Help with SOG application

Scrock

Scrock

Member
Feb 18, 2012
86
0
#1
Afternoon Everyone,

So I recently purchased the Gelish starter kit and have done two gel manicures. Here's my problem the first application I flooded my cuticles perhaps by pushing the brush to close to the cuticle. My second application went better but still too close to the cuticle. My question is what do you use to clean up the cuticle area before curing. Or is there something you use to keep the gel off the cuticles.

Thanks,
 
#2
Scrock said:
Afternoon Everyone,

So I recently purchased the Gelish starter kit and have done two gel manicures. Here's my problem the first application I flooded my cuticles perhaps by pushing the brush to close to the cuticle. My second application went better but still too close to the cuticle. My question is what do you use to clean up the cuticle area before curing. Or is there something you use to keep the gel off the cuticles.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

You are correct to be concerned about flooding the cuticle (really the eponychium) area for a few reasons. First, it looks unsightly; secondly, it will cause you polish to lift and third, having the product touching your skin can cause allergic reactions. So you should strive not to clean up the area, but instead to avoid creating the problem in the first place. You might take a look on youtube for Fingernailfixer's videos on application. They are older, but still the best. Take a look at her base coat video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VgMsNUHg9g
 
#4
Well put, NancyG! And welcome to sog's, Scrock! Have fun! There are so many options out there and so much information on these boards and YouTube regarding application, removal, gel sandwiching (using gel base and top coat but with real nail polish in between), etc. that you will be a pro in no time. I started doing my own sog's before shellac came out (used the potted gels which I don't recommend! Lol) and can say that practice makes perfect.
Hang in there and let us know how you're doing!
 
#5
I agree, it's better to just not have to do cleanup, but of course that doesn't always work out. I am impressed with how good I've gotten in the last year, so definitely practice, practice, practice. Until you've got it perfected though, I've found that a very small, stiff makeup brush dipped in alcohol cleans up any mistakes really well before curing.
 
#6
I am also having some issues. First off, I have been using Vitagel, but I think that I am going back to regular Foundation. I have been getting lifting on my tips after only a few days. But that might also be partly due to my capping. When you cap the free edge, how much are are applying? I am wondering if I apply too much. I go over the whole free edge with the brush, coating it pretty well. I've watched the OPI and CND videos, and it looks like they barely swipe the brush across. So maybe I am overcapping, thus applying it to thick?
Finally, I have been using OPI Bond Aid before each mani, I thought it was a bonder. But I finally looked at the fine print, it says it is a ph balancing agent. So maybe not a bonder after all! Any recommendations for a good bonder?
TIA!
 
#7
Bcabo said:
I am also having some issues. First off, I have been using Vitagel, but I think that I am going back to regular Foundation. I have been getting lifting on my tips after only a few days. But that might also be partly due to my capping. When you cap the free edge, how much are are applying? I am wondering if I apply too much. I go over the whole free edge with the brush, coating it pretty well. I've watched the OPI and CND videos, and it looks like they barely swipe the brush across. So maybe I am overcapping, thus applying it to thick?
Finally, I have been using OPI Bond Aid before each mani, I thought it was a bonder. But I finally looked at the fine print, it says it is a ph balancing agent. So maybe not a bonder after all! Any recommendations for a good bonder?
TIA!
Click to expand...

Vitagel does a great job protecting and healing nails, but it is difficult to work with without getting peeling or lifting. In my experience, you have to apply it super, super thin, especially at the free edge. I wipe the brush as I bring it out the bottle and then just dot it on the middle of the nail. I then take a gel brush and scrub it into the entire nail and over the edge. It should completely coat the nail, but should not be smooth like polish.

As for bonder, I don't use it often because it makes removal much more difficult. But sometimes when I am traveling and need my mani to last extra long and through being banged up carrying luggage, I use the bonder that goes with the base coat I am using, so ph Bond with Gelish Vitagel or Foundation, or BondAid with OPI.
 
#8
Scrock said:
Afternoon Everyone,

So I recently purchased the Gelish starter kit and have done two gel manicures. Here's my problem the first application I flooded my cuticles perhaps by pushing the brush to close to the cuticle. My second application went better but still too close to the cuticle. My question is what do you use to clean up the cuticle area before curing. Or is there something you use to keep the gel off the cuticles.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Being able to see really well is important. I always use a magnifying headset or a pair of inexpensive readers like a 1 or 1.5 or even 2 magnification and a really bright lamp. The better you can see the neater your application will be. By your use of the word "flood" I wonder if maybe you have too much product on your brush. Try wiping one side of the brush against the bottle edge so that you only have product on one side. Better to have too little and dipping to get a tiny bit more than starting with too much and getting a thick coat that runs into your cuticles and that fold on the sides of your nail.

I had my nails done by a pro quite a few times before I even thought to try it myself, and I learned a lot just watching her. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it with a little practice.
 
#9
Bcabo said:
I am also having some issues. First off, I have been using Vitagel, but I think that I am going back to regular Foundation. I have been getting lifting on my tips after only a few days. But that might also be partly due to my capping. When you cap the free edge, how much are are applying? I am wondering if I apply too much. I go over the whole free edge with the brush, coating it pretty well. I've watched the OPI and CND videos, and it looks like they barely swipe the brush across. So maybe I am overcapping, thus applying it to thick?
Finally, I have been using OPI Bond Aid before each mani, I thought it was a bonder. But I finally looked at the fine print, it says it is a ph balancing agent. So maybe not a bonder after all! Any recommendations for a good bonder?
TIA!
Click to expand...

I second what NancyG said. Scrubbing in the Vitagel has really improved the wear for me. I wear mine 12-13 days. I also use Fingerpaints bonder. I think that it works as well as the previous bonder I used (Sensationail), though I have never done a mani without bonder to compare. Another bonder to consider is Gelish pro-bond, but I've never tried it myself. I think it was traditionally designed to be used with their acrylic product, but I think some use it with their gel polish.
 
#10
Bcabo said:
I am also having some issues. First off, I have been using Vitagel, but I think that I am going back to regular Foundation. I have been getting lifting on my tips after only a few days. But that might also be partly due to my capping. When you cap the free edge, how much are are applying? I am wondering if I apply too much. I go over the whole free edge with the brush, coating it pretty well. I've watched the OPI and CND videos, and it looks like they barely swipe the brush across. So maybe I am overcapping, thus applying it to thick?
Finally, I have been using OPI Bond Aid before each mani, I thought it was a bonder. But I finally looked at the fine print, it says it is a ph balancing agent. So maybe not a bonder after all! Any recommendations for a good bonder?
TIA!
Click to expand...

Finger Paints has a bonder that works very well. I bought it because I had lifting at the tips too, in spite of capping carefully. The only down side that I have found is with removal. I use a tiny bit of the bonder on the tips of my nails, and removal takes upwards of 20 minutes of soaking now :-s
For my most recent mani, I forwent the bonder, and lo and behold, I had chipping on my forefinger and thumb within a few days. So, I think I may try just using it on those fingers - the rest of my fingers were fine.
 
#11
Using bonder can make soak off very difficult. Chipping means you have to soak off more often. One suggestion is to NOT use a bonder but to put on two coats of top coat--capping the free edge with a thin coat. Just another thing to try.
 
#12
Just wondering if any of you have issues with bald spots with certain colours? I find the purples and black leave little bald patches, always towards the cuticle end of my nail. I always use thin coats, so this may be the issue. Having said that, I use the same thin layer for all colours, and only have this issue with purple and black.
Anyone have any ideas how I can fix this issue? Thanks :smile:
 
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