The art of polishing and painting large thumb nails!!

[sknight]

I love polishing nails but my only issue is very large thumbs. Do you have any tricks? When polishing finger nails its very fluid and easy to cover the nail but large areas are a hassle for me. Its mainly keeping the cuticle area tidy. How do you do it? Do you have a particular trick?

 

[kylieb]

I always paint thumbs first. That way i'm not worried about smudging the others. I know what you mean, it's difficult. Try not to get too much polish on your brush. This is what usually floods the cuticle. x

 

[Envy]

I teach to start by placing the brush further away from the cuticle

then push it up towards the cuticle area, around to one sidewall, pull right to extension,
repeat on the other side,
once more down the midddle.

By not starting right at the cuticle area you can 'push' the polish right upto where you want it without flooding.

This also allows you to have a 'loaded' brush with all the polish you need for the whole nail..

hth's

 

[eskimonailtech]

I feel your pain. I absolutely adore CG and LCN, but have the worst time painting toenails and thumbs. Either my cuticle line gets really messy or if I'm super careful, my polish starts to get thick by the time I'm halfway done and then it's all lumpy.

That's why I am slowly switching over to OPI. Their brushes fan out fantastically and I can do a big toe in 3-4 swipes.

The technique mentioned above (pushing up to the cuticle line) really does work. =)

 

[user 35377]

I teach to start by placing the brush further away from the cuticle

then push it up towards the cuticle area, around to one sidewall, pull right to extension,
repeat on the other side,
once more down the midddle.

By not starting right at the cuticle area you can 'push' the polish right upto where you want it without flooding.

This also allows you to have a 'loaded' brush with all the polish you need for the whole nail..

hth's

Ooh, I like that! That explains it very well--I couldn't get my words together to make that much sense! Ha!

 

[geeg]

I teach to start by placing the brush further away from the cuticle

then push it up towards the cuticle area, around to one sidewall, pull right to extension,
repeat on the other side,
once more down the midddle.

By not starting right at the cuticle area you can 'push' the polish right upto where you want it without flooding.

This also allows you to have a 'loaded' brush with all the polish you need for the whole nail..

hth's

Perfect ... also known as the 'Push-Pull' method.

It is also important to hold the bottle properly in your non-dominant hand and to remove the brush and polish properly as well when you take it from the bottle.

Roll the bottle between your palms to loosen the polish and to mix it.

Unscrew the lid and rotate the shaft of the brush round and round in the neck of the bottle as you remove it, to remove any polish on the shaft which could later flow down to flood the brush. Then remove the brush completely from the bottle AWAY from you so that the polish is on the side of the brush that you are going to use on the nail. This is the efficient way to start polishing.

Any good professional polish should have a brush that fans out beautifully to make a perfect smooth line at the eponychium for you; if it doesn't then I would change brands. After all, the brush is your most important tool for painting so it has to be good. One thing I love about the CND polishes is that the hairs are triangular instead of round so you get this incredible flat even polish surface when you paint as all the triangles fit together to form a flat even plane ... very cool.

Place your brush in the centre of the nail and push back to the eponychium as close as possible and draw down to complete the stroke. Again, place the brush in the centre of the nail and push up to the curved portion of the eponychium and draw down the side to complete the stroke. Make sure you are gripping the finger in a manner that pulls the skin away from the side of the nail so you can get as close as possible to the skin without touching it. Again place the brush in the centre of the nail and complete the other side in the same way. for larger nails you may need another stroke but don't try to get full coverage on the first coat of polish.

Thin to Win is the key to good polishing, polish that drys quickly and polish that does not chip or peel. Polishing too thickly (which so many tend to do) is the cause of most polish problems. It doesn't matter if the first coat is streaky or patchy -- the second will cover and if you need to do a third with some colours then that is OK too.

 

[skymark]

Perfect ... also known as the 'Push-Pull' method.

It is also important to hold the bottle properly in your non-dominant hand and to remove the brush and polish properly as well when you take it from the bottle.

Roll the bottle between your palms to loosen the polish and to mix it.

Unscrew the lid and rotate the shaft of the brush round and round in the neck of the bottle as you remove it, to remove any polish on the shaft which could later flow down to flood the brush. Then remove the brush completely from the bottle AWAY from you so that the polish is on the side of the brush that you are going to use on the nail. This is the efficient way to start polishing.

Any good professional polish should have a brush that fans out beautifully to make a perfect smooth line at the eponychium for you; if it doesn't then I would change brands. After all, the brush is your most important tool for painting so it has to be good. One thing I love about the CND polishes is that the hairs are triangular instead of round so you get this incredible flat even polish surface when you paint as all the triangles fit together to form a flat even plane ... very cool.

Place your brush in the centre of the nail and push back to the eponychium as close as possible and draw down to complete the stroke. Again, place the brush in the centre of the nail and push up to the curved portion of the eponychium and draw down the side to complete the stroke. Make sure you are gripping the finger in a manner that pulls the skin away from the side of the nail so you can get as close as possible to the skin without touching it. Again place the brush in the centre of the nail and complete the other side in the same way. for larger nails you may need another stroke but don't try to get full coverage on the first coat of polish.

Thin to Win is the key to good polishing, polish that drys quickly and polish that does not chip or peel. Polishing too thickly (which so many tend to do) is the cause of most polish problems. It doesn't matter if the first coat is streaky or patchy -- the second will cover and if you need to do a third with some colours then that is OK too.

Thank you for posting this Gigi. Very often everybody takes it as a given that techs can polish properly but it is such a skill on its own we often need to be reminded of the most efficient ways to do it.

I know I often forget to pull the skin at the sides of the finger to do the polishing and definitely appreciate the reminder. When you work alone everyday its easy to slip into less efficient habits.

 

[geeg]

Thank you for posting this Gigi. Very often everybody takes it as a given that techs can polish properly but it is such a skill on its own we often need to be reminded of the most efficient ways to do it.

I know I often forget to pull the skin at the sides of the finger to do the polishing and definitely appreciate the reminder. When you work alone everyday its easy to slip into less efficient habits.

It seems you are right!! The fact that Marian and I had 150 people attend our Perfect Polishing class at the EVENT is proof that most nail technicians (new or experienced) wanted to 'brush up' (excuse the pun) on their polishing techniques or be taught how to polish more efficiently. We were stunned!!

There are also many geeks that complain they were never taught the art of the perfect polish. Isn't it strange that polishing, such a basic and fundamental skill, is not being taught in many nail classes?

 

[skymark]

It seems you are right!! The fact that Marian and I had 150 people attend our Perfect Polishing class at the EVENT is proof that most nail technicians (new or experienced) wanted to 'brush up' (excuse the pun) on their polishing techniques or be taught how to polish more efficiently. We were stunned!!

There are also many geeks that complain they were never taught the art of the perfect polish. Isn't it strange that polishing, such a basic and fundamental skill, is not being taught in many nail classes?

I was sad to miss that class. I was on the list but could not make the event as my flights were delayed. I do wish that more places offered classes in these and other specific skills. So many companies are willing to offer enhancement training, these places are everywhere and new ones popping up everyday, but it is harder to find good tuition in other skills.

Hopefully there will be a polishing class at next years event I can make.

 

[geeg]

I was sad to miss that class. I was on the list but could not make the event as my flights were delayed. I do wish that more places offered classes in these and other specific skills. So many companies are willing to offer enhancement training, these places are everywhere and new ones popping up everyday, but it is harder to find good tuition in other skills.

Hopefully there will be a polishing class at next years event I can make.

No it's not .. it's easy.

:Look_righYou can learn any skill you want at the Creative Nail Academy in Leeds or with any CND educator. CND offer it all. 0845 210 6060 :Look_left..

No need to wait until next EVENT ... we make each EVENT different and exciting and things will not be the same next time around. :hug: Sorry you got stuck and missed it.

Good polishing skills are very important when using Shellac as your client will see the same results for 2-3 weeks ... If polishing isn't pretty perfect, the client will live with those results for a long time.

 

[glitz]

It seems you are right!! The fact that Marian and I had 150 people attend our Perfect Polishing class at the EVENT is proof that most nail technicians (new or experienced) wanted to 'brush up' (excuse the pun) on their polishing techniques or be taught how to polish more efficiently. We were stunned!!

And how fabulous were you both "Gigi & Marian" ....... Amazing "really". I really enjoyed the pp class it was just fabby .... and on another note think that Dashing Diva Wrap system will solve my problem of French polishing shaky hands.

 

[skymark]

No it's not .. it's easy.

:Look_righYou can learn any skill you want at the Creative Nail Academy in Leeds or with any CND educator. CND offer it all. 0845 210 6060 :Look_left..

No need to wait until next EVENT ... we make each EVENT different and exciting and things will not be the same next time around. :hug: Sorry you got stuck and missed it.

Good polishing skills are very important when using Shellac as your client will see the same results for 2-3 weeks ... If polishing isn't pretty perfect, the client will live with those results for a long time.

Ooh thanks for that. I didnt know you could pick and choose which things to learn. Thought you just had the set classes for things.

Will have to ask about it as am going to pop down for a shellac kit today.

 

[geeg]

Ooh thanks for that. I didnt know you could pick and choose which things to learn. Thought you just had the set classes for things.

Will have to ask about it as am going to pop down for a shellac kit today.

121 classes are available to anyone on any aspect of nail technology at the Creative nail Academy. :hug: