How To Remove Acrylic Nails at Home
Nail salons may be closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and while we understand the struggle of not being able to from getting a fill-in, that doesn’t mean you just have to let your acrylic nails grow out. We don’t know how long it’ll be until nail shops are open again but until then, we're teaching you how to remove acrylic nails at home... by yourself.
Taking your acrylics off yourself can be intimidating, especially if you pay attention to all the work you see nail techs doing in salons — from aluminum foil wraps to the sharp tools. But, if you really need to, you can safely remove your nails at home in just four steps.
Since people started social distancing, social media sites like Pinterest saw a spike in search for removing nails. +173% more people searched for tips on how to take their acrylic nails off just this past weekend. To make your quest easier, we spoke with an expert to learn the simple steps you actually need to remove your acrylics successfully.
“The best way to remove acrylics at home is to get a glass bowl, pour pure acetone in the bowl, enough to cover up to the entire nail," celebrity nail artist and NAILS.Inc ambassador, Lisa Logan tells Teen Vogue. "Allow the hands to sit in the acetone for at least 15 minutes before using a nail file to file only in one direction rolling the acrylic off of the nails repeating until all is removed.” Sounds simple enough right? Just in case, here is a step-by-step breakdown on how to remove acrylic nails.
1. Get a Glass Bowl and Pour Pure Acetone
Grab a bowl. Any bowl would do but just make sure it is deep enough to fit your entire nail (i.e. pay attention to the length of your acrylics). Fill the bowl up with pure acetone just enough to comfortably place your hands in it while allowing the liquid to cover your entire nail.
Pure Acetone
$9.00, Amazon
2. Sit Your Hands In The Bowl
Make sure you have time because that is what you will need plenty of! For at least fifteen minutes, sit your hands in the bowl and allow the nails to soak in the pure acetone. This liquid is a solvent that effectively dissolves acrylics off of your nail bed. According to Sinclair Dermatology, “acetone removes polish by quickly breaking apart the nail varnish and stripping the polish from the nail plate surface.”
3. Get to Filing
You are not done just yet! After you have soaked the nails for at least 15 minutes, use a nail file and remove the acrylic nail only in the direction that it is rolling off in. File each nail until the acrylic is all removed.
Nail Files and Buffers
$12.00, Amazon
4. Hydrate Your Nail Beds Again
Ok, so now you have successfully removed the nails, but you need to pamper them a bit. “Exposure to acetone can dehydrate the nail plate, cuticles, and the surrounding skin,” Sinclair Dermatology claims. So, how can we combat this? Hydrate your nail beds and cuticles with an essential oil that will re-strengthen!
Bee Natural Cuticle Oil
$19.00, Amazon
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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
