How to Remove Acrylic Nails

Doing your own set at home is one thing, but if you’ve had your mani for some time now and haven’t been able to make it into the salon or get an appointment due to the pandemic, you might need the option of removing the acrylic nails yourself. Here are 3 simple steps to get you back to your natural nails:

1. Use a 100-grit file to smooth away most of the acrylic - Go over the entire acrylic nail (not just the tips) with a file fit for acrylics, being cautious so as not to damage your skin. Make sure you “season” your file by rubbing the edges of the new one with another. 

2. Wrap and soak - This is a very important step that involves soaking off the rest of the acrylic. Get yourself 10 cotton balls, some tin foil, and soak those cotton balls with acetone. Place them on each nail, followed by wrapping a piece of tin foil snugly around your fingertip. An older method was to just soak nails in a bowl of acetone, but that’s a long process, can be damaging to your skin, and isn’t great for your lungs. The foil and acetone work together, kind of like getting foils in your hair and sitting under the dryer to cure that color. 

3. Gently remove any remaining product with an appropriate tool - “Gently” is the keyword here. There will be bits of acrylic left on your nail beds. You can use an orange stick, cuticle pusher, and/or buffer to remove the remaining product. Make sure to go slowly. Check your foil-wrapped nails every 20 minutes or so to see how the acrylic removal is progressing. Be very, very gentle so that your nails don’t sustain any damage. It can be done--but patience is necessary. Don’t give in to the temptation to get rough with your nails on any stubborn spots.

Last, protect your nails which are now somewhat vulnerable and weakened, by using strengthening nail treatments every day, and by keeping the skin properly moisturized. Happy DIY removing!