How To Take Off Your Acrylic Nails At Home, So You Can Save Yourself A Trip To The Salon
Sometimes, there is nothing more satisfying than having a fun, fresh set of acrylic nails. An acrylic manicure can make you feel fierce and ready to take on the world. However, they’re pretty strong and, therefore, difficult to remove.
If you’ve ever had an acrylic manicure, chances are, you’ve had a moment where you’ve improperly tried to remove the nails yourself. There’s no shame in this, as some salons tend to charge an arm and a leg just to remove your acrylic nails. But the truth is, if you try to recklessly remove your acrylic manicure with no tools or proper products, you can seriously wreck your nails.
As the summer comes to a close and we’re getting ready to switch to fall-themed manicures, here’s a little guide to removing your acrylic nails at home.
The three basic things you’ll need are an acetone nail polish remover, nail clippers, and a nail file.
Having an acetone-based nail polish remover is essential, as acetone is the prime ingredient to help you thoroughly remove the acrylic nails and keep your natural nails safe.
First, take your nail clippers and cut your acrylic nails until they’re as short as you can get them without breaking or splitting your natural nails. Again, you don’t want to cut too far because you can really hurt yourself if you damage your natural nails or nail beds before getting the acrylic off.
If you have nail polish on your acrylics, remove it with nail polish remover or the gritty side of a nail file.
Next, continue to gently file your acrylic nails until there’s a very thin layer of acrylic left on your natural nail. You can tell you’ve completed this step when the shiny part of the acrylic nails is gone!
The final step is to soak the nails in acetone. You can either soak your fingers in a bowl of acetone for thirty minutes or soak cotton balls in acetone nail polish, place one on each fingernail, then individually wrap your fingers with the cotton balls in tin foil and let them sit for 10-20 minutes.
ID 26869215 – © Arne9001 – Dreamstime.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
If you use the tinfoil method alone, doing one hand at a time would be a good idea to ensure accuracy.
Once you’ve soaked your nails using either method, the acrylic should have turned soft enough for you to gently push it off with a tool like a cuticle pusher. Once most of the acrylic is gone, dry your hands with a towel and gently use your nail file or a nail buffer to remove the rest.
Now that the acrylic is gone, you’ll want to give your natural nails a little T.L.C. Wash your hands in soap with warm water and apply a cuticle oil, nail strengthening treatment, and any other nail care product you have. Re-apply the strengthening treatment consistently and let your nails rest for at least two weeks before diving into your next set of acrylics!
And remember, if you run into any trouble or accidentally hurt your natural nails in the process, go see a professional nail technician. If it came down to it, paying a salon bill to remove the nails would be better than paying some crazy medical bill after a bad nail accident. Good luck!
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