Hey Becky... don't feel bad, I was late to the party too!! There seems to be a few different ways, but this is how I do them... -Prep nail to remove oily shine, push back cuticle, file to shape, etc... -Wipe with lint-free wipe and disinfectant (I use 99% Alcohol, but some use Swipe, Scrubfresh, NAS 99, etc..) -Apply dehydrator or bonder (If you don't like IBD's, try Young Nails Protein Bond, it is similar...or OPI Bond-Aid works ok too) -Apply Gel Base, cure -Apply Clear Gel, then sprinkle glitter over it and cure OR use your brush with clear gel on it to dip into glitter and apply that way and cure. (I started out dipping, but went to sprinkling... LOL) -Gently brush or blow off excess glitter -Apply Clear Gel, cure. Remove tacky residue. -File around the edges and any rough spots on top. -Apply Top Gel or Top Gloss, cure.
It seems like a lot of steps, but it goes fairly quickly! Rule of thumb for gel is to apply your next coat of gel to a rough or tacky surface... I will even use a buffer on top before top gloss if I don't need to file a lot just to rough it up... (I use all TT files...) Love it! And I was never a gel girl... I am SOLD now... (Sorry guys, not giving up my p&w acrylic sculpts though... hee hee) Michelle Cordes, Licensed Nail Technician The Nail Spa @ Steel Magnolias Salon "The spa for your hands and feet since 1997" Bremerton, Washington www.myspace.com/thenailspa ________________________________ From: Becky Fangmann <[email protected]> To: nailtech <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, March 20, 2010 6:25:09 PM Subject: NailTech:: Gel help...... Hi everyone! Me again, and again late to the party..... So I am LOVING doing RockStar toes, nails, etc... but I'm using some IBD gel that I had around so I have some questions that I hope someone can answer! I have a "Bonder" which seems to be a step in every gel ap. This bonder is really thin - it seems to run into the cuticle, no matter how thin I apply it..... once it's cured, do you wipe the sticky residue before I apply the clear flexible gel? (That reminds me of exactly WHY I hate gels - that sticky residue NEVER seems to go away) Once the clear gel is applied, I am dumping on the glitter, then curing. I then apply another coat of clear gel and more glitter if necessary..... do you all do this second ap of glitter? Once the steps are complete, I had a pretty decently smooth nail - but then I did the rest of my nails rather quickly and ended up where I could feel the glitter... Also! I was using a top gloss that requires removing the tacky layer, but I will definitely swap this for a non-wipe type --- so much easier! Anyone have some tips for me? -- Becky F. Licensed Nail Tech KC, Mo. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en.
