Whether you have your nails done professionally by a technician, or you do them yourself at home, there comes a point where the polish has to be removed. In a salon, it’s relatively easy to do, but at home, it can be quite daunting to be faced with polish, that lets face it, just doesn’t come off with a wipe of nail polish remover. And as gorgeous as that long lasting gel looks, it takes a bit of work to remove it without damage to your nails.
It’s even almost a shame to remove that polish, especially if it hasn’t chipped, but time wears on and the polish starts to move on up the nail bed, and it’s time for a change…. And don’t forget, it’s good to let your nails have a rest sometimes too.
Try not to peel or pick off your gel nails, as it can make your nails thinner, which as we all know, can cause them to be a bit painful under an LED lamp for future curing of nail polish.
Here’s what you can do at home, and what you’ll need.
Items You Need
- White buffing block.
- Nail file.
- 100% Acetone or Gel Soak Off Fluid.
- Cotton Balls, or Nail Wipes, and Tin Foil, or Nail Wraps.
- Orange Stick or Cuticle Pusher.
- Cuticle Oil.
Steps
Buff the shiny top coat from your nails with the white buffing block. Be careful not to buff into the actual nail underneath the layers of polish.
File the tip of your nail, to break the seal around the capped ends from when you put the polish on.
Soak the cotton balls or nail wipes in Acetone. If you’re planning on doing this regularly, it might be worth your while buying a nail product pump dispenser to help with dispensing Acetone. Put the Pad or nail wipe directly onto the nail, and wrap the covered nail in foil. You can buy ready cut foils, or you can chop up the regular kitchen foil in your cupboard.
I find it easier to do one hand at a time, as I seem to get butter fingers trying to wrap the foil on my second hand. I just know now, to take the time and do one hand at a time. Leave the foil on for around 15 minutes, or until the polish starts to flake away from the nail.
Use the orange stick or cuticle pusher to flick and push away any flaky polish left on your nails. Don’t dig them into the nails to remove the polish. If it’s not moving, wrap the nail up again, and try to keep it warm until the polish starts to flake.
Wash your hands and apply cuticle oil to nourish your nails and skin. Leave this step out if you are going to reapply more gel polish immediately, and apply the cuticle oil once your new polish has been put on. This picture shows Gelish Cuticle Oil, and the Gel Polish being removed was Shellac.
If you struggle to remove gel polish, and you forgot to apply a base coat, it might be worth thinking about adding a base coat to your regime for your next gel polish.
If you have access to them, you can use ready made soak off kits.
CND Chellac have an Offly Fast removal system, which is an 8 minute Removal and Care Kit.
There are two sets of 10 Foil Remover Wraps, 1 CND Offly Fast Replenishing Remover, 1 bottle of CND Solaroil, a manicures stick, and an instruction sheet.
