Ways To Remove Gel Nail Polish Acrylic Nails At Home
For anyone who has trouble making a normal manicure last more than three days, discovering the magic of gel nails can be life changing. But the worst part about gel nails is that moment when you need to take them off and you just can’t.
The options are basically stab and scrape and peel your fingernails with various objects for what feels like hours or head back to the salon to pay someone else to take them off. With social distancing and self-quarantining for coronavirus, the latter isn’t even an option right now.
So, I tested three methods to see if there was a better way.
File Your Nail Bed With A Nail File
Use a coarse nail file to file down the gel top coat layer until the top coat is no longer shiny and smooth. File down every nail.
Start by filing the gel top coat on your non-dominant hand. Use the flat face of a nail filer to gently file your nail from the cuticle to the edge of your nail in a left-to-right motion . Do not focus on a single spot.
Four: Nourish And Replenish
Your nails will be feeling a little delicate from the gels and the acetone, so make sure you replenish lost moisture and support healthy growth with a rich oil. We love Loubelle Dadi’Oil , which contains 21 nourishing natural oils and is a firm fave among the pros, or you can use anything with almond oil in it . Simply add a small drop to each nail and massage it into each nail bed and surrounding cuticle. Follow with a generous dollop of hand cream and bask in your nails’ natural beauty.
Finally, “it’s a good idea to invest in a nail strengthener to apply once a week,” says Kirsty. “This can prevent breakage and protect from any further damage caused by the gels.”
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Wait 10 To 15 Minutes
Cue up some Netflix and let the acetone to do its job. If you used the soaking method, wait until you notice the corners coming loose, then as your nails are still steeping in the acetone, take an orangewood stick and gently begin to loosen the gel on each nail until it is removed completely. If you used foils and cotton, the gel manicure should slide off with the cotton ball when you remove the foil. If some residue remains stuck to your nail, again, use an orangewood stick to work it off. “When removing my own gels I use my thumbnail to scrape the softened gel off. I find it gets very close to the nail, but doesnt hurt it, Poole says.
If the gel polish is being stubborn give it another five minutes to soak and then try again patience is key here. The nails should soak until the gel appears to be bubbling, Poole says. This could take 10 minutes but Poole says its often longer. A good rule of thumb: Don’t scrape off the polish until it’s fully softened, she says.
What’s The Difference Between Gels & Acrylics
First things first, lets brush up your nail vocab.
Perfect for a natural-looking manicure, gel nails are achieved in three simple steps. A base coat, a polish colour and a top coat. In-between each stage, the gel is cured under an LED or UV lamp , to leave you with firm, non-sticky nails that shine. Gel nails tend to last around two weeks before they start to lift or chip, and only take half an hour to apply.
What about acrylics? Warning: things are about to get a little technical. For acrylic nails, monomer liquid and polymer powder are combined to create a paste-like formula. This formula is then placed over a cured acrylic extension and left to set. After shaping and buffing, the acrylics are normally painted with a polish of your choice. They tend to last up to four weeks and are perfect for those who want to add length to their nails.
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Buying Guide For Best Gel Nail Polish Removers
Gel nail polish has become the standard for those who are serious about the appearance of their nails. True gel nail polish requires ultraviolet or LED light to dry and set it. Nails look and feel amazing for weeks, and the durability of gel polish makes it a perennial favourite. But that durability also makes it hard to remove, and thats where gel nail polish removers come in.
Gel nail polish does take some extra work to remove, and while salons offer the service, not everyone wants to spend time and money at the salon every time they change nail colours. Gel nail polish remover is specifically designed to not only remove the polish but also moisturise and protect your nail and the surrounding skin. With the health of your nails at stake, you want to find a gel nail polish remover that gets the job done without harming your nails.
Youve come to the right place. At BestReviews, we strive to bring you the information you need to make wise purchasing decisions. So, relax and take a look at our shopping guide to help you find the right gel nail polish remover for you.
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How To Get Gel Nail Polish Off If You Have Acrylic Nails
Acrylic nails will restrict you from using acetone, which makes it much more difficult to remove your gel nail polish. Additionally, you don’t want to try filing the gel polish off your acrylics, or you might risk losing them.
As much as we love at-home solutions, the best option for removing gel polish from your acrylics is to head on over to your salon. A professional manicurist can use an electronic file to remove gel nail polish without disturbing your acrylics before adding a fresh coat of polish
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Accept That Gel Manicures Might Not Be For You
Using a long-lasting nail polish formula can be a great alternative to gels with less hassle around removal. Because these polishes have a base coat in them, you can get away with fewer layers of polish, minimizing potential chipping. “Gels are super long-lasting, but some polish formulas are, too. This is exactly why we made a longer-lasting polish at Olive & Junewe had clients wanting the wearability of gel, in an easy-to-remove polish formula,” explains Tuttle.
Soak The Gel Nail Polish In Acetone
Anyway, enough about cuticle oils. To remove the gel, apply your chosen acetone remover to a cotton pad, a lint-free wipe or a soak-off remover wrap, applying it on the nail. If you are using a cotton pad or lint-free wipe, you will need to wrap the finger in tin foil, to help keep in the moisture and heat, making the entire process faster. Manicure bowls are also a great way of removing gel nail polish. To do this, simply submerge your nails in a little bit of acetone using the acetone proof bowl and wait for a few minutes while the gel polish is soaked off the natural nails.
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Then Give Yourself A Hydrating Manicure
Gently file nails, push back cuticles, and apply a nail strengthener, like CND Rescue RXx Daily Keratin Treatment , which repairs damaged nails with the power of keratin protein and moisturizing jojoba oil. Next, hydrate and harden the cuticles by massaging an oil into each nail for 10 seconds. Try OPI ProSpa Nail & Cuticle Oil , which has a brush-on applicator so you don’t have to get your hands greasy.
Can Acrylic Nails Damage Your Fingers Or Nails
For acrylic nails to stick to your fingers, your original nails need to be filed down. Filing can make your natural nails thinner and weaker, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.
In addition, the chemicals found in acrylic nails may irritate the skin around your fingernails. To remove the acrylic nails, you will need to either file them down or soak your fingers in a bowl of acetone. Youll also need to get regular touch-ups of your acrylic nails every two to three weeks. Both of these processes can significantly damage your natural nails.
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Why Its So Hard To Remove
While many nail polish brands may use the term gel, true gel nail polish involves applying a base coat followed by several thin layers of polish to give the nails a chosen color.
After each layer is applied its cured or hardened under either a light-emitting diode or an ultraviolet light, which sparks a chemical reaction that causes the polish to harden more than traditional polish. And its why another name for it is nail lacquer.
Acetone Can Irritate The Skin
Not only can acetone cause weakening of the nails, but it can also have an effect on the cuticle and nailbed, which can be especially frustrating if you have sensitive skin.
It can dry out the skin, even if your skin is otherwise healthy, and leave it feeling cracked or raw. Avoiding acetone is best if your skin is easily irritated, but you always want to be sure to moisturize and lotion the skin around the nails if you do have to use it.
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How To Remove Gel Polish The Best Way
Now before we jump right in and outline the step by step process to remove gel polish, in the best way possible, Id like to first provide a spoiler:yes you can remove gel nail polish with nail polish remover.
It is a little bit more difficult than this, and whilst you may just stop reading right here and reach for your nearby nail polish remover, it is important that you use a pure acetone formula .
Whilst I have written on Almond Nails several times about it being preferable and the benefits of using a natural nail polish remover if you have Gel Nails that you would like to remove, you are going to need something a bit stronger.
Reason being, Acetone has the unique ability to remove Gel Nails with minimal effort and ease. That is, if you get a maximum strength formula which is designed for removing gel nails.
There is actually a very effective way of doing this, which I will now present to you below.
So if you are ready to remove your gel nails without removing half of your nail in the process. Here are the best two methods with my expert tips, lets get started:
How To Remove Gel Nail Polish At Home
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Watch Out For The Poisonous Triad In Gel Manicure Solutions
More than just nail health and wellness, I choose complete body wellness, says Jenna, who advises versus the toxic triad carcinogens that are present in several polishes: Formaldehyde, toluene, as well as dibutyl phthalate . After the clinical screening, in high doses, these ingredients were found to trigger swelling in addition to lots of various other unfavorable negative effects like disturbing liver as well as thyroid function for instance, Rita describes. Thankfully, most specialist grade nail brightens made today do not contain these nasties. Jennas very own brand name of lacquers, together with Jinsoons, RGBs, Zoyas, and Sally Hansens come created without those typical wrongdoers.
Wait Wait Waitnow You Can Take It Off
This depends on how long youâve had the gel polish on , but it takes at least 15 to 20 minutes. Speaking from personal experience, weâd recommend closer to 25 or 30 minutes to be safe. Once those tin-foil claws come off, you really donât want to put them back on.
As youâre taking off each aluminum-foil wrap, apply pressure and rub it back and forth like you would if trying to take off regular polish. If there is still polish left on any nail beds, use a wooden nail stick or a nail file to loosen and remove the remaining gel polish. Soaking should have softened the grip, which means this should not risk stripping your nail bed.
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Loosen Up The Top Layer With A Coarse Nail File
The gel topcoat is a tough nearly impermeable layer that seals the color in placethats why gel manicures are able to last for weeks instead of days. Scratching the surface with a coarse nail file will help the acetone to penetrate without a hitch. When filing, apply a light and parallel pressure, Yankee says, which will help you avoid scratching the nail plate underneath.
A Brush On Magic Gel And Dip Remover
The easiest and most pain-free way to remove gel nail polish at home is a remover specifically made for gel polish. While most nail polish removers generally work for any type of polish, gel is a bit more challenging to remove. It often requires wrapping your fingers and letting them soak for 20 minutes.
Gel No More is an acetone free way to remove gel. Its specifically formulated to loosen gel for removal and is as simple as painting on a clear coat.
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Wrap Nails With Aluminum Foil
Before you begin the gel polish removal, you will need to cut out about three inches by three inches of aluminum foil. You will need one for all fingers you will be using this on. Therefore, if you are removing gel polish from all ten fingers, you will need ten individual three inches by three inches pieces of aluminum foil.
At this point, you will then need to take your cotton balls and soak all pieces that correspond with the number of aluminum foil pieces you cut out. You will then take one cotton ball soaked with acetone, place it on your fingernail that needs the gel polish removed, and wrap the piece of foil around it.
Things to remember when placing the aluminum foil and cotton balls on your fingertips:
- Start with your pinkie nail, as this will make it easier to go around your hands.
- Start with your non-dominant hand when you begin this process, as it will make it easier to get your entire hands done.
You will repeat this process for all of the nails that need the gel polish removed. Wait about 10 to 15 minutes, and then gently pull back the aluminum foil to check your progress.
To make sure the process is working, when you check on your fingernails, the gel polish should look as it is lifted and falling off the nails. This will make the remaining polish removable with little to no pressure. If your fingernails do not look like this after the 10-15 minutes, put the aluminum foil and cotton back on and wait another 5 minutes.
How To Remove Gel Nail Polish Without Acetone
Dont have acetone? Thats no problem. Just soak your nails in warm water with a few drops of dish soap and a teaspoon of salt. According to the Ever After Guide, leave your hand submerged in the water for at least 20 minutes before peeling off the color. However, it is always recommended to moisturize after.
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One: The Double Boiling Soaking Technique
Time Required: 15-25 Minutes:
- A Large Bowl and a Smaller Bowl.
- Hot Water
If you love to bake, then you will know exactly what this technique involves. Essentially, what you will be doing is using the steam and heat from hot water in a larger bowl to help remove your gel nails. The steam will help to weaken your polish, and get you to having your natural nails back a lot faster.
Step One: To start, you will need to first file your nails. This will help to remove the top coat that is applied to keep your gel nails intact and firm.
Using a fine grit Nail File, file each of your nails gently, being cautious not to over-file and hit your nail bed. You only need to file for a short while, just to break the the top coat layer which will enable your nail polish remover to penetrate most effectively.
Once all of your nails have lost that shiny finish, you are ready for the next step.
Step Two: Your next job will be to fill the Larger of the two bowls with hot water. I first like to boil the kettle and then pour this into the large bowl. Do not overfill it, because next up you will be placing the smaller bowl inside the larger bowl. This way, the hot water will be in effect warming the smaller bowl and the contents that will be held inside.
Step Three: Pour Acetone Nail Polish Removerinto the small bowl. The hot water from the larger bowl will start to heat this up. Being slightly luke warm will help the Acetone to remove your gel nails faster and more easily.
