How to remove gel polish without removing acrylic nails

If you're yearning to try fun new nail art—especially the ones you've been seeing all over Instagram—you'll want to get rid of your half-chipped gel and acrylic nails first. While taking off your nail polish at home has always been a major no-no, not having access to salons means you might have to take matters into your own hands. Kanchan Punjani, beauty and makeup education manager at Jean-Claude Biguine tells you how to safely remove your salon manicure.

How to remove gel nail polish at home

A gel manicure uses a gel-based polish that requires a UV or LED light to cure the polish and lock it into your nails. That's why they last longer without chipping or fading. However, leave gel polish on too long, and the nails underneath can get brittle. “It's best to take it out with acetone,” says an OPI brand trainer, who shares her go-to six step process.

1. Buff the shine of your polish using a nail file.

2. Soak a small piece of cotton with acetone and place it on your nail.

3. Wrap each nail with foil, and cover all the cotton swabs. Then let it sit for 15 minutes.

4. Twist and take out the foil and cotton together.

5. Wipe your nails with polish remover. You can also use a plastic pusher/orange stick to get rid of any nail polish stuck on the nail. Do not scratch it or peel it with any sharp object, as that can damage it.

6. Then, apply a nail strengthener to ensure that you don't have any breakage, and file the edges so they don't get caught on anything.

However, if you don't have nail polish remover at home, Punjani says you can use a regular nail file too.

1. Cut and file your nails so that they are short and manageable.

2. Using a coarse grit nail file, file down your nails down slowly. Keep blowing the dust away to check how far you are from your natural nail to avoid damaging it.

3. Once you almost reach your natural nail, switch over to a softer nail file that won't damage your nails as much.

4. Once you file off all of the gel polish, wash your hands/nails with a gentle soap.

5. Apply some oil all over to provide nourishment.

How to remove acrylic nails at home

“This process usually takes longer. You'll have to have patience and make sure you're somewhere comfortable and have everything you need with you," says Punjani. Acrylic nails are a mix of powder and a liquid glue that, when combined, are shaped onto nails with a brush and then dried. It's ideal for people to add length or change the shape of their nails. If you want to remove the nails without acetone, you can file them down.

1. Trim the nails to the shortest length possible.

2. File them using long strokes. Keep filing till you feel you have reached your actual nail bed. If you notice some of it still remaining on your nails, take a cuticle nipper and pry open the edges and clip it. Make sure to clip only small pieces at a time and do not try to pry open too much.

3. Once all of the acrylic nail is off, take the orange stick and scrape off all the acrylic glue.

4. Follow it up with lots of cuticle oil.

If you'd rather just soak the nails off,  you can do that too, says Punjani. “But keep hydrating and moisturising the nail with coconut oil or a cuticle oil to mitigate damage from the prolonged exposure to acetone."

1. Clip the acrylic nails as short as possible.

2. Use a nail file to remove shine (top layer), nail polish or any colour to avoid creating any mess or get your hands full of colour.

3. Now, apply a generous amount of petroleum jelly on the skin surrounding your cuticles. This will protect them from the dryness that acetone can cause.

4. Soak cotton balls in acetone. Cut foil in squares—enough to wrap around your finger, and then place the soaked cotton ball on nail plate and tightly wrap with foil so that it stays in place. You can cover your hands with a hot towel as heat speeds up removal.

5. Check if the acrylic nails have gone soft—you should be able to pull it out gently. If you feel resistance, do not yank—just soak it for longer.

6. Use an orange stick or a plastic tool to help get the excess polish off the nail. Buff the nails with soft buffer to create a smooth surface.

Also read:

3 professional hand models reveal their secret to perfect nails

How to give yourself a professional-looking manicure at home

This manicure lasts even longer than gel, but is it healthy for your nails?

For anyone who has trouble making a normal manicure last more than three days, discovering the magic of gel nails (near flawless for three weeks?!) 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.

Method #1: The store-bought jar

You'll need: Whatever product you pick up in the nail polish aisle at the drugstore.

If you can swing by your local drugstore, there a lot of "over-the-counter" gel removal options to try. The frustrating part is that you can't know how they work until you get them home.

This one was essentially an acetone-soaked sponge in a jar. The instructions told me to stick my finger in the jar and twist, implying that with this simple motion, my nail color would magically come off. So I twisted and twisted and twisted ...

... and, nothing. I tried so many times! There was no way the polish was coming off.

The verdict: If you go this route, you're taking a risk, and it's likely not worth your time, money or energy. Pass.

Method #2: Aluminum foil wraps

You'll need: Aluminum foil, a nail file, cotton balls and acetone nail polish remover.

The steps are pretty simple, and if you've ever gotten a gel manicure removed at the nail salon, this one will seem familiar because it's typically what the nail techs do.

First, buff your fingernails with a nail file, removing the shiny coating of the gel polish.

Then, soak a cotton ball in acetone until it's saturated. Put the soaked cotton ball on top of your buffed nail, and wrap your finger in a small square of aluminum foil to keep the cotton ball in place. Repeat for all of your fingers.

Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Remove the foil wraps, and use the cotton balls to wipe off any leftover polish on your nails.

The verdict: B+. The cotton ball soak left my fingers a disturbing shade of gray, but the polish had bubbled and puckered during the 10 minutes, so that was encouraging. The actual foil wrap process was extremely unwieldy and annoying, and it was difficult for me to do it on all my fingers. Plus, the cotton ball-swipe method to finish removing the polish didn't really work, and that felt rough and kind of painful on my fingers. If you use something else, like an orange stick, to scrape off the leftover polish, this method is pretty effective.

Method #3: The double boiler

You'll need: Two bowls, hot water, a nail file, acetone nail polish remover and an orange stick.

I love a double boiler when it comes to baking — hello, melted chocolate! — but I had no idea you could use it in any other context. Here's how it works as a nail polish remover.

First, buff your nails with a nail file to remove that shiny polish finish.

Then, fill a large bowl with hot water and place a smaller bowl inside. Pour acetone nail polish remover into that bowl. Soak your fingers in the small bowl for 10 minutes. Then, use an orange stick to push off the remaining polish.

The verdict: Success!!! This method was the hands-down winner. It was easy, it was clean, it was super cheap — no real supplies required — and it was *super* effective. The polish just pushed right off.

So, there you have it! Struggling with an old gel manicure? Avoid the urge to peel and get double boiling!

This article was published on Feb. 24, 2017.

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