Stamping 102: Battle of the Big Heads

Hello and welcome to my first ever Stamping 102 lesson! I'm not done with the Stamping 101 series, that will be something I'll probably forever be adding to. The Stamping 102 series focuses more on specific products, expounding on them much more than I would in the Stamping 101 series, which is way more general. For the first lesson, we're delving into the world of the XL Clear stamping heads. 

The nail polish community experienced quite the game change when the clear stamper was released. It was only a matter of time when someone improved on it. First they created a clear holder, which made light easier to pass through giving you a clearer image of your stamp. Then there was one released with a cap which was nice for easy storage. And then came the XL. Minds were blown.

Clear Stampers: Jumbo and Original Size

I bought two from Ali Express, where I've purchased my other stampers, with good luck. The one I purchased, according to the pictures, looked just like my Creative Shop Stamper, with a clear holder. The stamping head was thick and domed, just like my Creative Shop Stamper head, but clear. When I finally received them (I bought 2), I got a letter from the seller saying that they mislead people into buying their product. They jumped the gun with pictures and the product that they got didn't match what they were selling.

I was going to let it go if the product worked, but it didn't. Unfortunately, my head was very thin, so thin that it made it very difficult to roll the stamper onto the plate to pick up the image correctly. I contacted the seller, but he hasn't gotten back to me. :/

I decided to bite the bullet and go to UberChic's site and purchase two from them. Fortunately for me, they are only selling the heads at the moment, which is fine because the holders that came with my busted heads are great. So what's the difference between the two?

This is the original head. As you can see it barely lifts off of the lip of the holder. The easiest way for me to stamp is to roll the stamper over the image. I feel like I've gotten the cleanest images that way, especially with using a clear stamper. The head kept getting pushed further down into the cup, creating uneven images.

The UberChic head is much thicker and even though you're working with less surface area because of its dome, it makes picking up images much easier.

I would say it's almost twice the thickness of the original Ali Express stamper head.

The Ali Express head also has a much flatter top. If you notice, The UberChic head forms into a perfect dome, whereas the Ali Express head has a ridge along the edge. It picks up more of the image, but not perfectly, so it's a bit of a waste.

 

As for picking up images, I'd say they are about even, if the Ali Express head stays in place. It rarely does with me, even if I roll lightly.

The only real drawback to the UberChic head is that because of the dome, depending on how you roll to pick up the image, you risk not aligning your image correctly and it ending up on the sidewall.

 

I paid $19 including shipping for my stamper heads from UberChic. Totally worth it. I also paid $8 for the two defective heads I got from Ali Express, including the holders, caps and scrapers. I still can sort of use the cap, even though it doesn't close all the way. I'm ok with that.

Was it worth it for just the holders? I would say yes, but definitely go into purchasing it knowing the stamping heads themselves will probably be a bit crap. The UberChic heads are definitely worth it.

Hope you guys enjoyed my first Stamping 102 post! I will definitely be updating both Stamping 101 and Stamping 102 in the future. Love you guys!

-Cristina