Gel nails are legit the best thing since sliced bread. Or ceramic hair straighteners. Or laser hair removal. Anyway, they’re pretty major, allowing us to rock a fierce alternative to acrylic nails for weeks on end without worrying about them chipping, and the zero dry-time is ideal for all the girl bosses among us.
Yep, gel nails are just great… until it’s time to take them off, at which point we all start to question why we got them in the first place. If you peel them off (and who doesn’t?) you’re left with weak, ridged nails underneath, but let’s face it, no one is going to bother going back to the salon to get them taken off by the pros.
So, we’ve devised the ultimate guide to getting your gels off at-home, so you can enjoy your gels knowing your natural nail strength won’t suffer for it.
These are the strengthening tools every flaky nailed gal needs in her kit
How to remove gel nails at home
Step one: Gently buff the top of your gels
When we say gently, we mean very gently, and be careful not to scratch the cuticles and surrounding skin. Always use a buffer with a low ‘grit’, which measures how abrasive the buffer is (go for around the 100 to 300 mark).
This breaks the uppermost seal of the gel formula, to allow for the nail polish remover to penetrate more effectively.
Step 2: Wrap your nails
You’ll need to buy nail polish remover with acetone in it, otherwise it won’t be able to break down the gel formula.
Cut your cotton pads into 10 small squares (one for each nail) and then cut ten strips of tin foil.
Soak each cotton pad in the acetone and place on top of your buffed nail. Wrap the strip of tin foil on top and twist to secure.
Repeat for all ten nails and leave for 10 – 15 minutes.
If you find this a bit of a faff, then you can buy special clips, which do the same job as the tin foil, but stay in place properly and can be reused again and again (we tried these, and were seriously impressed).
