How To Remove Acrylic Nails At Home With Acetone

Demand to go your acrylic nails off, but don't have the fourth dimension or patience to go to the salon? We take been there — but information technology pays to remove that manicure correctly instead of, say, prying them from your natural nails (ouch!) or mindlessly bitter them off while absorbed in a binge TV-watching session.

Removing acrylics forcefully means removing some of the many layers of your natural smash plate, as well, according to Savannah Walker, a professional boom artist and owner of Manifest Nail in New York City. "Usually this results in thin, flimsy, damaged nails, which last for months until they grow out," she says. And that'due south the all-time possible scenario! And then, if you opt for acrylics, we advise keeping this handy tool kit at home for a impairment-free removal:

100-grit boom file
100% pure acetone nail polish remover
Cotton balls
Aluminum foil
Pocket-sized basin
Orange sticks or cuticle pusher
Cream nail buffer

Tools Y'all'll Demand to Safely Remove Acrylic Nails

100% Pure Acetone Nail Polish Remover

EC Labs amazon.com

$12.99

Cotton Balls

Sky Organics amazon.com

$5.99

Wrap Aluminum Foil

Reynolds amazon.com

$17.56

Small Bowl

Youngever amazon.com

$xv.99

Orange Sticks Wooden Cuticle Sticks

Keep in listen, even if yous follow these steps, you may be left with somewhat compromised natural nails, depending on how the technician practical them the acrylics in the first place and how carefully you execute the removal. However, "if the acrylic process is washed patiently, it can be almost damage-free," Walker says. At present, follow these simple steps from nail pros to easily accept acrylic nails off at domicile fast without damage:

1. File off as much of the acrylic nail every bit possible

Instead of filing your nails in the usual way (along the meridian edge of the nail), yous'll need to thin out the unabridged area the acrylic covers. "Using a coarse grit file , file off as much of the acrylic product as possible," Walker says. "You need a really good file for this; an emery lath would be useless." Wait for a 100-grit boom file, which is coarse enough to file down the surface of the acrylics, or a smash drill.

Pro safety tip: "Be careful not to cut the skin around the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "Ever 'flavor' a new file by using another file over the edges to soften them."

two. Soak off whatsoever remaining acrylic blast

Close up of woman's hand in bowl of soapy water

altrendo images Getty Images

Once the acrylic has been filed down much equally possible, Walker recommends soaking the nails in 100% acetone nail polish remover for as long as it takes to dissolve the product.

In that location are two ways to do this. I method is to place an acet0ne-soaked piece of cotton over each blast, and so wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. "This is the superior technique," she says. Otherwise, you can effort soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. It'due south simpler, simply "the bowl technique is very harsh on your pare and takes longer," Walker notes.

If you exercise go this route, "just dip your smash tips in the bowl to avoid drying out the peel on your fingers and easily," says Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab Director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. "Be sure to only use acetone in a well-ventilated area, because it is very volatile and can hands irritate your respiratory organisation."

three. Gently scrape or vitrify off the concluding bits of acrylic

After soaking in acetone, check nails "every 20 minutes or so to scrape off the softened acrylic using an orange stick or cuticle pusher, repeating this process until all the product has been dissolved," Walker says.

There may be a few small areas of acrylic that remain, but don't go rough with them! "If at that place are whatever piddling $.25 of acrylic that won't budge, a soft foam nail buffer can exist used to buff those petty stubborn bits smooth," she says.

5. Protect your nails from future acrylic harm

Acrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but information technology can take a toll on natural nails. For acrylics devotees, try to take a weeklong suspension from them every month so your nails' wellness doesn't completely dwindle. During that time, brush on one coat of a strengthening nail treatment every day to prevent breakage, like this moisturizing oil created by smash artist Deborah Lippmann.

Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil

To requite them an fifty-fifty more than intensive treatment, "cover your nails with cuticle oil and cuticle foam, then wrap each hand in a warm washcloth for five minutes," says manicurist Deborah Lippmann, founder of Deborah Lippmann nail collection. The result: shinier, stronger nails in no time.

How to remove acrylics without acetone

You can remove acrylic nails without acetone using an acetone-free nail smoothen remover as a soak-off solution. But know that "if you wish to avoid acetone, it will take longer to remove acrylics," says Anastasia Totty, a LeChat Nails Educator in Saint Johns, Florida. Here's how:

Start by trimming the extra length of the enhancement using smash clippers to cut down on the soaking time, she advises.
Employ a 100-grit boom file to remove equally much production every bit possible without filing into the natural blast. "This will remove any elevation glaze, gel polish or nail art making it easier for the solution to penetrate the enhancement," Totty explains.
Soak a slice of cotton wool in the remover and wrap your fingertip in a piece of foil most two inches long, with the slice of cotton wool in direct contact with the acrylic, repeating on each finger. Wait 15 to 20 minutes, then remove the foil and cotton and gently push the soaked product away from the cuticle using an orange wood stick or cuticle pusher. "Be patient and don't scrape or peel any of information technology if it's non soaked enough," she says.
If you have acrylic left on nails, wrap them once more using more of the remover.
Use the file to shape nails, gently buff if necessary, and wash hands to remove any remaining solution.