Can You Remove Acrylic Nails

Need to go your acrylic nails off, only don't accept the fourth dimension or patience to go to the salon? We've all been at that place — simply it 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 TV-watching session. If you're wondering how to accept off your acrylic nails quickly at home, we've got you covered — and we've even got an acetone-free pick.

Unfortunately, removing acrylics forcefully means removing some of the many layers of your natural blast plate, as well, according to Savannah Walker, a professional blast artist and owner of Manifest Smash in New York City. "Usually this results in thin, flimsy, damaged nails, which last for months until they grow out," she says. And that's the best possible scenario! So, if you lot cull to wear acrylics, we suggest keeping this handy tool kit at domicile for a impairment-free removal:

Tools Yous'll Need to Safely Remove Acrylic Nails

100% Pure Acetone Nail Shine Remover

EC Labs amazon.com

$13.99

Cotton Balls

Sky Organics amazon.com

$5.99

Wrap Aluminum Foil

Reynolds amazon.com

$17.56

Modest Bowl

Youngever amazon.com

$15.99

How to remove acrylic nails at home with acetone

Keep in mind, fifty-fifty if yous follow these v steps, you may be left with somewhat compromised natural nails, depending on how the technician applied them the acrylics in the first identify and how advisedly you execute the removal. However, "if the acrylic process is done patiently, it can be virtually damage-gratuitous," Walker says. Now, follow these simple steps from nail pros to take acrylics off 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 sparse out the entire area the acrylic covers. "Using a fibroid grit file , file off as much of the acrylic product as possible," Walker says. "You lot demand a really good file for this; an emery board would be useless." Wait for a 100-grit nail file, which is fibroid enough to file downwardly the surface of the acrylics, or a nail drill.

Pro safety tip: "Be careful not to cut the skin effectually the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "Always 'season' a new file past using another file over the edges to soften them."

2. Soak off whatever remaining acrylic nail

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

altrendo images Getty Images

One time the acrylic has been filed down much as possible, Walker recommends soaking the nails in 100% acetone nail polish remover for as long every bit it takes to dissolve the production.

There are two means to do this. One method is to identify an acet0ne-soaked piece of cotton over each nail, then wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. "This is the superior technique," she says. Otherwise, y'all tin try soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. Information technology's simpler, just "the basin technique is very harsh on your peel and takes longer," Walker notes.

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

3. Gently scrape or vitrify off the final $.25 of acrylic

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

In that location may exist a few small areas of acrylic that remain, but don't become crude with them! "If there are any little bits of acrylic that won't budge, a soft foam nail buffer can be used to buff those piddling stubborn $.25 smooth," she says.

5. Protect your nails from future acrylic damage

Acrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but it tin take a toll on natural nails. For acrylics devotees, attempt to accept a weeklong break from them every month so your nails' health doesn't completely dwindle. During that fourth dimension, brush on one coat of a strengthening nail treatment every day to prevent breakage, like this moisturizing oil created past nail artist Deborah Lippmann.

To give them an even more intensive treatment, "cover your nails with cuticle oil and cuticle cream, then wrap each hand in a warm washcloth for v minutes," says manicurist Deborah Lippmann, founder of Deborah Lippmann nail collection. The upshot: shinier, stronger nails in no time.

How to remove acrylic nails at dwelling house without acetone

You tin remove acrylic nails without acetone using an acetone-free boom smooth remover as a soak-off solution. Merely know that "if you wish to avert acetone, information technology will take longer to remove acrylics," says Anastasia Totty, a LeChat Nails Educator in Saint Johns, Florida. Here'south how:

Kickoff by trimming the extra length of the enhancement using nail clippers to cutting down on the soaking fourth dimension, she advises.
Use a 100-grit boom file to remove every bit much product as possible without filing into the natural nail. "This will remove any top coat, gel polish or smash art making it easier for the solution to penetrate the enhancement," Totty explains.
Soak a piece of cotton in the remover and wrap your fingertip in a piece of foil well-nigh two inches long, with the piece of cotton wool in straight 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. "Exist patient and don't scrape or peel whatever of it if it's not soaked plenty," she says.
If you have acrylic left on nails, wrap them again using more of the remover.
Employ the file to shape nails, gently buff if necessary, and wash hands to remove any remaining solution.