Struggling with gel French-help

[alishajade]

Hi!

So I'm a student nail tech and have just started doing gels, I'm really struggling with the French and just the general application, what technique are you using for french gel? I started doing reverse but have been told I'm making things harder for myself that way as the product runs everywhere I'm really not getting on with it at all!
I'm struggling to get really crisp smile lines, do I do the white after the pink? do I wipe over the pink before i do the white? ahhhh
I use NSI so if anybody uses NSI and/or could give me some general advice on french gel, smile lines, technique etc please help!

 

[AlanyaMackie]

I always rest my thumb nail slightly on the underside of my clients to steady myself, also stops polish getting on their skin. Practice makes perfect x

 

[c.mrsm]

Hi!
I’ve just qualified and I use nsi too, the secrets led range. It’s really hard. I’ve tried to do it loads of ways. Either pink or clear then the white smile line on top but then you get the white sticking up. I’ve tried doing the white, curing then adding the pink, then the other way round so that it’s seemless. I find it’s too runny to sculpt properly and I can’t seem to get it thick enough so that once if tried to file it smooth I don’t file the gel too thin, which is inevitably happening. To get a crisp smile line I use a slanted art brush dipped in a little acetone. I have bought a trial kit of ink London jelly to try out as I think it might be easier to work with. So probably not much help for you but your not alone, it’s driving me mad!
So I'm a student nail tech and have just started doing gels, I'm really struggling with the French and just the general application, what technique are you using for french gel? I started doing reverse but have been told I'm making things harder for myself that way as the product runs everywhere I'm really not getting on with it at all!
I'm struggling to get really crisp smile lines, do I do the white after the pink? do I wipe over the pink before i do the white? ahhhh
I use NSI so if anybody uses NSI and/or could give me some general advice on french gel, smile lines, technique etc please help!

 

[c.mrsm]

Not sure what happened to my reply but it’s in the last post somewhere! Lol

 

[alishajade]

Yes! I use the secrets brush on white for the smile line and the hard gels with the cover pink and builder clear, the white does stick up ahh! I have just been using the blue cleanse to clean up the smile line with a smaller gel brush but I’ll try acetone! I’ll search into ink London jelly , may be easier to work with thankyou! x

 

[c.mrsm]

Just don’t dip your gel brush into the acetone as it will melt the brush and the bristles will fall out. I just got a cheap art brush from hobby craft. Only thing with ink London is you can’t soak it off, it’s file off but I’ve heard good reviews. I just can’t seem to get on with the nsi gel but it might be because I’m new x

 

[ellis walker]

Hi!

So I'm a student nail tech and have just started doing gels, I'm really struggling with the French and just the general application, what technique are you using for french gel? I started doing reverse but have been told I'm making things harder for myself that way as the product runs everywhere I'm really not getting on with it at all!
I'm struggling to get really crisp smile lines, do I do the white after the pink? do I wipe over the pink before i do the white? ahhhh
I use NSI so if anybody uses NSI and/or could give me some general advice on french gel, smile lines, technique etc please help!

Hey,

I'm recently out of gel training with NSI.
Did you learn to use your dotting tool to slowly draw the white on?
Once pink gel extension is cured, wipe of tack and lightly etch in white smile line with small dot tool - cure and top coat don't be disheartened!

 

[c.mrsm]

Hey,

I'm recently out of gel training with NSI.
Did you learn to use your dotting tool to slowly draw the white on?
Once pink gel extension is cured, wipe of tack and lightly etch in white smile line with small dot tool - cure and top coat don't be disheartened!

Did you do this with a form? I tried with a form but the pink extension was so wrong! It was really bendy. I’ve not tried with a dotting tool, that’s a good idea. Do you file the top smooth once the pink and white is done, before you top coat?

 

[alishajade]

Hiyaa

For the course I’m doing we have to use tips for gel, not a fan of tips but I guess it’s easier for gel! I tried using my smallest dotting tool for the smile line after applying and curing the pink. After I’ve cured I do a layer of clear builder gel for the apex (try to!) then lightly file and do a gel top coat
The dotting tool works really well much more precise!

Thanks for your help

 

[alishajade]

Hiyaa

For the course I’m doing we have to use tips for gel, not a fan of tips but I guess it’s easier for gel! I tried using my smallest dotting tool for the smile line after applying and curing the pink. After I’ve cured I do a layer of clear builder gel for the apex (try to!) then lightly file and do a gel top coat
The dotting tool works really well much more precise!

Thanks for your help

Also do you do a few layers of white to get it opaque and cure it in between? I tried that yesterday and it worked quite well!

 

[Blackhorse]

Are they not helping you where you are studying, try asking your tutor as he or she will be able to see exactly how you are doing it and help you get the perfect technique

 

[7th-Heaven]

I also struggled with classic way of doing french and I asked if I should be trying reverse instead, and got the same reply you did, that it's much harder to do reverse. But boy am I glad I tried it though. I find it so much better to do reverse. Practice it on a practice hand first, or get some willing models in. I find reverse much preferable now, and the smile line gets much crisper, and I don't have that awful shadowing on the smile line anymore. I used to hate doing french and dreaded it, but now I enjoy it because of reverse. Oh and I find it's faster, because I don't have to struggle with the white so much, and how it sometimes wouldn't cure because of too thick layer. I don't have that issue anymore.
PS: i stuck with the classic way just for my exam and course, to please my tutor since she wanted us to do it that way. But after I passed the exam I immediately tried reverse and my french instantly looked 1001 times better, despite never having tried it before..
Just 2 cents from a newbie who struggled with french as well