Guest blog: how to sculpt the perfect apex

The apex needs proper placement and perfect thickness to create a strong manicure that doesn't damage the natural nail. PB’s Nail Professional of the Year 2017 and Semilac UK’s academy director Rebecca Abernethy shares her top tips. 

A successful apex needs to be the perfect thickness to allow for a strong, healthy manicure that doesn't damage the client’s natural nail.

The way to do this is to create an apex that is positioned over the stress area of the nail – the back third of the nail area, near to the cuticle – to ensure a comfortable and secure extension.

The extension should then appear finer towards the tip and the sidewalls of the nail, creating a beautiful but natural curve.

The benefits of the perfect apex

Not only will the client’s nail extensions look more aesthetically pleasing, but a perfectly placed apex can extend the life of the extension, so it's important to be consistent with the placement throughout each nail.

As the nails grow, the client should have their extensions infilled to extend the wear even further. As the original apex grows out the nail will become top-heavy, and this is where the infill will even out the support on the nail’s stress area.

Aftercare should always be given to clients so they get the best out of treatments because nails should be treated as jewels, not tools.

What extension courses are best?

In June, I teamed up with nail brand Semilac to launch its first UK training academy.

The Semilac Academy's Hardi Extend course not only shows you the techniques to create the perfect extension but allows you to practice these methods using its SemiHardi nail shapers and UV Hybrid products – a range made for professional nail technicians to create the perfect extensions with ease.

The bottled gel helps you extend natural nails using sculpting forms, which is perfect for clients who want a little bit more length on their nails but not wanting to go for the full hard gel extension.

Rebecca Abernethy (pictured right) is Professional Beauty's Nail Professional of the Year 2017 and director of professional nail brand Semilac UK’s Training Academy, running courses at salons in Stockport and Solihull.

Read Abernethy's top advice for becoming a successful nail tech here.