My acrylic brush snapped mid-fill on a bride yesterday and I had to finish with a cuticle pusher

I was doing a full set for a wedding client in Dayton and the ferrule just gave out on my kolinsky brush during the third nail, so I grabbed an orange stick and a metal pusher to pack the beads which actually worked okay but my timing was totally thrown off has anyone else had to MacGyver their way through a service with random tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

brown.susan1d ago

Oh honey, three nails in and your brush just gave up? That's brutal. I once had to finish a full leg wax with a popsicle stick because my spatula broke and the client was already half naked and waiting. I told her I was going for a "rustic" finish. She did not laugh. The orange stick move is actually pretty smart though, I've done that with builder gel when my metal pusher decided to go rogue.

the_ray1d agoMost Upvoted

Popsicle stick waxing is next level resourcefulness, I have to give you that. Reminds me of the time I did an entire pedicure with a butter knife because I dropped my cuticle nippers in the disposal. Client asked if I was a sculptor, I said "something like that.

the_piper1d ago

Actually I gotta push back on the "orange stick move is smart" thing. Using a cuticle pusher to pack beads is a recipe for disaster because you're trapping air pockets under the acrylic that'll pop up later as bubbles. I've seen people try this and then wonder why their sets lift after a week. The ferrule snapping is a pain but grabbing random metal tools that aren't meant for acrylic is just asking for contamination issues and uneven product thickness. That bride's nails probably looked fine in the moment but I'd bet money they chipped faster than if you'd just stopped and grabbed a new brush from your kit.