Gel Nails - How to Remove?

[cotsvale]

Hello
Wondering if anyone can help me. I have had gel nails for the past 4 months in a bid to stop biting my natural nails and I think I'm ready to have them removed now. Is there a way that I can remove them myself, disolve them off? That would save me £20.

Thanks for any help.

[freejunkie]

buy acetone from the salon you had your nails done oh or boots do it to,
soak enough cotton wool to cover top of your finger and nail and wrap with (i use cling film first to secure it ) then tin foil & wait till soaked off.
tip:do not be tempted to pick off you can actually 'lift' the nail off the nail bed, or weaken it.
if you pick gel / acrylic of your nail you will actually also be removing about 2 layers of your nail plate
hope this helps

[cotsvale]

thank you freejunkie- how long does it take?

[freejunkie]

depends on how thick the technician has applied the gel.
any thing from half an hour upwards
tip roughen the whole gel nail with the roughest side of a file (helps acetone soaks in gel) before applying acetone. ( can also do this after 1/2 hour of soaking if gel is still firmly on the nail then reapply cotton wool etc, *please be careful not to rub off your own nails*)
also acetone at room temp helps,

[Firefly]

I have gel nails and would suggest that removing your own might not be the best moneysaving tip ever. Please go to the salon and let your technician remove them for you. The last thing you need is to damage your own nails when removing your gel ones as they'll take an age to recover. You could find that your own nails are very soft until they have time to grow back from under the gel tip.

Get some OPI nail envy to paint on in the weeks following removal because that will certainly help. You can pick it up for a reasonable price on ebay. The Nail Geek forum has many helpful hints and tips from technicians too.

Good luck.

[hemarobert]

There are several types of nail enhancements, if you are a complete beginner and willing to learn how to apply different kinds of gel nails then, Even though glues provide an easy solution to repair broken and chipped nails, excessive use of nail glue can harm your nails. It is advised to keep the use of nail glues restricted to times when it is really necessary.

[hemarobert]

I just want to share some stuff of nail gel brush, We can use nail gel brush for nail art, including that can use it to mix the acrylic liquid and crystal powder and due to this nothing harm will happen to us.

[Mrs pbradley936]

The quickest way and the way many salons do it is to pour enough acetone in a bowl to cover the nails once the fingers are placed in the bowl. Let them soak in acetone for at least 15 minutes and they should be soft enough to peel off. If not peel off what is easy then dunk them some more!

[hieveryone]

Are these gel nails as in overlays, not acrylic? If so, the best way is to file off. .

[nicoletuda]

Hi, i have gel nails (5 layers of gel) and nail tips. how do i remove the gel but not the tip? i have read that soaking gel nails in acetone won't remove the gel. is that true? and if it does remove it won't it also remove my tips?

[freyasmum]

Originally Posted by nicoletuda

Hi, i have gel nails (5 layers of gel) and nail tips. how do i remove the gel but not the tip? i have read that soaking gel nails in acetone won't remove the gel. is that true? and if it does remove it won't it also remove my tips?

didn't mean to thank you

If it's a buff-off gel, then it will have to be removed with a file. This shouldn't be attempted yourself as it's very easy to remove layers of the natural nail

If it's a soak-off gel, then the best way to do it at home is to saturate some cotton balls/pads with acetone, place them onto your fingers and cover with tin foil. The heat kept in from the tin-foil will help the acetone work quicker.

If you soak the nails off, you will remove the tips.

Can I ask why you want to keep the tips on? It is the overlay (whether it be gel or liquid and powder) that gives the nail it's strength. The tip won't stay on for long itself

[nicoletuda]

Originally Posted by freyasmum

didn't mean to thank you

If it's a buff-off gel, then it will have to be removed with a file. This shouldn't be attempted yourself as it's very easy to remove layers of the natural nail

If it's a soak-off gel, then the best way to do it at home is to saturate some cotton balls/pads with acetone, place them onto your fingers and cover with tin foil. The heat kept in from the tin-foil will help the acetone work quicker.

If you soak the nails off, you will remove the tips.

Can I ask why you want to keep the tips on? It is the overlay (whether it be gel or liquid and powder) that gives the nail it's strength. The tip won't stay on for long itself

hey thanx

I bought some gels and i want to do it myself from now on. That's why i want to keep the tips I was confused at first because some said that you have to soak the gel and others that you buff it or use a drill. The one that i have on now is a buff-off gel so i will buff off this time. The other color that i bought is a soak off gel. So i guess that when it's the time to remove it I will have to soak it and remove the tips as well. Can I just buff off this one in order to keep the tips again?
I have another question (oh God)
Can i use a base gel then normal manicure then builder gel and top coat? I've been told that normal manicure does not work with gel... :confused:

OK no more questions for now

[fellybabe]

i use that too. i fix my nails, apply my acrylic powder and nail polish. i use dissolver to dissolve the gelllllllll

[thatsfabulous]

Originally Posted by freejunkie

buy acetone from the salon you had your nails done oh or boots do it to,
soak enough cotton wool to cover top of your finger and nail and wrap with (i use cling film first to secure it ) then tin foil & wait till soaked off.
tip:do not be tempted to pick off you can actually 'lift' the nail off the nail bed, or weaken it.
if you pick gel / acrylic of your nail you will actually also be removing about 2 layers of your nail plate
hope this helps

So just to check that this works with the acetone?

Ive had gel nails a few months but they are always braking tips/ gel comming off after a week/ two weeks its costing me a fortune

[freejunkie]

Originally Posted by thatsfabulous

So just to check that this works with the acetone?

Ive had gel nails a few months but they are always braking tips/ gel comming off after a week/ two weeks its costing me a fortune

Some gel will not dissolve with acetone, its a case of very careful buffing.

As for your nails breaking, do u go to the same salon? Have they had any advice for you?
The tech could be at fault with their application, and lack of consultation.

If you are not used to having nails it could be the nails are a little long for you,
also acrylic is stronger.

HTH

[mshappy]

Originally Posted by thatsfabulous

So just to check that this works with the acetone?

Ive had gel nails a few months but they are always braking tips/ gel comming off after a week/ two weeks its costing me a fortune

I found when i worked in retail gel nails just wouldn't last.Does depend on the technician.The only ones which have broke are my thumbs.One i got caught in the photocopier and the other i hit really hard and it cracked.

[1chelsea]

Buy a bottle of soak off from Boots, or a use any acetone nail polish remover. Put into a small low bowl or any small container that wont disolve and is bigger enough to sit with all your nail tips in! takes at least 30mins so get comfy... have a large amount of cotton wool and a nail file not a very rough one. Soak nails, every 10mins with cotton wool soaked with Acetone wipe over nails, and gently file, keep repeating this. the nail tips may need a gently tug! to get loose. after wash hands give nails a good soak with olive oil or any special nail oil. If any ridges left gently buff with a buffer not a file.

[Amanita]

Originally Posted by 1chelsea

Buy a bottle of soak off from Boots, or a use any acetone nail polish remover. Put into a small low bowl or any small container that wont disolve and is bigger enough to sit with all your nail tips in! takes at least 30mins so get comfy... have a large amount of cotton wool and a nail file not a very rough one. Soak nails, every 10mins with cotton wool soaked with Acetone wipe over nails, and gently file, keep repeating this. the nail tips may need a gently tug! to get loose. after wash hands give nails a good soak with olive oil or any special nail oil. If any ridges left gently buff with a buffer not a file.

This will remove acrylic ( eventually) but as stated above not all gel is acetone soluble. I could soak my gels in acetone and they'd still be there! I use pure acetone as a nail varnish remover and it has no effect on them whatsoever. When I had acrylic they would go slightly sticky as they started to dissolve.