Removing Artificial Nails

How To Remove Acrylic, Gel Or Fibreglass Nails

Make sure you are in a well ventilated area if you are using chemicals. To remove acrylic from your nails, the easiest way to do this is to start with soak off or pure acetone, soak some cotton balls in the solution and place these over the nail where the acrylic is, then get a little aluminum foil and wrap this over the end of the finger and the soaked cotton ball, do this for all the nail you are removing acrylic from. Leave it for 30-40 minutes and check, the acrylic should now be soft and be able to be wiped off, if it isn’t then try leaving the cotton ball on for a little longer.

If after this time the acrylic has not budged then your nail technician has most likely used a monomer with MMA in it, which sets like concrete (do not go back to that nail technician). If this is the case then unfortunately you are going to have to file the acrylic off, get yourself some good quality nail files in 100, 180 and 240 grit. Start with the coarsest file and go gently, DO NOT file it down to the nail plate. When you get most of the acrylic off, go to a finer grit file and keep doing this until you reach the nail plate, by that time you should be using the 240 grit file. You also need to file the tip off at the same time and may need to use a cuticle stick to help lift it gently from your natural nail. When you have got everything off, use a buffing block to smooth out the rough surface.

If you managed to soak off your acrylic, dry your hands thoroughly and use the buffing block to smooth out any ridges remaining.

Apply a good cuticle oil or a nail and cuticle cream.

Gel applications are not able to be soaked off and need to be filed or drilled off, follow the same filing process above as for acrylic nails.

Fibreglass nails follow the same process as the gel nails, it also is unable to be soaked off and needs to be filed off.

If you are concerned about damaging the nail plate you can leave a thin layer of the application on your nail, this will eventually wear down and come off, but it will leave some strength on your nails.

If you don’t feel confident doing it yourself, please go to a good nail technician to get it done.

The equipment you will need to do it yourself: 1. cotton wool balls 2. aluminum foil 3. acetone or soak off 4. cuticle sticks 5. towel 6. files ranging from coarse to fine grit 7. buffing block 8. cuticle oil or nail and cuticle cream 9. If you don’t have cotton balls or aluminum foil you can purchase soak trays.