You know when your gel manicure starts to lift at the edges and you’re tempted to peel the whole thing off? Don’t do it! We’re about to tell you how to remove gel nail polish at home the right way—so you don’t do any long-term damage.
We’re fully aware that this may be easier said than done, and that there are a lot of us in the center of the Venn diagram between polish pickers and pimple poppers. But here’s the thing: Peeling off your gel manicure can strip your delicate nail layers—which is ultimately way worse than a couple of chipped tips.
Getting your gels professionally removed is a much smarter option, but spending more time (or money) at the nail salon isn’t always practical. Thankfully, it’s possible to take matters into your own hands and safely free yourself from old gel polish at home. It’ll take a little bit more patience (and a few trusty tools) but your nails will thank you—by, ya know, not falling apart.
To make sure you, um, nail the process, SELF consulted the pros, including a dermatologist and multiple manicurists. Here’s their best advice for removing gel nail polish without destroying your nails.
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First off, is gel polish bad for your nails?
Gel manicures are popular for a reason: They can last a couple of weeks or more, making them well worth the cost for many people.
However, they’re not the best for your nail health. For one thing, gel polish is hard to remove (hence the chip resistance), so the process can be really harsh on your nails and cuticles, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).
The other, more serious, health concern: exposure to UV radiation. You know the glow from the lamps that set gel manicures? That’s actually a type of ultraviolet (UV) light. Dermatologists from the Comprehensive Skin Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical School published a study earlier this year showing that even short-term exposure to UV radiation from gel nail polish dryers can cause DNA damage that could eventually lead to skin cancer.1
Does that mean you’ll automatically get cancer from a gel manicure? No, definitely not. The AAD advises slathering broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with at least SPF 30 onto your hands before sticking them under the dryer to protect your nails and skin from UV damage. It’s also a good idea to reserve gel nails for special occasions and to take breaks throughout the year, as SELF previously reported.
What’s definitely detrimental to your nails is ripping off gel polish when it starts chipping or you’re simply sick of the color. You may not see the damage right away, but giving into the urge to pick (which can be really hard to ignore, we know) can cause dryness, peeling, and cracking on the delicate surface of the nails, Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City and clinical instructor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College, tells SELF.
As a person who recently chipped away at a gel manicure and now has a bunch of lines and ridges on their nail beds, trust me: There’s a better way.
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What’s the easiest way to remove gel nail polish at home?
The simplest and fastest way to take off gel polish at home is to put acetone-soaked cotton balls on your nails, wrap them in tin foil, wait for 10 minutes or so, wipe off whatever polish you can, and then scrape off what’s left with a nail file or buffer, Molly Romah, lead nail artist at Chillhouse spa in NYC, tells SELF. (See step-by-step instructions below.)