May 10, 2012
How to Remove Gel Nail Polish at Home – DIY 5
If your gel polish is applied correctly, it should last at least two weeks without chipping or peeling. By this point you will visibly see the growth at the base of the nail, and it may be tempting to start to pick at your polish. You should NOT remove gel polish by peeling it off with your nails or teeth! Picking gel polish off will damage your nails and make them brittle because the top layer of your nail often peels off along with the polish.
Below is a step-by-step guide to removing your gel polish without damaging your nails.
You will need:
- A coarse nail file
- Aluminum foil cut into strips
- Gelish Soak Off Nail Remover (buy in bulk here) OR 100% acetone polish remover
- An orange stick or a cuticle pusher
- A buffing block
- Cuticle oil or hand moisturizer of your choice
Steps:
- Roughen the surface of the nails using a coarse nail file. This helps break through the top coat to allow the remover to penetrate the layers of polish below.
- Soak a cotton ball with the acetone remover and place it on one of the fingernails.
- Wrap the finger with the cotton ball in foil, and squeeze it nice and tight so that the cotton ball stays in contact with the nail. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for each nail.
- Wait about 10-15 minutes. Maybe chase your kids around with your foil wrapped fingers and tell them that you’re an alien.
- Remove the foil from one finger. (You should be able to visibly see the polish coming loose from the edges of the nail.) Scrape the polish off of the nail using your orange stick or cuticle pusher. Don’t use anything too sharp or you could remove the top layer of your nail. Repeat this step for each nail.
- Use your buffing block to smooth the surface of each nail and remove any remaining little bits of polish.
- Wash and moisturize your hands and nails.
Tips:
- One cotton ball can go a long way. I like to rip a regular sized cotton ball into five pieces so that I only use one cotton ball per hand.
- If the polish doesn’t scrape off easily in step #5 above, continue soaking until it does. You shouldn’t have to chisel the polish off!
- Be very careful not to let pure acetone drip or spill as it will damage the finish of many surfaces, particularly wood.
Other helpful Gelish information from Chickettes:
- View our Gelish swatch gallery to see what the colors look like in real life
- Learn how to apply Gelish nail polish
- Gelish French manicure instructions
- Learn how to apply Gelish Structure Gel
- Gelish supply guide
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This is funny, Maybe chase your kids around with your foil wrapped fingers and tell them that you’re an alien. But i like your advice.
your method is ingenious. typing with right hand while left is being “treated” . great idea. thank you
Not sure where I read this, but I want to know if it is something you tried before. Is it possible to add regular nail polish over uv gel, and then when you remove the nail polish, the uv gel stays on?
I have done that before. You have to use regular polish that comes off pretty easy with non-acetone remover in order for the gel base to stay in tact.