Should I Permanently Switch To Natural Methods
You can try using natural methods to remove nail polish, but you may find that OTC removers are the most effective and least time-consuming.
Try to limit your exposure to OTC removers to just a few minutes a few times a month. You can review the safety of nail polish removers available at the Environmental Working Group website.
You Can Do It In A Pinch
While many professionals recommend the use of acetone for safe and proper nail removal, you may not always have acetone on hand. If you find yourself in a bind when it comes to removing your nails, whether because one is starting to peel or because you need to perform an at-home manicure for an upcoming event, you have options. Its a good idea to know how to remove your gel nails without acetone in the event of an emergency.
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Gel nail polish has revolutionized the beauty world but there is no denying that removing the color from your nails is easy. Whether its soaking your nails in acetone for what seems like an eternity before your next manicure, or chipping it off, taking off gel nail polish is a chore.
However, beauty experts have some secrets when it comes to removing gel polish at home that wont completely destroy your nail beds and cuticles. So how should you approach the process? Keep reading to find out!*
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Beauty Trendshow To Remove Gel Nail Polish
By now, youve probably become pretty adept at how to tackle a slew of at-home beauty processes, including how to color your own hair and how to groom your own brows. But when it comes to your nails, you may have shied away from taking care into your own hands. So what do you do when you want to switch up your mani or simply take your current nails off and you cant get to the salon? Well, fortunately, when it comes to how to remove gel nail polish, youve got options. Sure gel nails are meant to last, but nothing is made to last forever. Much like removing acrylic nails, it can be a bit of a process! But with the right tools you can get that gel nail polish off correctly. So, were breaking down how to remove gel nail polish below, but first, lets talk about what not to do.
How To Remove Gel Nail Polish At Home: A Beginners Guide
Feeling anxious about damaging your nails while removing gel nail polish at home by yourself? You’re not alone.
This is our complete guide on how to remove gel nail polish going into every nitty-gritty detail so you won’t need to visit your nail technician.
These are the removal steps we take here at S& L Beauty Company, which has allowed us to keep our nail beds healthy for an immediate gel manicure right after the other. We also touch on common mistakes to avoid that lead to brittle nails.
In other words, theyre proven to work.
Below are is a complete step-by-step guide on how to remove gel nail polish:
Before you begin, to remove gel nail polish you will need these items:
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How To Extend The Life Of Your Gel Polish Manicure
If youre not quite ready to let go of your gel polish manicure, there are a few clever hacks that can extend its life until your next salon visit .
First, dont pick at the chips or peel off gel polish, as tempting as it may be. Our nails are made up of about 50 layers of keratin, explains Colley. Gel polish adheres to the keratin on your nails and picking at it actually takes layers off of your nail, which creates damage.
To save a chipped mani, Colley suggests filing down the nail to smooth down the affected spot, so youre not tempted to pick at it. If the chip is still showing, match the colour to a nail polish shade you have at home to cover the spot.
Colley also shares a brilliant tip to extend the life of a grown out gel polish manicure. First, file your nails to your desired length. Then, put that forgotten bottle of glitter polish to good use. Just drop the glitter in the area around your cuticle to give it a nail art effect and fill in the area thats grown out, she says.
Ready to say goodbye to your chipped, grown out manicure? Heres a simple step-by-step guide to removing gel nail polish at home without damaging your nails.
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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Step #: Soak And Wrap
Take cotton balls or pads and saturate them with pure acetone. Save your regular nail polish remover for another occasion and break out the big guns for this one! Place the pads on your nails and then wrap them with aluminum foil. If you arent particularly dexterous, you may need someone to help you with your non-dominant hand.
Editors tip: If you dont have cotton pads you can use paper towels or napkins as an alternative. There are also premade foil kits available that include everything you need to get those gel nails off with ease.
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.
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Stay Away From Water If You Want Them To Last
A gel manicures worst opponent is hot water, states Rita, therefore why soaking them is one of the most effective means to obtain them off. Long baths, showers or time spent in the jacuzzi can create training, so try your best to prevent these or maintain them to a minimum and also always put on rubber handwear covers when you do the meals! Properly kept in mind.
- Gritty nail file
- Orange stick
Whilst this secondary technique is also great at removing gel nails, I actually dont think it is as easy as the Double Boiling Soaking Method outlined above. However, I often use it in the Salon to great effect because it is pretty easy to do and not particularly messy.
The Foil method is essentially the same process, but instead of soaking your nails, you will be covering them instead. What you will be doing is resting a cotton ball soaked in acetone onto each of your nails, and then using aluminium foil to wrap the cotton ball in place.
Step One: You will first start by getting all of the items together, and by preparing the Aluminium Foil. You will need to essentially create 10 Foil strips that will be used to cover each finger.
Cut the Foil into 10 even strips, and ensure that the foil is large enough to wrap around each of your fingers. If you go slightly overboard do not worry, it will just mean that when you wrap it will be slightly more bulky on your nail.
The Owners Of Dc Nail Salon Group Nailsaloon Share Their Go
If you were one of the wise ones who got a gel manicure before the pandemic closed all non-essential businesses, your nails are probably just grown out enough now to start annoying you.
Removing a gel manicure at home can be tricky, though, so we reached out to the owners of DC nail salon group NailsaloonAndréaVieira and Claudia Diamante for their tips. The duo recommends being patient and gentle while following these steps so as to minimize damage to your nails. The good news? You probably have a lot of time on your hands , and much of this can be done while bingeing Netflix or on a Zoom call.
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How To Use Acetone And Non
Acetone breaks down nail polish quickly and efficiently. Compared to other chemicals that can remove nail polish, its low in toxicity.
Non-acetone nail polish removers may be less toxic than acetone-based remover, but you may find that it takes longer to remove the polish and that it doesnt remove dark nail polish colors. Non-acetone products still contain chemicals that may be harmful with prolonged use.
A prolonged soak in acetone is the only way to remove gel nail polish. To avoid exposing your skin to the acetone, consider using acetone-dipped cotton balls on your nails rather than soaking them in a container of the substance.
If youre giving yourself a manicure or pedicure at home, its likely some nail polish will end up on your skin. Try using the following to remove it:
- nail polish remover, either acetone or non-acetone, using a cotton ball or cotton swab
- warm water
How Do I Remove Acrylic Nails
Trim start by carefully clipping your acrylics, cutting them as close as possible to your real nail length.
Buff like with the gel removal, grab a nail buffer and rough up the surface of your polish until the shine is completely gone.
Soak next up, fill a nail soaking tray with acetone, then place your nails in it for five to 10 minutes.
Remove gently test a nail with a cuticle pusher. If nothing shifts, re-dip your nails for a further two to five minutes, then gently try again. Repeat the process until your acrylics have completely soaked off.
Aftercare just a few finishing touches to go! Rub away any stubborn pieces of acrylic with a nail buffer before filing into a shape of your choice. Round, oval, square you decide. Now wash your hands and apply cuticle oil and hand cream.
See that wasnt so hard, was it? Looks like youve nailed it.
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Gel Nail Polish Removal Tips
If you’d like to avoid doing this removal process, you can simply let your nails grow out. You can cut the gel off as it grows above your nail bed when you would normally clip your nails. However, this process can take up to six months for fingernails and up to 18 months for the more slowly growing toenails.
Don’t use an orange stick. These are small wooden sticks that nail technicians often use to push gel nail polish off. However, they can damage your nails and leave spots on them.
Continued
You may also be tempted to file the gel off or to use a dremel tool to sand it down. However, these tools can damage nails, especially when used by people who are not professional nail technicians.
Keep in mind that the longer your gel has been on your nail, the harder it will be to take off. Certain additions to your gel nail look, like glitter, may also make it harder to take off.
How To Remove Gel Nail Polish At Home
Removing a gel manicure’s long-lasting lacquer can leave you with weak, peeling, brittle nails. The issue isn’t necessarily the polish, considering you’re probably using some of the best nail polishes, so much as it is the method of removal, explains Dana Stern, MD, a dermatologist and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. You’re going to need to soak your nails in acetone and then use tools to physically push the polish off your nailsa harsh and potentially damaging process.
“When there is aggressive scraping with a metal or a wooden tool to remove gel polish, the nail plate also gets removed and this results in significant thinning,” says Dr. Stern. If you damage the nail matrix, the area of the nail beneath the cuticle, you’ll have white patches, ridges, and other surface irregularities to contend with as your nails grow, she warns. Follow these tips to be your own at-home manicurist. And make sure you’re using the best gel nail polishes for the best results.
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Provide Your Skin Some Tlc After The Gel Manicure Is Removed
Its extremely crucial that the surrounding skin and also cuticle, along with the nail plate itself, be rehydrated with a thick emollient such as Aquaphor or an overnight mask-like Nails Inc.s Overnight Detox Nail Mask post-removal in order to rehydrate and also fix the surrounding skin, cuticle, and also nails, Dr. Adigun states.
Take Downtime Between Manicures
Ever heard of ânail dehydration?â Your nails need access to water and air as much as the rest of your body, and going back-to-back with gel manicures is like suffocating your nailbeds, which can lead to damage and breakage. Both wearing gel manicures, as well as the removal process, can be a lot for your fingers to handle, so take time between gel applications. Your fingers will thank you.
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Gently Buff Away The Remaining Polish
Gently being the key word here. Applying just a little pressure, use your cuticle stick or manicuring brush to scrape away the the remaining polish. If the polish isn’t sliding off with minimal pressure, that’s a sign that it needs more nail polish remover: Soak a fresh cotton ball, and wrap it up with aluminum foil for a few more minutes before nudging off the rest of the polish.
What Can You Use Instead Of Acetone To Remove Acrylic Nails
How do you remove acrylic nails with hot water? When you want to know what can you use instead of acetone to remove acrylic nails, consider using hot water. For this method, youll want to start by trimming the nails as short as possible using a nail clipper. Then, use an orange stick to pry one edge of the nail up.
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The Aluminum Foil Method
For this method, youre going to need acetone, cotton balls, and aluminum foil.
*If the polish doesnt seem to be coming off easily, put the wrap back on for a couple more minutes. Then try again.*
Remove The Gel By Soaking It Off In Two Ways
A. Cut foil into small squares that will fit around the tip of your finger. Then, cut cotton pads/ cotton balls into pieces that are big enough to cover the entire nail. Coat your cuticles and the surrounding skin with cuticle oil or thick moisturizer to protect the skin from the drying acetone. Soak cotton balls in acetone and place them over the entire nail surface to cover the gel. Wrap each finger with small strips of foil to hold the cotton in place. Wait 10-15 minutes and check one nail. If gel remains, re-wrap the nail with cotton and foil and soak in five minute increments until all of the gel is off. Take off any excess polish by gently scraping with the cuticle stick.
B. Or, coat fingers in a thick layer of hand cream to protect the skin from the acetone. Pour acetone in a glass bowl. Soak fingers in the bowl for 10 minutes. If any gel remains, re-soak in five-minute increments until all of the gel is off.
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Filing Peeling Or Chipping Polish Away
If your nail polish is nearing the end of its life on your nails, you may find that itll come off if you work on it with your other fingernails or a nail file.
Be careful not to damage your nail using this method. Overfiling may take the top layer of your nail off, which could be harmful and painful.
Wait At Least 10 Minutes
This is the most important step in how to remove gel nail polish and requires the most patience. You will need to soak for a minimum of 10 minutes to loosen the layers of polish. To help speed up the process, Soon suggests taking a hot towel and wrapping it around your handthe warmth helps the acetone work while softening the polish to make it easier to remove.
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Lifting Gel Polish Off
Start at a loose or lifting spot on a nail, using your other fingernails, an orangewood stick, something similar, or a pair of tweezers gently push or peel the old gel polish up.
Do it slowly and try not to break it off as you need it to grab onto the next time. After you can not peel it anymore without breaking, soak the nail again and start on the next fingernail.
As you are doing this, do your best to keep all nails soaked.
Do this for all ten nails.
