How To Get Rid Of Gel Nails
How to Remove Your Acrylics or Gels at Home
Yes, removing your acrylic nails is tedious. But you've probably got some time on your hands.
For many of us, at-home gel removal is unexplored territory. To help you navigate the task, we consulted two nail artists, Brittney Boyce and Lisa Logan, for advice. Here, the right way to remove the four most common types of long-lasting manicure — soft gels, hard gels, acrylics and dip powder nails — quickly and safely.
First, a few universal tips:
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Work on one hand at a time. Believe it or not, it's efficient. For example, in acrylic removal, you'll soak then file off the product. In the time you're filing one hand, the acrylic on the other will have rehardened, making it impossible to file.
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Second, manicure removal is generally drying (and a bit traumatic) to nails. Treat them well after you're done. Rehydrate them with an oil or lotion and buff the surface to a smooth shine.
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Finally, apply a nail strengthener, like Nails. Inc Gel Rehab, $15, a moisturizing base coat that protects against breakage.
How to Remove a Standard Gel Manicure
Gels come in a few forms and require different removal. Soft gels are by far the most common gel manicure. It's likely that this is what you have. Soft gel removal will be familiar: file, soak, then lift off the product.
Soak-off hard gel, a sturdier gel that's often used for nail extensions, is removed in the same way, but with more filing and longer soaking. And finally there's hard gel that can be removed only by filing.
There's really no way to know which type you have before you start, said Ms. Boyce, a nail artist in Los Angeles. If you don't know what you have, try the removal process below on your pinkie nail ("It's the smallest and therefore quickest," Ms. Boyce said). If your gel doesn't budge, move on to the hard gel removal process.
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Your tool kit:
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Nail clipper
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Coarse file
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Pure acetone
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Orangewood stick
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Small squares of aluminum foil
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Cotton balls
Step 1
Cut your nails
Trim down the extensions if you have them.
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Step 2
File the top coat
With a coarse file, remove about a third of the gel. "Filing lets the acetone penetrate through the rest of the gel, which makes the soak-off easier," Ms. Boyce said. If you have hard gel, you'll need to file down about half of the gel.
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STEP 3
Wrap the nail
Soak the cotton ball in acetone. Place it on top of the nail, then wrap the nail with aluminum foil. Wrap only one hand at a time. "You can use the other hand while you're doing the removal," Ms. Boyce said.
Let the wraps sit for about 10 minutes. (Soak hard gel for 20 minutes.) The Orly at Home Gel Removal Kit, $19.99, includes little plastic pockets to cover the nail. They do simplify the process.
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STEP 4
Remove the gel
When you remove the wraps, the gel will be partly lifted from the nail. Use an orangewood stick to gently push the gel off your nail.
How to Remove Hard (File-Off) Gel
Unfortunately, acetone soaks won't break down this gel. All you can do is file through it. Ms. Boyce suggests leaving a thin layer of the gel on your nail. "Even professionals file too far down to the nail, damaging it," she said. "So it's not hard to imagine someone doing that at home."
Your tool kit:
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Coarse file
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Buffer
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Step 1
Cut your nails
Trim down the extensions if you have them.
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Step 2
File off the gel
File back and forth across the gel until you get down to a thin layer of gel. This could take up to 10 minutes per nail. Leave that thin layer on the nail, then lightly buff to smooth the surface.
How to Remove Acrylic Nails
Soak, file, repeat — and be patient. Acrylic removal is tedious.
"Some people will be tempted to pick or pull the acrylic off because they think, 'Oh, this isn't working,'" said Ms. Logan, a nail artist in New York. "But remember, the acrylic is on top of a your natural nail, and you don't want to damage that."
Your tool kit:
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Nail clipper
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Coarse nail file
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Pure acetone
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Orangewood stick
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Small bowl
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Hand towel
Step 1
Cut your nails
"I know we hate losing the length of our natural nails underneath, but this is the time to keep your nails short so you can manage them at home," Ms. Logan said. You'll be soaking your nails in acetone to dissolve the acrylic. Shortened extensions mean less product to dissolve and easier, faster removal.
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Step 2
Warm the acetone
Fill a bowl with acetone. Make sure it's deep enough to cover your entire nail. Place that bowl inside a larger bowl filled with warm water. This water will heat up the acetone (imagine the gentle warming action of a double boiler), making it dissolve the acrylic faster.
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STEP 3
Soak
Acetone evaporates rapidly, Ms. Logan warned. So cover your hand and bowl with a towel to slow down that process. Soak for five to eight minutes.
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STEP 4
File
"When you see the acrylic start to swell, this indicates the acetone has started to penetrate the acrylic," Ms. Logan said. "It's time to start filing."
A coarse file removes acrylic easier than a finer version. File across the nail in one direction. Sawing back and forth will gum up your nail file with acrylic, rendering it useless, Ms. Logan said.
STEP 5
Repeat
While you're filing, you'll notice at some point that the acrylic is drying up and no longer sticky. "That's your clue that you're reaching a level of the acrylic that hasn't been penetrated by the acetone," Ms. Logan said. Start the process over again with soaking.
"Some people have thicker acrylics than others, so the number of times you'll repeat is varied," she said. "But at least four or five times on average."
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STEP 6
Look for matte
It can be tricky to identify when you've removed all the acrylic because it's clear. "Remove your hand from the acetone," Ms. Logan said. "If there's still acrylic remaining, there will still be spots that are shiny. The shininess is product. This isn't shine like a buffed nail. There will be a contrast between the remaining acrylic and the matte of your nail."
How to Remove Dip Power Nails
If your last manicure was a powder dip, consider yourself lucky. Removal is simple. Just soak your fingers in pure acetone for about 20 minutes.
"If you just sit there long enough, you'll see the dip lift off," Ms. Logan said. "Dip nails are just powder and glue. It will melt down in acetone." After it lifts, wipe off the excess with a towel and shape your nails. You can also file the topcoat of the dip powder before you soak to make the process a little faster.
Your tool kit:
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Coarse file
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Pure acetone
How To Get Rid Of Gel Nails
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/style/how-to-remove-your-acrylics-or-gels-at-home.html
Posted by: millionstrats1942.blogspot.com
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