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SEARCHColleen Ramsey of McKinney, Texas, shows how she reuses old nail tips to practice nail art.
“Most techs will agree that it’s a hassle to drag out all your nail art supplies and think of an idea, try to do it before a client comes in, and then try to pack it all up to take home because you want to try ideas there.
So I recycle tips to practice on. Whenever I have a few extra minutes I pull out two or three tips and do one application style on all of them.
So let’s say you want to practice a French glitter fade. I’ll pull out my white (be it gel, acrylic, gel polish, or nail polish), the type of glitter I want to fade, and then pink. I do a thin layer until I have a thin French glitter fade, then I cap everything including the acrylic in a thin layer of traditional non-soak-off clear gel (not a gel top coat as I don’t want the high-gloss shine). If for some reason they are bumpy, do a quick file and re-coat with gel. Some will think I am wasting product, but I’m not using that much. I’m not building up, just making a thin canvas to work on.
No longer do I have to pull out the whole salon and fill up my desk because I want a variety of backgrounds for the nail art. When I want to work on my free-hand nail art I pull out the tips, grab my brushes and paints, and start doing art. If I want to practice at home everything fits in a small bag.
The greatest part is if you make a mistake you can remove it with acetone and do something different. No more throwing away ruined tips because they can only be cleaned once or twice before they get too gummy to put anything back on.
If you keep track of the colors you have used, you can show clients what a layered effect will look like over that color. Even 3-D work can be done because with enough pressure the design can be popped off or you can file it off. The tips will last for years and you’ll have a huge assortment of canvasses to work with.”
Ramsey shows how you can create a practice design and easily remove it with acetone to create a blank canvas.
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