Wet Glue/Dry Glue

I've seen videos where the person let the glue dry completely before adding glitter. Why is that? I've done it with the glue still wet, and it works just fine.

Is one way better than the other?

If you wait until the glue goes clear you won't get any on your brushes and can move the glitter around without making a huge mess.

Yes the glue can get messed up while it is still wet. When I first started working with tats I tried to do a frog while the glue was still wet.It was just taking too long to dry and I smudged it really badly. It looked more like a fat toad when I was done LOL. The girl was a teen and really cool about it. I just did it over and made sure it was dry the second time!

I'm going to disagree strongly with the idea of letting the glue dry to any extent. Yes, it keeps glue out of your brushes, but you're killing to effectiveness of the glue, which limits the life of the tatt. I have done thousands of tatts directly onto completely wet glue, and I've never screwed one up. Not one. Plus, letting the glue dry bonds it to the edges of the stencil, which makes for fuzzy line work.

The glimmer tattoos demonstration on you tube states to let the glue dry 10 seconds or more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvFSgAi8mpc

It is supposed to have a clear sheen to it when it is ready. I am not familiar with any other brands of glitter art so, not sure about them.

You aren't killing the effectiveness of most glues; good body glitter glues are supposed to dry tacky.
It depends what you use and how you apply the glue; with most freehands, if you add glitter to wet glue you will lose some of the effect as it sinks under the surface.

Plus brushing off what looks like a 'dry' & glittered tatt can be a disaster if it has a wet patch under the skin of glitter - you smear your design.

But yes take stencils off when its still wet.

Cat

I always let the glue dry first and have never had any problems with the life of the tattoo.

I'm confused...so you're supposed to take off the stencil before applying the glitter?

Some people do. I personally don't.

If you use the brush glue applicator it put the glue on a much thicker and the edges of the glue get stretchy as they dry and stick to the stencil when you take it off distorting the final tattoo.

I use a sponge wand applicator (lip gloss container) to apply my glue. It goes on much more evenly and in a thinner layer. I'm quite careful to keep the glue within the lines of the stencil. I let the glue dry completely and I remove the stencil after I apply the glitter.

When it comes to glue less really is more.