Fight the urge to pick, rip or bite. Here’s how to remove gel nail polish at home. Ever since gel nail polish made its debut, women everywhere have been singing its praises. And why not? A regular manicure can see chips in a couple of days. Gel nail polish stays super shiny and lasts for weeks! The downside is, it’s so hard to remove gel nail polish.
Unlike regular nail polish that you can easily remove with acetone, gel nail polish will have to be removed by a nail technician and removing it costs nearly as much as a new gel manicure. While diehards willingly go through this cycle of application and removal, going to the salon these days is a health risk. With most salons operating in a limited fashion or completely closed, you can learn to remove it by yourself.
There are a couple of ways you can safely remove gel nail polish at home. But first, gather everything you need:
- A nail file – the coarser, the better
- Nail polish remover – preferably 100% acetone
- Cotton balls
- Orangewood stick
- Aluminum foil
- Cuticle and hand creams
- Two glass bowls – one large, one small
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Table of Contents
Method Number One
Allure suggests finding a well-ventilated area. This is to avoid breathing in all the acetone that you will be using. Once you find your spot, start buffing your nails with a coarse nail file. The aim is to remove the topmost layer off the gel nail polish. You do not have to remove all the color, just the shiny part. This will create a porous surface for the acetone to penetrate.
Once that’s done, protect your cuticles with some cuticle cream to protect it from the acetone. Soak your cotton balls in a lot of acetone and cover each nail with it. Wrap each nail with aluminum foil to secure the cotton balls. By the way, you should cut the foil into strips before doing all this. Just make sure the size will cover the entire nail area.
After 15 to 20 minutes, remove the foil and wipe down nails with the cotton balls. The gel nail polish should be partially be lifted off by now and could be removed by the orangewood stick with just a little pressure. Scrape away gently until the nail polish is completely removed.
Also read: The Top 10 Pros and Cons of Acrylic Nails
Method Number Two
If your gel nail polish is staying put, move on to the second method. Fill the bigger glass bowl with hot water and place the smaller bowl in it. Fill that small bowl with acetone and allow it to warm up. Just a word of caution: acetone is highly flammable so do not warm it up in the microwave.
Soak your fingernails in that warm acetone for 10 to 15 minutes until you notice the corners coming loose. While your nails are still steeped in the liquid, start applying pressure with the nail stick until all polish is removed.
Whatever method you choose, always give your nails some love after. All that acetone is very drying so slather on some hand lotion after everything.
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