Aquarium sealant for tipping

I've been searching and searching for a tipping agent for non melting nail tips to use under shrinkies.

Out of everything I've tried I like the way the silicone and epoxy handle the best.

Gorilla glue swells too much when curing and the cements I've tried get too hard/sharp, not to mention they're not healthy to use next to skin.

But I was concerned because of the acetic acid issue with the silicones and because some epoxies when heated as high as I need to heat it to shrink shrinkies give off cancerous causing formaldehyde vapors.

So I've been reading MSDS sheets about silicone for three days looking for a water proof, heat proof, non toxic silicone adhesive that stays soft and flexible when cured.

I've settled on aquarium sealant. It's safe enough to be underwater and not poison fish so I figure it's better than the others. It does give off acetic acid while curing so it's better to let it cure completely before using and then wipe down the bonds.

What looks the best as far as MSDS info is medical grade silicone adhesive, but I haven't been able to find it to buy and try out.

I'm testing the aquarium sealant now on hair pieces before I apply it. If it holds up without shedding through 10 or 15 washes I'll install with it and let you all know how it goes.

I'm still trying but I ran into a few problems

The silicone is perfect. It holds the hair well, it's easy to work with if a bit stinky, and it remains soft. Most importantly it doesn't let the hair shed out after washes or hurt when pressed up against the scalp like tips do when installed.

BUT

I've noticed my shrinkies aren't holding the silil-tips after a few washes and tugs. They shrink around the ext hair and my hair and hold onto the hair itself very nicely but if I put the shrinkie directly over the sili-bonded tip then the shrinkie sticks to my hair and lets the sili bonded tip slip right out.

The shrinkies I ordered are about 1/4 inch long which wasn't long enough to completely cover the sili tips I made after shrinking. So I had to order adhesive lined shrink tubing and cut it into longer pieces, about 1/2 inch. This tubing was very expensive compared to the price I can get the shrinkies I bought. I'm assuming it cost me so much because I didn't order the tubing strips in bulk but who knows. I then shrank a 1/2 inch piece over the silicone bonded tip so that the shrinkie hit hair above and below the sili bonded tip. That seemed to hold a little better. I hope this is making sense. The only way the shrinkie would hold was to make contact with hair both above and below the sili-tip. Which is frustrating because that means bigger more visable bonds. They're still about the size of a fusion bond but I'm trying to get it smaller. I tried adding a dab of keratin, which didn't stick to the cured aquariuom sili tip at all. I then tried latex glue and then liquid gold, which both either melted the shrinkie when I heated them or didn't stick. I don't know what else to try adding to the sili tip to put under the shrinkie. I have just about every tradesman I know looking for something that will get the silicone to stick to the inside of the shrinkie. Something that will work well, be waterproof, and still be safe and removable.

I wish I could make these silitips work somehow because they sure do hold nicely.

Maybe I'll try the sili tips with metal links. I have fine hair and have heard horror stories about the breakage against the metal edges so I'm a little afraid to.

Wish I could pinchbraid.

The silicone lined micro rings don't shread the hair.  Give that one a try.

BunnyWabbit wrote: have you tried tipping with LG? Its cheaper, easier probably, than silicones, and already known to be safe.

Wouldn't the Liquid Gold melt with the shrink link?
W/ micro link's it would be okay....