How to safely remove gel polish
Do you need to remove gel polish from your nails, but there is no time or opportunity to go to the salon? The case is not rare! :) Therefore, today I will tell you how to safely remove gel polish at home without damaging your nails.
The very first thing to do is to calm your temptation to tear / scrape off / bite off the gel polish from your nails. :) I know it's not easy, especially when the varnish has already begun to peel off, and it seems that all you need to do is just pick it up.
To the question "is it possible to tear off gel polish from nails?" I will tell you a categorical NO! This option seems like a quick and convenient method of removal, but it will do a lot more harm than good. To the naked eye, it may seem that everything is in order with the nails, but along with the gel polish, thin layers of the nail plate also come off, which can lead to irreversible damage.
The good news is that it's safe to remove gel polish at home - it's possible. This will take a little more time and patience, but will help keep your nails healthy.
Protect your skin
It's no secret that acetone dries out the skin around the nail. Therefore, before moving on to soaking your nails, apply cuticle oil to the areas adjacent to the nail. If there is none nearby, coconut oil will do, and even ordinary petroleum jelly. They will create a barrier on the skin and minimize the damage that nail polish remover can cause.
File the top layer
Take a hard nail file and lightly sand the surface of your nails. The top coat, which is applied during a manicure with gel polish, is a hard, almost impenetrable layer that "seals" the color. That is why a manicure with gel polish is able to last several weeks, not days, without chipping, in comparison with ordinary varnish. Therefore, in order to remove shellac, for better penetration of acetone, you should slightly “scratch” the surface. The key word here is slightly. No need to try to sand the entire varnish. All you need to do is remove the shine, which is what the top coat is for.
Soak your nails
The key to removing gel polish is properly soaking your fingertips in acetone. To start, take cotton balls or pads and soak them generously with acetone or nail polish remover. In this case, acetone is stronger and more effective than any nail polish remover. Also note that you should not use a liquid that contains various moisturizing ingredients for nails. This will only delay the process of removing gel polish.
For soaking, I advise you to use cotton balls, as they are more suitable for the size and shape of your nails. Also, cotton balls are better at retaining acetone while your nails are soaking. But cotton pads dry out quickly.
Then wrap each finger in aluminum foil to increase the temperature and help the gel polish particles break down faster.
How long you need to keep your nails in foil depends on the manufacturer. Gel polishes of different brands differ in strength, so the required waiting time varies between 10 and 20 minutes.
After this time, check your progress.
The gel polish on your nails should look like it's being lifted and peeled off. Using light pressure, remove layers of varnish with a cotton pad. If it was not possible to completely remove the gel polish, then use an orange tree stick, and slightly “tip” the varnish.
Wooden tools can be a breeding ground for bacteria, so dispose of them after each use and don't share them with friends.
If the polish doesn't come off even with a nail stick, you need more time to soak. So wrap your nail in foil again with a new cotton ball and try again in five minutes.
Moisturize your nails
Since the nails have been exposed to acetone for a long time, they will look dry and brittle at first glance, so it is very important to moisturize them properly after removing the gel polish. Rub some coconut oil into the nail plate, and do not forget about the cuticle. And even better - let your nails "breathe" and leave them without any coating at least for the night.
I hope my information was useful to you, and now you know how to carefully remove gel polish on your own, and how to protect the nail plate from dryness and brittleness after removal.
