Who doesn’t love a good gel manicure! This invention was a home run for women who love to wear their natural nails, but don’t want to worry about their manicure looking two weeks old in two days! The durability of gel nail polish is simply amazing, but removing it can be a nightmare.
Going to the salon to remove your gel is always an option, but with cost being a concern it makes more sense to just do this yourself! It is important when doing an at home removal to take your time and do it right. With a little patience and the following tips you will be on your way to removing your gel polish without ruining your nails.
Don’t peel or pick.
Yes, peeling off the gel seems like an easy way to go and once it starts chipping seems like a natural habit to just want to pull off the rest. Try to resist the urge! This is very traumatic for your nails. You may not realize it, but the gel is adhered to the top layer of your nail bed and if peeled off you are actually removing some of your nail as well. This causes them to become brittle and weak. According to Skyy Hadley, Celebrity manicurist from New Jersey, “This can result in white patches and textural irregularities throughout the nails.”
Remove the seal first.
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The shine on your gel manicure is actually a coated sealant. Remove this by using a good buffer. Removing this makes the gel polish porous and easier to remove. Be careful not to buff down to the nail.
Soak and wrap them up.
Now that you have buffed off the sealant, dissolving the gel with acetone will be easy. To start dissolving the gel, use a 100% acetone polish remover, like Ulta Maximum Strength 100% Pure Acetone Nail Polish Remover ($4, ulta.com). Soak 10 cotton balls in 100% Acetone, place them on top of your nail beds and then wrap each finger in foil. Let them soak like this for at least 15 minutes. This should be long enough to loosen and soften the gel so that it can be removed easily.
Gently scrape.
Once you’ve let your nails soak, use a wooden cuticle stick to carefully remove whatever gel remains on the nail. If it feels like you are still struggling to remove the polish attempt to soak your nails a bit longer in the acetone.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.
The acetone and gel have completely dried out your nail beds. It is important now to rehydrate your nail beds back to good health! Wash your hands right after you’ve completed the removal and then apply a nourishing cuticle oil to both the nail and cuticle. Great options for oil are vitamin E and safflower oils.
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