Calgel Brushes

[Gizmo100]

Can I ask how long you get out of using your calgel brushes? I mind when I was trained they said the brushes did not last long - also do you always use the calgel brushes - only reason I ask is its a lot to pay in postage for a few brushes if I can use alternatives. I have just started using the calgel again hence all the questions.

Best wishes

Gizmo100

 

[Emily9]

umm it depends on how you look after them as i know if i don't put my tinfoil on them properly they ruin but i'm always quite carefull.

Calgel do an offer on the brushes i use the offer as like u said because the postage is quite dear i get more out of it i also only try and order when i have a large order to place!

Which number brush do you use?

 

[Bagpuss]

You can use alternative brushes if you want....you don't HAVE to use the Bio brush...there are alot of places that sell gel brushes...just type nail gel brush into your search option and i am sure you will find sites that sell them.

 

[Noodle]

For info, I'm still using the original brush which came with my Bio starter kit ... 5 years and still going strong!

So long as you care for your brush(es), there's no reason why they shouldn't last.

 

[Anna Lee]

I've bought many brushes since started using Calgel 2 years ago. But the one which lasted and I am still using is the very first one I got together with the original kit.

So yes, your brushes should last a long time if you look after them well.

When you get a new brush, make sure you get the glue offf the brush completely before you start using it. Do not store your brush up-side down because the gel will run into head and ruin the bristles.

I use size #6 for new sets, size #4 for infills and the flat brush for french.
I keep separate sets for dark colour gels and light colour/french/ gels.

 

[Gizmo100]

Thanks for all your replies - I hadnt even noticed the special offer they do on brushes so I ordered more stock and more brushes. genuinely when I was trained we were advised they didnt last long and Im afriad when I heard that I thought help there is no point in really looking after them - so my brushes are now coated with the clear gel and the tin foil

 

[purplelinda]

Hi

I havent been doing calgel long and obv not using the brushes all the time - what is the best way to store them say 2 weeks in between using them.

I had coated then in clear and then used a nail wipe and wrapped in foil but after a week or so they were brick hard.

Please can you give me some advice as to what is the correct way as prob most of you are using the brushes daily.

thanks

Linda

 

[gillian w]

Hi

I havent been doing calgel long and obv not using the brushes all the time - what is the best way to store them say 2 weeks in between using them.

I had coated then in clear and then used a nail wipe and wrapped in foil but after a week or so they were brick hard.

Please can you give me some advice as to what is the correct way as prob most of you are using the brushes daily.

thanks

Linda

Give them a good but gentle wipe with calguard just before you use them again and you will probably find they are ok.
I always keep gel on mine, wrap in a dry bit of couch roll and foil and put in a pencil tin and then in my box so no light and little air and they seem to keep fine.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Hi

I havent been doing calgel long and obv not using the brushes all the time - what is the best way to store them say 2 weeks in between using them.

I had coated then in clear and then used a nail wipe and wrapped in foil but after a week or so they were brick hard.

Please can you give me some advice as to what is the correct way as prob most of you are using the brushes daily.

thanks

Linda

Like many people, I had trouble with my Calgel brushes (in fact any brush I used with Calgel) and this is the advice I was given by Head Office if you don't use your brushes very often...and this method has worked for me:

When you are tidying up your brushes away for the day, lightly spray the brush with Calguard and use nail wipe to remove bulk of gel. Then dip the sides only of the brush into a very small amout of gel (usually from the lid or sides of gel pot) and smooth onto nailwipe again to reshape. You don't want too much gel within the hairs of the brush as this causes them to fan out.

I then fold a piece of Calguard saturated wonderwipe over the bristles (without disturbing them) and flat wrap them in foil so that they are sealed before laying them in a nail brush or pencil case tin which I then store in the fridge. I place the tins in a zip lock bag so they don't get spoiled by fridge food and odours (I have 2 kids ).

The idea behind this is to keep the brushes cold and free from air and light which makes them go hard. It is also essential to keep all gel brushes stored flat so that gel does not seep into the bristles and ferule.

If you find your brushes ever do harden up, just briefly dip into acetone (don't get it on the paint of the brush shaft) in a dappen dish, wipe on a nail wipe and then the gel and reshape and voila.... as good as new again.

If the brush is beyond repair then bin it. You need to remember that Calgel brushes are actually not expensive and if you do lose one or two, it is not a train smash at £6 as opposed to £16 to £25 for som brushes.

Also try to remeber to take the brushes out of the fridge about 20 minutes before your nail client, to get them back to room temp although it doesn't really matter if you do forget.

This works for me and I was dubious at first. It sounds like a really fiddly thing to do, but once you have done it once or twice, it is quicker than making a cuppa. Hope this helps.

 

[purplelinda]

thanks for your comments on brushes


mrs clooney - thanks very much for your ideas I have made a note of them and will do in the morning as to busy on here to do it.

Makes very good advice as I was just about to buy new brushes.

I dont know if its me but every time i clean the brushes with calguard and then go on to do a set of nails. I find the gel wipes on and then comes straight off again as I know I have prepared the nail well prior to using calgel. Do you have any ideas why this happens.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Emma_Louise]

i have been using calgel for over three and half years now non stop. and i used to have a problem with them going funny and getting new ones constantly. now i probably have gone through two brushes in the past year (only because the first one i left in bright day light, i know...idiot!!lol).
my trick is not to touch the brush with anything other than gel. dont wipe it at all!! (i think they say they dont last long to get u to constantly keep buying more when frankly u dont need to!)

when u get ur new brush flick it a few times in a tissue to get the gluey bits off then dip it into the clear gel and stoke it back and fourth in lid of the clear gel to ge the gel right in the brush and makes it really flexable.
when ur finished with ur brush, take ur lid again and move around the brush to get it back to perfect shape and them place in tin foil tightly! (by all means wipe down the part of the brush u hold but i have never touched the brush with calguard and its lasted ages!!!! just wipe on ur couch roll if u need to get gel off or dust!

i dont understand the last reply about the gel wiping off??

sorry about the bad english/grammer xx

 

[purplelinda]

Hi Emma

Thanks for your reply.

What I mean about the gel wiping off is that when I go to do my wet layer of gel, when i put the gel on the brush and then apply it to the nail it just comes straight off again and i noticed that this happens when i wipe the brush with calguard before i start.

So i did an experiment and once i started using the brush for the first time and apply gel to my mums nails it went on no probs.

Have you had any probs with this at all yourself. I have only been using calgel since september and albeit not long as lost my confidence for a bit there but having found this incredible site it has boosted my confidence no end as I know it not all just me having problems with confidence and stuff and want to get out there and do it.

I work part time for local government so want to get my confidence up so that I can be confident doing nails and toes for the summer hols as I got a few peeps lined up.

Thanks

Linda

 

[MINKUS]

I never ever clean my brush in anything other than a teany bit of clear gel...work it back n forth in the lid to soften the bristles and wipe with a nail wipe.

If i've used a coloured gel i wipe it on a nail wipe then back in clear gel and on a nail wipe again.

I've found if you use any solution it kills the brush!