What To Put Over Nail Tips

Your ultimate career goal may be the perfect sculptured nail, but while you're perfecting your skill gear up, nail tips are a great stopgap! When properly sized and applied, nail tips tin can deliver the perfect platform for a strengthening overlay of acrylic, gel or silk/fiberglass in record fourth dimension. "Tips can be platonic for clients who accept difficulty growing their natural nails," says Elsa Barbi, OPI administrator. They can also help forestall nail biting, protect smash splits and (bonus!) provide a larger canvas for nail fine art, especially for almond or other untraditional nail shapes. Here, everything y'all need to know to successfully choose, fit and apply blast tips.

Tip Types

Most blast tips are manufactured out of plastic, aka acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a durable but flexible textile that tin be shaped into a smooth surface that resists yellowing. Wait for pure or "virgin" plastic as it contains no recycled material, which can sometimes cause quality issues when the plastic is re-melted and reused, says Vicki Ornellas, global trainer for ibd. The thinner area of the tip that makes contact with the client'south nail is called the well. Choosing the type of well is ordinarily a matter of preference:

Full-well tips take the largest contact point and the best "grip," according to Terry Burciaga, global educator for SuperNail. The big surface expanse is suitable for nearly clients, simply is particularly good for camouflaging bitten nails and other imperfections, says Barbi. Because the well tin embrace upward to half of the natural nail bed, full-well tips crave the nigh blending and are best covered with colored production or opaque polish.

Half or partial-well tips offer less coverage on the nail, then they're quicker to employ and blend. The additional strength is realized when acrylic or other production is applied direct to the natural boom.

Well-less tips are the fastest and most versatile tip because they can be applied anywhere on the smash plate and don't crave blending. They're perfect for creating pink-and-white nails with crisp smile lines.

Fit and Zipper

A good fit and a solid bond are critical to long-lasting and natural-looking enhancements using tips. "Showtime, examine the client's nails and choose a tip with a C-curve that most closely matches the natural C-curve of the customer's nail plate," says Barbi. Additionally, says Ornellas, the width of the tip should fit from sidewall-to-sidewall for proper strength and structure. "If you're in between sizes go up in size and customize the tip downward to fit." (Notation: Don't become caught in the trap of taking too long to customize a particular type of tip when another one may exist far more suitable out of the box.) Finally, if using full or half-well tips, make sure that the well fits snugly confronting the complimentary edge of the nail. Other options to consider are length and color, i.due east., natural, clear and white.

After sizing and customizing all 10 tips, cleanse the nail plate. For application, information technology's of import to use a professional person mucilage or resin designed for nails. These adhesives vary in thickness and setting time, and it'due south important that the glue provides the correct amount of support to attach the tip securely. "If the nail plate seems uneven, fill in the well with a resin mucilage," says Burciaga. "Information technology'due south thicker in viscosity, and so air pockets tin can't develop." Short on time? Ornellas uses a fast-setting glue considering the bond is instant and strong. The downside? "There'due south no jerk room," she says, noting that smash tip newbies should cull slower setting glue until they're confident that they can place tips correctly the first time.

Some techs prefer to utilize the glue to the border or well of the tip, while others apply it directly to the natural nail in the area that volition make contact with the tip. Align the tip on the gratuitous edge of the smash at a 45- to 90-degree angle and then slowly stone it frontward, pressing it onto the nail plate and firmly belongings information technology in place until the glue dries. The glue should spread evenly to completely fill the space. Once the glue has prepare, use a tip cutter to trim the tips to the desired length then shape with a file

Blending

Before applying product, full and partial-well tips should be blended to "erase" the line and smooth the transition fom the tip to the natural boom. Tip blenders are liquid products brushed over the plastic at the seam line to soften the plastic and so less filing is required (which means less friction and potential damage to the customer'southward boom plate). Many techs adopt to sparse or pre-compose the seam prior to gluing. This eliminates having to file a lot to blend and, therefore, reduces the gamble of filing into the nail plate, says Allie Baker, global make ambassador for EzFlow. (Notation: Well-less tips don't crave blending. In fact, blending can ruin the crisp smile line of a French or white tip.)

Oils are easily transferred back onto the nail during the trimming and blending process, and then make sure to cleanse the boom over again and employ primers and bonders after blending, says Baker. Too, brand certain to utilize primer only to the exposed natural smash as it tin can crevice or warp ABS plastic.

Care and Maintenance

Assuming that the tip has been properly fit, attached and overlayed, enhancements created with tips should last two to three weeks. "The bail really depends on the customer and what glue was used," says Burciaga. "The thicker the viscosity of gum/resin, the slower it will suspension down in water." For clients with natural nails that tend to curl away from the extension, encourage them to use cuticle oil every unmarried day to keep the natural nail hydrated and pliable so information technology keeps its shape. Barbi recommends educating your clients to get broken nails fixed right away to prevent further breakage.

What your best communication for sizing and applying nail tips? Allow the states know in the comments beneath!

-Leslie Henry is a concern development executive, licensed nail technician and the blogger behind workplaypolish.com.

[Images: Armando Sanchez]