being on the end of the brush there was a line of acrylic running up the brush. She said this is the EZ flow way. Please could somebody tell me if this is right.

She said that with EZ flow the zones and application is different. Zone 1 is the free edge, zone two is the cuticle area and zone 3 is the stress area and is taken further back and the apex is much higher with EZ flow???

She used the belly of the brush to "Squish" the acrylic onto the nail there was allot of product on the nail and was very thick at the cuticle area. The brush was very large and was brushed all over the top of the finger all over the skin several times. There was nothing said about over exposure. The product was plonked onto the nail. There was no sculpting involved.

She then went on to file, Ez flow files are named but she didn't know the grits of the files when I asked her. It looked like she had problems filing taking really short sawing strokes only using about a centimeter of the file. Using the tiger file, then the wolf file, then the fox file , the the shark sander, then the whale 3 way buffer.

When tidying up at the end of the night I asked where I should pour the monomer into tissue and she said it can be used again. When we are working on nails we can pour a full dampen dish full of liquid and use it all day on all clients. Again I thought this was wrong because the monomer will become contaminated and thicken up with too much powder and cause infection and lifting. She said that the liquid is so astringent that germs wouldn't live in it anyway.

Again Guys
Sorry if I sound like I am moaning and sorry this is long winded but please could somebody put me right. I really like Ez flow products and want to invest in them.

I have to go back tomorrow to do sculpted and pink and whites. I am also doing my NVQ level 2 there and she said the apex has to be high and much further back,it's the EZ flow way. Is this right? xx

 

[izzidoll]

I would say that the vast majority of this is the EzFlow way !

The only thing I have slight reservations about is the filing procedure as EzFlow way is amazing...and very strict on procedure, so I would have expected your trainer to be exact about her procedure and grits!.

First you use Tiger file 100 grit, and file length, then holding it straight file sidewalls, then use wolf file 150 grit and refine sidewalls and cuticle area, switch to Fox file 180 grit and feather and bevel with this file to get a smooth shape and perfect apex. Apex is slightly further back than in some nails but I have to say I do like the EzFlow shape of nail! Sand Shark to smooth and Whale to buff to a high shine.

The trainer should be showing you how to hold your file through all of these procedures especially the feather and bevel with the 180grit looking down the barrel of the nail which makes all the difference to the finished nails.


I would disagree that there is no sculpting involved and product does not just get plonked onto the nail!
Picking up a bead with EzFlow does use a patting method into the polymer powder, a method i still use. When you do this you are building up your bead in layers and the first layer is polymerising before you have pickedup the last layer, therefore you can place your bead, then wipe your brush and the product is ready to be pressed out where you require it.

You do require to wipe your brush a lot with EzFlow as when you pick up your bead you get the correct mix, and you do not require liquid in your brush to keep the mix right therefore you need to wipe the excess out of it.
Different companies require you to not wipe and keep liquid in your brush to keep the bead fluid and workable.
So no right or wrongs here just different methods to get optimum results from the system being used.
This is why Conversions are so important when changing systems as they do not all work the same way !!

 

[lollybabe11]

I passed an ezflow course about 4 weeks ago, it seems as though you have been taught differently to me :-/ I would have thought that all ezflow courses were the same! My first full day was all in depth talk, we didn't do any practical work on the first day. Why the two coats of primer? We were shown to use one and NEVER get it onto your skin at all times. I was also not shown to use a line eliminator?? I can't believe she touched the primer brush! Also, I was taught to only use enough monomer for each client? I loved my ezflow course and found it fantastic I loved my tutor she was amazing! If you want to ask me anything just message me ;-) hope I've helped! X

 

[nailmaid]

Hi
I just did training with Ezflow - mine differed from yours slightly. Strange, as I would have thought that there was only one "Ezflow Way"?

Hi Guys,
I did my first day of training today at the Carlton institute using EZ flow products.
I am still not sure of my training, I don't mean to moan all the time but I thought it would have been more in depth.

We went through a little theory first, then went on to application.

Consultation, She showed us record cards??
We went through the importance of these quite thoroughly, although as with most of the theory it was stressed that we had a lot of learning to do outside/after the course too

Sanitation, one tiny spray of beauty works sanitizer over files and one on each hand. She didn't explain about the product.

Prep, push back cuticles remove eponychium.
remove cuticle surely?

Apply EZ bond dehydrator twice. I have never used a dehydrator before but to apply it twice, I don't see the point in that?? Please correct me if I am wrong.
We only applied once

Choose and size tips, pre tailor to fit, apply using brush on resin, remove surface shine from nail and plastic tip.

Blend and apply the line eliminator, I don't know why she used this?
Didn't use a line eliminator

Apply primer twice, again does EZ flow primer need to be applied twice???
Applied once

The brush was taken out and she loosened the bristles with her fingers and wiped on tissue. I thought that if you touched your brush it could get contaminated.
Told not to touch brush

The brush was dipped into the monomer all the way to the bottom of the dampen dish passed the metal bit of the brush, again I thought that dipping the brush too deep could ruin your brush and cause the hairs to fall out.

The brush was then wiped on tissue we were told to have tissue handy as we would do a lot of wiping.
Brush wiped once against side of dappen dish to remove excess monomer

The powder was used straight from the pot, when I asked why she wasn't putting the powder into a dampen dish she said this way is easier.

She tapped the brush into the powder three times along the length of the brush and not the tip so instead of the bead being on the end of the brush there was a line of acrylic running up the brush. She said this is the EZ flow way. Please could somebody tell me if this is right.
Shown to use point of brush

She said that with EZ flow the zones and application is different. Zone 1 is the free edge, zone two is the cuticle area and zone 3 is the stress area and is taken further back and the apex is much higher with EZ flow???
Zones 1 free edge, 2 central part of nail, 3 cuticle area

She used the belly of the brush to "Squish" the acrylic onto the nail there was allot of product on the nail and was very thick at the cuticle area. The brush was very large and was brushed all over the top of the finger all over the skin several times. There was nothing said about over exposure. The product was plonked onto the nail. There was no sculpting involved.
Product was pressed onto nail using body of brush, but not to the point that there was excess product all over the fingers!

She then went on to file, Ez flow files are named but she didn't know the grits of the files when I asked her. It looked like she had problems filing taking really short sawing strokes only using about a centimeter of the file. Using the tiger file, then the wolf file, then the fox file , the the shark sander, then the whale 3 way buffer.

When tidying up at the end of the night I asked where I should pour the monomer into tissue and she said it can be used again. When we are working on nails we can pour a full dampen dish full of liquid and use it all day on all clients. Again I thought this was wrong because the monomer will become contaminated and thicken up with too much powder and cause infection and lifting. She said that the liquid is so astringent that germs wouldn't live in it anyway.

Again Guys
Sorry if I sound like I am moaning and sorry this is long winded but please could somebody put me right. I really like Ez flow products and want to invest in them.

I have to go back tomorrow to do sculpted and pink and whites. I am also doing my NVQ level 2 there and she said the apex has to be high and much further back,it's the EZ flow way. Is this right? xx

not sure that that helps u at all !!

 

[valleygirl]

Hi the only thing I would add to that is to be careful when you are buffing nails with the white tiger .... we used Ezflow in college and while a fellow students was buffing my nails with it managed to cut my finger lol ... I'm sure it was just a one off and probably never happened before or since but just thought I'd mention it lol xx

 

[izzidoll]

Hi the only thing I would add to that is to be careful when you are buffing nails with the white tiger .... we used Ezflow in college and while a fellow students was buffing my nails with it managed to cut my finger lol ... I'm sure it was just a one off and probably never happened before or since but just thought I'd mention it lol xx

You do not buff nails with the White Tiger 100 grit file !!


Also can I say regarding the brush touching....would this not be because you had a new brush and the gum used in packing it would need removed (as with every new brush) before use???


Ezflow does have Line Eliminator as a product to use to help newbies blend tips...when I was an Educator with them I choose to NOT use it as blending tips is a skill that should be larned from the very beginning. That said other educators did not need to follow suit and could use it in their classes.

 

[Jo's Nails]

izzidoll Hi I just breathed a sigh of relief reading your post. You make so much sense especially the bit about picking up the bead. I was a bit worried about wiping my brush and wasting liquid though I will need lots of practice in getting the ratio right. I am going to copy your tips into my note pad thank you.

thanks guys.
lollybabe11
nailmaid valleygirl I will be picking your brains agian if you don't mind.x

I do love the EZ flow acrylic is lovely and light, I have two nails done but feels strong nothing like I have used before.

Contra indications and disorders is one of the things I wanted to know thoroughly knowing when I can and can not treat a client and of course why. And product information I want to know exactly what I am working with and how it works.

One of the girls wanted there nails soaked off so the instructor applied acetone to a cotton pad wrapped two nails up in foil and sent her home. We were told that EZ flow acrylic takes 60mins to soak off. Again is this right?? xx

 

[Jo's Nails]

izzidoll Hi
The brushes were old ones already used by other students from I don't know when. They were all found in the bottom draw.
She didn't give us the option of not using the line eliminator it was apply this it will make your job easier.x

 

[valleygirl]

I do apologise izzidoll I ment to say file the side wall as it was while my fellow student was doing this that it cut my finger ..... don't know of any way you'd cut a finger by buffing what an idiot i am!!! :smack:

No probs Jo's Nails you can gimme a shout anytime although am still fairly new (only qualified in July) xx

 

[nailmaid]

still learning myself, but i'd be glad to help if i can

 

[izzidoll]

I do apologise izzidoll I ment to say file the side wall as it was while my fellow student was doing this that it cut my finger ..... don't know of any way you'd cut a finger by buffing what an idiot i am!!! :smack:

No probs Jo's Nails you can gimme a shout anytime although am still fairly new (only qualified in July) xx

No problem, and a file cut is sorer than a papercut lol!!:Scared:

When using a new file especially a low grit one I run a file down the outer edge of it to render it a bit less lethal. Even with a 'broken in' file you need to be very careful of the angle you are using it especially at the sidewalls.

 

[izzidoll]

Hi Guys,
The brush was dipped into the monomer all the way to the bottom of the dampen dish passed the metal bit of the brush, again I thought that dipping the brush too deep could ruin your brush and cause the hairs to fall out.

I found this difficult to get used to as I normally used a small dappen dish and used enough for 1 set of nails using fresh for each client, I still do !!
However EzFlow have those big porcelain dappen dishes and they fill them up. You dip your brush in (fully submerging hairs and you do not wipe your brush but press it against the side of the dappen dish neck to let excess monomer out of it, (for whatever size bead you require) then tap it on the opposite side.

Good quality brushes like the 508 you should have do not have the hairs glued into the ferrule like Craft/Art brushes, but tied in therefore they won't fall out if dipped into monomer.
I have to correct myself here :o in the interest of being factually correct but the 508 bristles are glued in the the ferrule with epoxy resin as this doesn't break down with solvents. creatives are tied ...it must be an age thing that I got that confused !!but the 508 is still my brush of choice and the best I have ever used.

The brush was then wiped on tissue we were told to have tissue handy as we would do a lot of wiping.

The powder was used straight from the pot, when I asked why she wasn't putting the powder into a dampen dish she said this way is easier.

I would never decant my powder into a dappen dish, I always work from my pot of powder to let the client see what products I am using.

She tapped the brush into the powder three times along the length of the brush and not the tip so instead of the bead being on the end of the brush there was a line of acrylic running up the brush. She said this is the EZ flow way. Please could somebody tell me if this is right.

The tapping , yes I tap several times quickly into the powder to pick up the bead although I do not have it right the way up my brush it is more at the tip, although all on one side.

She said that with EZ flow the zones and application is different. Zone 1 is the free edge, zone two is the cuticle area and zone 3 is the stress area and is taken further back and the apex is much higher with EZ flow???


When tidying up at the end of the night I asked where I should pour the monomer into tissue and she said it can be used again. When we are working on nails we can pour a full dampen dish full of liquid and use it all day on all clients. Again I thought this was wrong because the monomer will become contaminated and thicken up with too much powder and cause infection and lifting. She said that the liquid is so astringent that germs wouldn't live in it anyway.

You do wipe your brush before and after picking up a bead and therefore should not contaminate your liquid. Again I do prefer to use a smaller dappen dish and fresh monomer for each client, but this is something you can choose to do yourselfafter the course, but there is nothing 'wrong' with what you are being shown.

xx

Hope my further comments help.

I hope your sculpting goes well today as this is where EzFlow excel, and the EzFlow shape nail will probably become more apparent to you. I hope all of this helps, as it has been some time since I used EzFlow and some things may have changed. xx

 

[nailmaid]

let us know how the sculpting goes - mine's next week and really looking forward to it

 

[Jo's Nails]

izzidoll Thank you I thought everything I had been shown was wrong. The Instructor is such a lovely person and she let me practice on her. I did a full set of sculpted pink and whites she wanted them long and pointy for a Halloween party on the week end. By the end of the set I felt really comfortable with EZ flow acrylic application

She didn't explain any theory like the hairs of the brush being tied in to the brush ( I thought they were glued in and would fall out). The handbook she gave us is so basic only 13 pages which she rushed/skipped bits and she was saying things like "oh you don't need to know any of this, like when are you ever come across that," And when we came to the chemical terminology Molecule and Oligomers you don't need to know words like this.
I think I do need to know! I want to know!

She said the tips were made of some sort of plastic, didn't tell us anything about the product used only what it was called and this is how you apply it. Or any thing about the different tips or nail shapes and tips to suite.

There was nothing said about over exposure to the product, the brush 508 which is lovely was picked at to get old acrylic out. It was wiped all over the finger touching the cuticles side walls and surrounding skin of nail/finger over and over again.

The nail brush used had not been cleaned and there was a layer of beige dust which looked as if if had been there for a while on the bottom of the bristles and then tipped all over the nail when wiping away dust from removing cuticle.

I was also made to cut cuticles which I think could have been treated with cuticle oil and the surrounding skin which had been previously cut or picked at. I told her that I didn't like to cut cuticle but she said I must because it will spoil the look of the finished nails?

Tools were kept in a jar of barbiside and were rusty and had old bits of skin on them.


And we were told to buy our products from ebay as they are cheaper.

 

[izzidoll]

izzidoll Thank you I thought everything I had been shown was wrong. The Instructor is such a lovely person and she let me practice on her. I did a full set of sculpted pink and whites she wanted them long and pointy for a Halloween party on the week end. By the end of the set I felt really comfortable with EZ flow acrylic application

She didn't explain any theory like the hairs of the brush being tied in to the brush ( I thought they were glued in and would fall out). The handbook she gave us is so basic only 13 pages which she rushed/skipped bits and she was saying things like "oh you don't need to know any of this, like when are you ever come across that," And when we came to the chemical terminology Molecule and Oligomers you don't need to know words like this.
I think I do need to know! I want to know!

She said the tips were made of some sort of plastic, didn't tell us anything about the product used only what it was called and this is how you apply it. Or any thing about the different tips or nail shapes and tips to suite.

There was nothing said about over exposure to the product, the brush 508 which is lovely was picked at to get old acrylic out. It was wiped all over the finger touching the cuticles side walls and surrounding skin of nail/finger over and over again.

The nail brush used had not been cleaned and there was a layer of beige dust which looked as if if had been there for a while on the bottom of the bristles and then tipped all over the nail when wiping away dust from removing cuticle.

I was also made to cut cuticles which I think could have been treated with cuticle oil and the surrounding skin which had been previously cut or picked at. I told her that I didn't like to cut cuticle but she said I must because it will spoil the look of the finished nails?

Tools were kept in a jar of barbiside and were rusty and had old bits of skin on them.


And we were told to buy our products from ebay as they are cheaper.

I think Grafton International the authorised distributors of EzFlow in the Uk would have something to say about this.
Hopefully one of the EzFlow Educators like Sparklepink will come across this thread and let them know that the educators at Carlton need to be retrained in some areas as they seem to be letting the brand down !

 

[Feline]

And we were told to buy our products from ebay as they are cheaper.

- This is so wrong!

Get your Ez flow products from the distributor, Rebecca Orme... sign up for shop access here: Nails & Co - Welcome

It is not good advice to buy your EZ flow products on Ebay - it could be anything!

 

[izzidoll]

She didn't explain any theory like the hairs of the brush being tied in to the brush ( I thought they were glued in and would fall out). .

I have ammended my earlier post re the 508 brush as the 508 bristles are glued in the the ferrule with epoxy resin as this doesn't break down with solvents. creatives are tied!!...see earlier post re age & confusion lol!!

I am still wondering why you haven't got a new brush though, isn't one supplied with your Course Kit ?
I am very particular about my brush and won't use anyone elses and wouldn't let anyone use mine !!!

 

[Jo's Nails]

Hi Glam Glam,
I have sent Rebecca Orm an e-mail regarding ordering products from nails and co. She is the person I wanted to be trained by, but my funding provider sent me to the Carlton against my wishes. I have told my funding provider that I am not happy and they sent me to the wrong place. I even showed him the conversation I had with Nails and Co the morning of my meeting with him. I had a meeting with him on Thursday.

izzidol,
Course kit was not provided. We could order a kit from them and pick it up a few days later. We used old brushes used by other students left in a bottom draw full of old acrylic, I don't think they had been used for a while, they were not taken out of any sort of packaging . As were the Gel brushes left with no cover on and were full of dust she threw two brushes out because they were unworkable. The acrylic brush was picked at over again to remove product. Powder was mixed, new powder was added to old powder to even the amount of each pot. I just couldn't believe it.

 

[gillian w]

I wonder if the tutor has actually been Ezflow trained.It seems that the college and tutor have their own ideas but are using Ezflow products.I would imagine once they have the account it wouldn't matter whether the tutor was trained with Ezflow.

I was given a large folder when i trained with Ezflow. Loads of info and instructions, starting from the very basics ie nail structure, contraindications etc etc.Are your workbooks from Ezflow,NVQ or the training school.

 

[Jo's Nails]

Hi gillian w,
The workbook I was given is the Carltons own instruction Manuel. 18 pages long pages 15 to 16 has 9 questions on it that was supposed to be our main test. pages 17 has a list of things we were supposed to cover but were told to tick it off any way. Page 18 tells us to get an NVQ with the Carlton. The main body of the workbook pages 2 to 14 is very very very basic 3 of those pages have only a few lines. I wish I could scan and copy it on to show you but I am not all that good with computers. I was sent the anatomy and physiology of the body it states in the download that we only read the few pages that refer to the nail but again none of this was covered in the course. The workbook was rushed through. I feel awful because she was so nice but I don't want nice I want to be taught properly.