Have your gel brushes hardened or solidified? Don’t throw them out just yet, you may be able to restore them. This week’s Tip Tuesday, we’ll cover a couple techniques on how to restore your gel application and nail art brushes. We’ll also share our advice for prolonging the life of your brushes for perfect gel application and to save you money. 

HOW TO RESTORE HARD GEL BRUSHES

The Simple Method - Acetone Based Solutions

This method is our trusted, tested and taught tip for cleaning your gel brushes. This method works when your bristles have gone stiff, or completely hardened and can also work if gel has cured on your bristles.

Acetone can be drying on brushes so it is not recommended to use acetone on natural hairs. All our gel brushes are vegan and made of high quality synthetic hair so you can use acetone based solutions on them, but it shouldn’t be used daily – rather use Guard for everyday refreshing.

 If your brush still has some flexibility to it

• Soak a cotton pad with Soak Off Solution or Acetone and place over the bristles with your thumb and forefinger on either side. Be careful not to let the solution drip onto the handle of the brush or up the metal ferrule. Ideally, have your brush pointing down.
• The solution will start to soften the dried gel.
• You can then wipe the bristles until you find they have softened.
• Be careful not to bend the bristles too much, this can cause the end of the bristles to curve up.
• If using Soak Off, use a clean wipe with Guard solution to remove the hydrating oils from the brush.
• To finish, dip your brush into clear gel (about ¾ of the way up the bristles) and wrap with a piece of foil. This will help the bristles to soften further and keep them flexible between clients.

 If your brush feels really hard or you have semi-cured gel on it 

• Decant some Acetone or Soak Off into a small dish (ensure it is acetone proof) – we don’t recommend dipping your brush directly into the bottle of your solution as this can contaminant it.
• Hold your brush upright in the solution – don’t go as far as the metal ferrule, this can damage the glue holding the bristles and handle together.
• Check every 30 seconds by wiping with a nail wipe until it feels soft again.
• To finish, dip your brush into clear gel (about ¾ of the way up the bristles) and wrap with a piece of foil. This will help the bristles to soften further.

If gel has cured thoroughly on the brush, this method may not work, and you may have to purchase a new brush. We always recommend having spare brushes as it only takes a few seconds of UV exposure for the gel to start to harden & before you know it, your clear gel could be fully cured.

If your brush is a little curved or the bristles are splayed

• Once you’ve dipped your clean brush in gel, you can help to retrain them back to shape.
• Use a bit of foil and gently manipulate the wet bristles back to shape before wrapping.
• If you have some awkward bristles that won’t stay put, you can also snip them off with cuticle nippers rather than replacing the whole brush. 

If the above methods don’t work – unfortunately, it might be time for a new brush!

The Hot Water Method – Restoring Misshapen Bristles

If you’ve cleaned your brushes and the bristles have lost their shape, you can use hot water to ‘retrain’ them back into shape. We find this works best for finer brushes; like your nail art brushes, once any gel residue has been fully removed.

• Boil the kettle, pour the water into a cup and let it cool a little.
• Then carefully dip your brush in for just a few seconds.
• Wipe the brush with a lint free wipe and your brush bristles should return to their normal shape!

 

How to care for your gel nail brushes

Having a brush harden and become unusable may be unavoidable sometimes but we will guide you through a few points on how to prevent this from happening.

• Do not leave your brush exposed to sunlight, especially when there is remaining gel on the brush.
• When using the brush during a gel manicure, keep away from the glow of the nail lamp when in use.
• Keep exposed brushes away from UV light.
• When finished using the brush for colour application, use a lint-free wipe with GUARD to remove gel from the brush.
• To keep the bristles protected & flexible, when finished, dip the brush in a clear gel (ideally a builder or base gel), then apply its cap or wrap in foil. Store brushes flat on the side and in cool, dark conditions.
• If you’re going on holiday or taking some time off, remove the gel completely from the brush before storing. When you’re returning to work, you may find they might be stiff. Simply wipe with your Guard and dip into clear gel and wrap a bit before your first client, when you’re ready to use it, you should find it’s softened again.

 Why is it important to look after the brushes?

Keeping your brushes soft and clean is something we always recommend; this is not just for general upkeep and to save you money but also to help with your gel application. A soft brush will allow you to apply gel more smoothly and evenly. This can save you time and gel! If you have been applying gel and you’ve found the application to be a little streaky or uneven, it may be time to try one of our methods above!

Shop Gel & Nail Art Brushes