How to Remove Acrylic Nails, Gel Nails, and Gel Polish

          I have heard an excessive amount of horror stories from ladies who go to certain nail salons for acrylic or gel nail repair or nail removal.   What makes these stories horrific is when I hear how they have had the artificial nail removed!  Ladies, it is UNACCEPTABLE, nor is it protocol, to rip off the acrylic or gel nail.  Fast… Yes.  Painful… Extremely!  Can they be removed easily and without pain?  Absolutely Yes!!!

          What type of nail do you have?  It is very easy to tell.  If a liquid is dipped into a powder then it is an Acrylic product.  If the product comes out of a pot or bottle already mixed and it is very clear and then each layer is cured under a gel lamp, then it is a Gel nail.  Some women are told that they have Gel nails when in fact they have Acrylic nails with a Gel overlay.  If a liquid and powder is mixed, placed on the nail, filed and then a clear product is placed on the nail and cured under a gel lamp, then you have an Acrylic nail with a Gel sealer.  So how are these types of nails supposed to be removed?

           Acrylic nails, with or without a Gel Sealer, are the easiest to remove without damage, provided you are not wearing MMA Acryilc Nails.  This technique can also be used to remove Gel polish and Shellac Polish in only 10 minutes.  For Acrylic or soak off Gel nails, just follow these simple steps:

1.       If the nail is very thick or you have a Gel Sealer on your nails, file down the thickness and/or gloss without filing into the natural nail.

2.       Place a piece of cotton, saturated in pure acetone, on your nail.

3.       Wrap the tip of your finger in aluminum foil, shiny side facing in toward your nail to hold in the heat of your finger.

4.       After approximately 10 – 15 minutes, remove the foil and cotton and GENTLY scrap off the acrylic product with a wooden manicure stick. For Gel polish and Shellac polish, you can just clean the nail with the remaining cotton to remove any additional residue.

5.       Repeat this process until the entire acrylic nail is removed.

          With Gel nails (unless it is a Soak Off Gel), it is a little more precise.  You must simply file it off, being careful not to file too much into the natural nail.  Start from a coarse nail file and work your way to a finer file, the closer you get to your natural nail.

          Once the nail is removed, you can replace the nail or lightly buff the nail and apply a nail strengthener of your choice.  Some of my favorite “after artificial nails” products are Jessica’s Restoration Base Coat and Salon Science’s Starting Over After Artificials.  Plus, there is a host of other great nail strengthening products such as OPI’s Nail Envy, Nailtrition, Nail Magic by Haken, American Classic’s Gelous Nail Gel Polish, CND’s Toughen Up, Essie’s Millionails, and many, many more, too many to mention.

       
          Again, it doesn’t matter if you remove the artificial nail at home or in the salon, it should not be painful. 

Remember… Pain equals more damage to the natural nail.

          Don’t put yourself through the torture of having your nails ripped off!  If you are in the nail salon, and if the technician is about to try to rip your acrylic or gel nail off, tell them NO.  Tell them you want them removed the safe way.  And if they won’t do it, get up and leave. Have your Acrylic or Gel nails removed the safe way only, and know your natural nails will be better for it.

You can recover from artificial nails!
Caring for your nails and skin is easy if you just take a little time and use good products on your skin and your hands.

If you want to learn what to do with your nails after you've removed your acrylic or gel, see the blog post  
"The Secret to Artificial Nail Recovery"

Is It Dangerous? The Truth About UV Gel Polish and UV Gel Lamps

This is concerning UV gel manicures as they have been discussed a lot in the media as to  the level of safety, both in the chemical composition and in the use of a UV lamp to cure the gel polish.  There have been a few articles I've read but I find them full of holes and the informed consumer needs to be able to read between the lines.  It makes me wonder if all of the "research" was paid in part by the nail polish manufacturers that are loosing money due to the popularity of some of the Gel Polish brands.  It's not that some of the polish companies have a bad product, in fact, I'm certain that are many excellent products currently on the market, it's just that some of the reports that I read seem biased.  We'll let you decide for yourself...

Gel Polish Safety

One of the problems that are mentioned are that the gel polishes contain ingredients that are considered hazardous due to reproductive harm or cancer causing ingredients.  Some ingredients in the gel polish brands may be listed in California's Proposition 65 list (this lists the ingredients that may be considered hazardous), I'm certain that the manufacturers have kept the chemicals well below the limits listed.  For those of you who do not know about Proposition 65, it lists chemicals known to be carcinogens and reproductive toxicants.  The list shows numerous ingredients that can be found in almost any product, some of the most recent being tape measures, belts, art kits, footwear, etc, etc, etc.  (You get the idea.)  Any intelligent manufacturer of nail products would be diligent in making certain that any ingredient needed would remain below the recommended "parts per million" as designated by Proposition 65.   Why would they take the risk?  The manufacturers are not stupid enough to have chemicals that could prevent the sale of their product.  

                                           

UV Lamp Exposure

The second concern seems to be the UV exposure while curing the gel polish. The amount of exposure required to cure the gel polish with a UV gel lamp equates to approximately 20 minutes per month which would be much less than it would be to drive your car daily.  According to Nails Magizine ("UV Nail Lamps Are Safe, Say Industry Experts", Nov 2010);

• "UV-B output for both UV nail lamps was less than what was found in natural sunlight...  the amount of UV-B to which client skin is exposed is equal to what they could expect from spending an extra 17 to 26 seconds in sunlight each day of the two weeks between nail salon appointments"
• " UV-A exposure is much lower than suggested in the dermatologists’ report...Test results show that UV-A exposure for client skin is equivalent to spending an extra 1.5 to 2.7 minutes in sunlight each day between salon visits, depending on the type of UV nail lamp used."

For Those Still Concerned by Chemical Ingredients and UV Exposure

For those concerned about chemicals, remember this, everything is a chemical, water is a chemical.   Water is extremely good for the body but too much can kill a person, even drinking too much.  Everything in moderation.  As for the UV exposure, if you are concerned, there are gloves available that inhibit UV exposure to the hands while still leaving the fingertips exposed for curing the gel.  And for those concerned with both... just use regular polish, you can keep it on for up to 10 days with a little effort and knowledge on your part.  For those who don't know how, (and here is my own little marketing plug) get the book "The Secret to Beautiful Natural Nails" by Alicia Lyons. 

Gel Polish – Long Wear Without the Hassle

I’m certain that most of you are unaware there is a trend in the beauty industry to have chip free, 14 day wear, nails have a mirror finish with zero dry time! You heard that right... It's Gel Polish!

Gelish Basix Starter Kit - Find it at Sally Beauty Supply

There are several types of gel polish on the market; Shellac by CND, Gelish by Harmony, Mani-Q by Young Nails, Geleration by Jessica, GelColor by OPI, Gel FX by Orly, LeChat Gel Nail Polish, IBD Just Gel Polish, NSI Polish Pro,  and more. All of them need a UV light to cure the polish. Some require you to "buff" (lightly file the top of the natural nail with a 220-400 grit file). One of my favorite brands is Shellac. Shellac does not require you to buff the nail at all and can be soaked off without filing the top of the natural nail. This minimizes the damage to the natural nail plate. But beware, there are some NSS (Non-Standard Salons) that, even when asked specifically for Shellac, they will give you another brand of Gel Polish. Shellac, like most brands, also requires it’s qualified technicians to use the Shellac brand Base Coat and Top Coat. Shellac comes off easy with a 10 minute soak.

But a word of warning to those that think that they can go longer than the two weeks of wear or those that pick at their polish! Gel polish is so strong that if you do not take it off when it starts to wear at the tips, it will make your nails peel! In some cases, it can be as damaging as artificial nails. But when done correctly, Gel Polish will maintain a strong nail with a chip free, mirror finish!

Shellac made the news in the New York Times in April of 2010 (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/fashion/22Skin.html).
To find a qualified nail technician who offers Shellac brand gel polish, go tohttp://www.cnd.com/Locate/Find-A-Salon.aspx