having problems with my l+p

[~Emmsybabes~]

Hiya peeps
I was wondering if anyone may be able to help me ..
over the last few weeks I have been having a few problems ..I seem to be getting a lot of product stuck in my brush as I am working ,this is making the whole process a bit of a nightmare

.also air bubbles ..loads of them , the only time I don't get air bubbles is on the odd bead ,when I do it really wet , but then the product /brush problem gets even worse !

I have tried wetter beads , drier beads and I either get one problem or the other :irked:
my brush is almost unusable, I keep cleaning it out thoroughly, and it is fine ,but within a few beads its back the same , its going bushy on the ends and I can see the tiny speckles of product shining on my brush as I am working ,so I'm cleaning my brush thoroughly every few nails !
also I have specks of product on my dappen dish even though I think I am wiping enough before dipping back in at the time ?

I have tried going totally back to my ratio basics , as I felt I must be slipping , but still the same problems ,
I decant powder from a large tub,into a smaller tub for my case and then into my dappen dish ...whatever is left in my dappen dish I either use for the next client or throw away
I am using millenium l+p and a size 10 kollinsky brush

I appreciate all help thankyou :hug:

 

[lotus blossom]

how old is your brush???

is the temperature making a difference?
are you contaminating your monomer??

 

[TraceyJoJo]

Hi emmsybabes
Do you wipe your brush after placing the bead on the nail and before patting it out? That way you can use a wettish bead to eliminate bubbles but you shouldn't get so much produt sticking to your brush. Hope that makes sense!

 

[lotus blossom]

you shouldnt really need to do this if you have the correct ratio, to start with!
wiping excessively just caused pongs!! and is a waste of monomer! which is expensive,

 

[TraceyJoJo]

you shouldnt really need to do this if you have the correct ratio, to start with!
wiping excessively just caused pongs!! and is a waste of monomer! which is expensive,

I understand what you're saying but this is how I was taught, always wipe the brush gently after placing, then pat and pull, then have a good wipe before picking up next bead. The monomer is low odour so pongs are not a problem.

But it also depends on what brand you use too, we use a wetter ratio to creative so may be an idea to check with your supplier emmsybabes to make sure you are using the correct ratio.

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

my brush is only a few months old ,
it has been very cold lately and i do sometimes have the kitchen window open a little ,(also suffered a little crystallizing from this) so now i have a daylight lamp over my client and they rest on a hot water bottle as they are always freezing when they get here.
but saying that , it happens when i am in other people houses too ,

i don't usually wipe my brush after applying the bead ,but before patting out no ,occasionally i do if the bead i placed was too wet etc...

i trained with millenium in college ,so i have the ratio in my portfolio and have gone back to this method ,incase i had slackened with it ,but its no different to when i just dip and pick up without measuring and counting...

i am just wondering now , say for instance the first bead i place is too wet ,and then i haven't wiped my brush fully before dipping back in monomer, would this cause all these problems do you think ?
as then every time i dip i suppose i am dipping in mushed up polymer arnt i , even though its a tiny amount not seen with the eye ?

when dipping i fully immerse the brush as if sliding it down the side of the dappen dish then bring it out the same then wipe on the edge .

 

[lotus blossom]

yep sounds like you might be contaminating your momomer

its so easy to do if your beads arent correct in the first place
if you think the first bead was wrong in ratio, then i would wipe my brush before dipping back in the monomer, just in case

 

[angel fingers]

i'm wondering if maybe you might be working the bead a bit too fast.
make sure you wait for the bead to flow before you start to spread it.
i think this will help you both with the bubbles and the brush.

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

see i always think i am wiping everytime and properly too ..but id stick a fiver on that i am not :green:
and even that one time then effects the whole lot slowly nail by nail ..
it like my brush looses its "sharp" point and becomes slightly puffy , and then all little iddy biddy bits of l+p cling to it ,and then they are getting dipped in to the monomer ,even though i think i have got it all off :irked:
because i wipe and wipe ,but then all of a sudden think "hang on" my brush is full of l+p ! grrrr

looks like its "another" new brush for me ..
i might aswell stock up on them at this rate :green:

so do you think the little trapped bits stuck to the brush could also be causing the air bubbles ? or would this all be down to ratio ?
(which come to think of it is probably all affected by my bloomin conatminated monomer and brush ..gggrr)

ok do you think giving my brush a nice long overnight soak in a bath of nice clean monomer will get it spotless again ?
then i'll start from scratch ?

hope im making sense coz im getting confused myself here :lol:

 

[lotus blossom]

see i always think i am wiping everytime and properly too ..but id stick a fiver on that i am not :green:
and even that one time then effects the whole lot slowly nail by nail ..
it like my brush looses its "sharp" point and becomes slightly puffy , and then all little iddy biddy bits of l+p cling to it ,and then they are getting dipped in to the monomer ,even though i think i have got it all off :irked:
because i wipe and wipe ,but then all of a sudden think "hang on" my brush is full of l+p ! grrrr

looks like its "another" new brush for me ..
i might aswell stock up on them at this rate :green:

so do you think the little trapped bits stuck to the brush could also be causing the air bubbles ? or would this all be down to ratio ?
(which come to think of it is probably all affected by my bloomin conatminated monomer and brush ..gggrr)

ok do you think giving my brush a nice long overnight soak in a bath of nice clean monomer will get it spotless again ?
then i'll start from scratch ?

hope im making sense coz im getting confused myself here :lol:

i would just give it a really good clean after use, and then keep a check on each bead,
i dont think you need a new brush , unless its full of bits of hardened l and p
hth

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

I'm wondering if maybe you might be working the bead a bit too fast.
make sure you wait for the bead to flow before you start to spread it.
i think this will help you both with the bubbles and the brush.

ooh very strong possibility !!
i do place the bead ,think going going gone ..then pat and press it , but maybe it needs a little longer !
I'm also finding i am brushing my l+p quite a bit lately (as you would nail enamel)
i don't know why it seems to be the only way i can smooth it out !!

its mad how you realise things when discussing them with other people you didn't realise when thinking about it yourself !

 

[Dessi]

I had the same problem before and the reason was not enough wiping, now i'm checking my brush carefull before put it on monomer and if there is little shine crystals i put only the apex of the brush on the monomer and wipe again untill the crystals is gone. Other reason could be mabe u work with too big bead and u cannot control it. HTH :hug:

 

[lovenails1]

If you are getting little airbubbles, your brush has trapped air in it.

You need to "burp" you brush to get them out.

Also, the more you wipe etc, the more the air is getting in.

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

i do burp the brush quite often im thinking thats when little particles of polymer are getting inbetween the bristles mabey?

 

[lovenails1]

If you burp the brush into your dappen dish, how does the powder get into it though?

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

as i said before , i think i am getting little bits of polymer in the bottom of my dappen dish without realising ,
so then as i am "burping" my brush , the tiny particles of ploymer are getting pressed in to my brush, (right in to the belly)
causing build up ,
i have cleaned my brush over night and am going to go try out on some tips in a minute to see if mabey i have not been wiping enough before dipping back in to the monomer xxxx

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

i have just found this ...http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/40941-chemical-reactions-bubbles.html

now i am wondering if ..due to the cold weather , as i mentioned in a earlier post , i have been putting my clients under a daylight lamp ,and also have them resting their hands on a hot water bottle (warm)
, now i have came across this thread i am wondering if the cause of all the air bubbles could be heat !!!
i am working practically right underneath the daylight bulb (that close sometimes my file knocks it when i am filing and i have to move it out of the way )
.. i bought that in December and my air bubble probs have been going on for a few weeks now ..so it would all add up !!!

also maybe the excessive heat could be causing the polymer to cling to my brush maybe it is too warm when i am patting and pressing out ???
is this a possibility ?
oooo I'm getting exited that i may have cracked it now ...

if only we could have weather that was the perfect temp for L+P all year round :green:

 

[IllumeGirl]

hiya emms, i would definitely agree with you, too much warmth could well be contributing..sounds like what we ( or i,lol) go through in our summer.
also i wouldn't be saving any left over monomer for your next client, use it to give your brush a good clean and bin it.
i find just a heat pad is enough..you just want to thaw your clients out,not warm them up. IYKWIM

 

[nailzoo]

"pushing" product, rather than patting will often clog the bristles too.