How To: Remove Gel Manicures

Oh how we love gel (or shellac) manicures! They're chip-resistant! They dry instantaneously so no more waiting 20 minutes to pay for the manicure! And they look so good all the time. But I hate going back to the nail salon to get them removed (unless I'm getting another one done), so I stole their methods and have been doing this at home ever since.

What You'll Need:
+ Typical kitchen foil
+ Scissors
+ Cotton balls
+ Acetone nail polish remover
+ Cuticle tool
+ Buffer file

This is a 3-week old gel manicure, you can tell because it's starting to crack and my nails have grown out (well, in-person at least...in this photo they don't look too bad):

Step 1: Cut the foil into 10 pieces and set aside 10 cotton balls. I usually just split 1 cotton ball in half for two nails.

Step 2: Soak each cotton ball with acetone nail polish remover.
Step 3: Using the foil, secure each fingernail with the acetone cotton ball facing your nail.

Step 4: Leave for 5-7 minutes.

Step 5: Using your cuticle tool, gently scrape off the nail polish, going away from your hand. It should be relatively easy - if it's still too difficult and isn't peeling off, then reapply the soaked cotton ball and foil and wait a few minutes.

Step 6: Repeat for the rest of the hand and switch over to the next hand. Your nails may still have some nail polish on it as well be uneven, but that's okay.

Step 7: With a buffer, simply buff your nails out until smooth and even. Use more acetone to remove any excess nail polish as needed.

By the time I'm done with using cuticle oil and prepping my nails, they're ready to go with a basecoat and color!

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