Pssst! Wanna know how to save dried out nail polish strips? Look no further! In this post, I’m gonna walk you through how to revive dried-out color street nails.
We’ll look at 5 different ways to revive your color street nail strips, so you can experiment to see which one works best for you. I’ll even give you some great ideas for what to do with your dried-out strips other than putting them on your nails!
Ready to get started?
Let’s do this.
Need a quick fix?
Here’s the short and fast answer to your question:
The best way to revive color street nail strips is to use a hairdryer. Set it on low power and high heat, then blast your nail strip for 15 seconds. Apply right away as normal.
Now, let’s go a bit deeper and see how you can breathe new life into those dried-out nail strips.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
How to revive color street nails with a hairdryer
Ever heard of the color street hairdryer trick?
This first method is a really simple way to save your strips after they dried out.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A hairdryer
- Some tweezers (optional but finger saving!)
- A nail strip you want to save
What to do:
Set your hairdryer to low power and high heat.
Take your tweezers in one hand and pick up the nail strip. (I’m right-handed and I found it easier to hold the tweezers in my left hand).
With your other hand, hold the dryer about 6 inches away from your nail strip and blast it for 15 seconds.
You should be able to see the nail strip softening up.
Normally you’d wait for the color street strips to return to room temp before using, but with dried-out strips you’re going to want to apply them right after heating while they are still warm.
Apply the nail strip to your nails as soon as possible after heating.
You don’t need to do anything special during the application, just apply in the same way you normally would.
Bringing color street nails back to life with a nail wrap heater
This is a handy lil’ device (Click to check the price) that I heard about recently.
It’s an absolute gamechanger for reviving dried-out nail strips!
It’s made by a company called Jamberry.
Jamberry makes nail polish strips that are very similar to color street, and they invented this little gadget to help people get the most out of their nail strips.
It only takes a few seconds to transform dry, brittle nail polish strips, into useable, easy-to-apply strips again.
Magic!
What you’ll need:
- A nail heater
- An orange stick
- Your dried out nail strip
What to do:
Stick your dried-out nail polish strip to the end of an orangewood stick.
Hold it in front of the nail wrap heater for a few seconds until it starts to wobble.
That’s it! It’s so quick and easy and the results are amazing.
Here’s a short video that shows how well this thing works:
Reviving color street nails with a heat gun
If you’re a crafter or you’re into DIY, chances are that you may have a heat gun laying around.
If you do, you can use that to (carefully) heat up your nail strips.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A heat gun
- Tweezers or an orangewood stick
What to do:
First, set the heat gun to medium, these things get really hot and the last thing you want is to melt the strip!
I tried this method with tweezers and it was manageable but they got a little hot, so I switched to an orangewood stick instead.
So, take your orangewood stick and holding the heat gun a safe distance away (at least 6 inches) carefully heat up the nail strip.
It doesn’t take long, just a few seconds.
You’ll see the nail strip start to get soft and pliable.
Then you can just apply it as normal.
How to revive color street nails with the steam method
Heat will make the nails softer and reusable, but it doesn’t add any moisture.
This is my personal favorite way to bring dried-out nail strips back to life.
It’s quick, it’s easy and it doesn’t use any special tools!
What you’ll need:
- Your dried out color street nail strip
- A pan of hot water
What to do:
Boil some water in a pan on the stove.
Hold the nail strip above the pan, and let the steam do its work.
You’ll soon see the strip start to soften up.
Be careful not to let the strip get too wet, you don’t want it to lose all its sticking power!
Once it’s soft enough to work with, apply as normal.
If you do find that you lost a bit of stickiness, here’s a great trick to fix that.
Take your color street nail prep wipe and gently wipe over the sticky side.
You should now find that it sticks better.
Color street nail polish strips and acetone
Revive color street nails with acetone
If all else fails, you can try using acetone or nail polish remover to revive your dried-out nail strips.
I have to say that I haven’t actually tried this method myself, as acetone is pretty harsh stuff.
But I have seen it done and it does work!
The reason you should use acetone or an acetone-based nail polish remover (rather than Mineral Fusion) for this is that they do not contain oils.
Oils on your nail strip are just going to make it impossible to stick.
You’ll need:
- A bowl or shallow dish
- Acetone (or regular nail polish remover with acetone in it)
What to do:
Pour your acetone into the bowl or dish. You only need a tiny amount, just enough to cover the bottom.
Take the backing off the strip and stick the strip to the backing sideways (so that you have the part that will cover your nail hanging over the edge ready for dipping)
Important! Don’t dip the nail strip into the acetone!
Tip the bowl of acetone to one side so that you have a pool on one side of the bowl.
What you want to do, is to gently place the nail strip – sticky side down – onto the part that has no pool but is still wet from the acetone.
Remove the strip and wait 15 to 30 seconds then apply as normal.
If your nail strips are really dry, you may need to double-dip.
You’ll see the nail strip start to loosen and become more pliable.
Just like with the other methods, you can then apply it as normal.
How to revive color street nails with nail polish remover
Here’s another little trick you can try for how to revive dried-out color street nails.
For this method you’ll need:
- Regular nail polish remover
- A nail art brush or small paintbrush
What to do:
Using the brush, paint a very thin coat over the back of your dried-out nail strip with the nail polish remover.
Be careful not to get any on the front side as this will dissolve the polish!
Leave it to sit for a minute or two then apply as normal.
Other uses for dried out color street nails
If all these methods fail, don’t worry! There are still plenty of things you can do with your dried out color street nails.
Here are a few ideas:
– Make some nail art with them!
The good thing about dried-out stiff nail polish strips is that it’s easier to punch holes in them!
So why not get yourself some mini hole punches and cut out some cute shapes.
You can add some fun little details to your nails this way.
I love mini hole punches for doing nail art! They come in lots of different shapes like hearts, stars, butterflies and even teddy bears!
– Use them to make some fun and colorful jewelry.
Did you know that there are people making earrings and pendants using their old color street strips?
You can do it too!
But make sure anything that you make is only for personal use, as color street doesn’t allow you to use their strips to make commercial products.
So there you have it! I hope you found this how to revive dried out color street nails post helpful and that it gives you some ideas for reviving your dried-out nail strips.
If you want more tips and tricks for using color street nails, check out my 27 tips post here.
FAQ
Q: What is the best way to revive dried out color street nails?
A: There are a few ways to revive dried out color street nails, including using a hairdryer, acetone, nail polish remover, steam, or a heat gun.
Q: I tried using acetone but it didn’t work, what do I do?
A: If you’re having trouble reviving your dried out color street nails with acetone, try using the steam method or the hairdryer trick instead.
Q: Can I use mineral fusion to revive my dried out color street nails?
A: No, you should only use acetone or an acetone-based nail polish remover to revive your dried-out color street nails.
