How To Take Your Nail Out

Need to become your acrylic nails off, but don't have the fourth dimension or patience to become to the salon? We've all been at that place — but it pays to remove that manicure correctly instead of, say, prying them from your natural nails (ouch!) or mindlessly bitter them off while absorbed in a Television set-watching session. If you lot're wondering how to take off your acrylic nails apace at domicile, we've got you covered — and we've even got an acetone-free selection.

Unfortunately, removing acrylics forcefully means removing some of the many layers of your natural nail plate, too, according to Savannah Walker, a professional smash artist and owner of Manifest Nail in New York City. "Usually this results in thin, flimsy, damaged nails, which last for months until they grow out," she says. And that's the best possible scenario! And then, if you choose to wear acrylics, we suggest keeping this handy tool kit at home for a harm-free removal:

Tools You'll Need to Safely Remove Acrylic Nails

100% Pure Acetone Nail Polish Remover

EC Labs amazon.com

$12.99

Cotton Assurance

Sky Organics amazon.com

$5.99

Wrap Aluminum Foil

Reynolds amazon.com

$17.56

Small Bowl

Youngever amazon.com

$15.99

How to remove acrylic nails at dwelling house with acetone

Go along in mind, fifty-fifty if yous follow these five steps, you may exist left with somewhat compromised natural nails, depending on how the technician practical them the acrylics in the first place and how carefully yous execute the removal. Nevertheless, "if the acrylic process is done patiently, information technology can be well-nigh damage-free," Walker says. At present, follow these simple steps from nail pros to take acrylics off fast without harm:

i. File off equally much of the acrylic nail as possible

Instead of filing your nails in the usual mode (along the top border of the boom), y'all'll need to thin out the entire area the acrylic covers. "Using a coarse grit file , file off as much of the acrylic production as possible," Walker says. "You lot need a really skillful file for this; an emery board would exist useless." Look for a 100-dust nail file, which is coarse enough to file downwards the surface of the acrylics, or a boom drill.

Pro safety tip: "Be conscientious not to cutting the skin around the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "E'er 'season' a new file by using another file over the edges to soften them."

2. Soak off whatsoever remaining acrylic smash

Close up of woman's hand in bowl of soapy water

altrendo images Getty Images

One time the acrylic has been filed down much as possible, Walker recommends soaking the nails in 100% acetone nail polish remover for as long as it takes to dissolve the product.

There are ii ways to do this. One method is to place an acet0ne-soaked slice of cotton over each nail, so wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. "This is the superior technique," she says. Otherwise, you can try soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. It's simpler, but "the bowl technique is very harsh on your skin and takes longer," Walker notes.

If you do go this route, "only dip your boom tips in the bowl to avoid drying out the skin on your fingers and hands," says Good Housekeeping Plant Beauty Lab Managing director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. "Be certain to but utilise acetone in a well-ventilated area, because it is very volatile and can hands irritate your respiratory arrangement."

iii. Gently scrape or buff off the last bits of acrylic

Afterwards soaking in acetone, check nails "every xx minutes or so to scrape off the softened acrylic using an orange stick or cuticle pusher, repeating this process until all the product has been dissolved," Walker says.

There may be a few minor areas of acrylic that remain, but don't get crude with them! "If there are any lilliputian bits of acrylic that won't budge, a soft foam nail buffer can exist used to buff those little stubborn bits smooth," she says.

5. Protect your nails from future acrylic damage

Acrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but it can take a toll on natural nails. For acrylics devotees, try to take a weeklong break from them every month and so your nails' wellness doesn't completely dwindle. During that time, castor on i coat of a strengthening nail treatment every solar day to foreclose breakage, like this moisturizing oil created past nail artist Deborah Lippmann.

To give them an even more than intensive handling, "cover your nails with cuticle oil and cuticle cream, then wrap each manus in a warm washcloth for v minutes," says manicurist Deborah Lippmann, founder of Deborah Lippmann boom collection. The result: shinier, stronger nails in no time.

How to remove acrylic nails at home without acetone

You lot can remove acrylic nails without acetone using an acetone-free nail smooth remover equally a soak-off solution. But know that "if you wish to avoid acetone, it volition take longer to remove acrylics," says Anastasia Totty, a LeChat Nails Educator in Saint Johns, Florida. Here's how:

Offset by trimming the extra length of the enhancement using nail clippers to cut downwardly on the soaking fourth dimension, she advises.
Use a 100-dust nail file to remove equally much product equally possible without filing into the natural blast. "This volition remove any acme glaze, gel polish or nail art making it easier for the solution to penetrate the enhancement," Totty explains.
Soak a slice of cotton in the remover and wrap your fingertip in a piece of foil well-nigh two inches long, with the slice of cotton in straight contact with the acrylic, repeating on each finger. Wait xv to 20 minutes, then remove the foil and cotton and gently push the soaked product away from the cuticle using an orange wood stick or cuticle pusher. "Be patient and don't scrape or skin whatsoever of it if it's not soaked enough," she says.
If y'all have acrylic left on nails, wrap them over again using more of the remover.
Use the file to shape nails, gently buff if necessary, and wash hands to remove whatsoever remaining solution.