Removing Gel Nails

Gooday bloggers! :) I wanted to do a quick post about how to remove gel nail varnish. It doesn't matter if you have applied it yourself, like me, or had it done professionally, the method i use has worked with both. I hope this has been a helpful post and let me know if you have a different way of doing it.

I would like to share with you that i have only had my gel nails on for 5 days, i was too impatient to wait 3 weeks before i tried out a new colour, but here is what my nails looked like after 5 days:

I think they still look really fresh and due to the bad lighting you cant see just how shiny they still are but they still look like day 1 manicured nails. I normally notice that i have light chipping around day 3 and by day 5 i have major chipping and nails in dire need of repainting so i think gel nails are going to be a god send!

First things first, you will need the following:

Nail varnish (with acetone)
Nail file
Cotton pads
Tin foil
and a wooden nail stick or a professional gel nail removing tool



Some things are missing from the picture, i noticed this AFTER i took it :( lol

There are several ways to do this and I am going to talk you through the best and easiest way for me.

First of all you can only do one hand at a time but luckily this is only a 15 minute job on each hand so it wont take too long.

Start by filing lightly away the shiny coating of your gel nail varnish. This is the only part of this process that can damage your nails so be careful not to file away too much.

Then get your tinfoil prepped by tearing it in to roughly 1 inch thick strips. Then soak a cotton pad in acetone nail varnish and cover the nail with the cotton pad securing the pad in place with the foil, just like in the picture below.

It doesn't have to be neat just as long as acetone nail varnish is touching the nail and the gel will soak it up. If you do not file the shiny top nail coat away first it will take longer for the acetone to take affect therefore remember to do it! :)

Leave your hand like this for 15 minutes and then remove one gel nail at a time using the wooden stick or nail tool. You want to gently scrape the gel in motions away from you. It should just flake off however if you have applied too much gel nail primer then it can be slightly harder in some areas to scrape the gel off, if you find this just pop on your cotton pad again (put more acetone in it) and leave until the very end - you should find it much easier to come off now.

Once you have removed the nail varnish your nails can feel a bit rough, just use a nail buffer to smooth the nail down and your nails should feel as good as new.

I apply cuticle cream to my nails and a heavy dose of moisturiser to help revitalise my hands and nails after having them soaked in acetone. Acetone does not damage your nails or skin in any way but it can dry them out, but it's nothing a bit of moisturiser can't sort out!

Thank you for reading and i hope you have found this quick blog post helpful!