How to Remove Gel Nail Polish at Home Without Ruining Your Nails (2024)

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Whatever you do, don't peel!

By

Heather Muir Maffei

How to Remove Gel Nail Polish at Home Without Ruining Your Nails (1)

Heather Muir Maffei

Heather Muir Maffei brings more than 15 years of beauty know-how to readers at Real Simple and Health magazines as beauty director. She has worked at Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Allure, Fitness Magazine, and more. Highlights: * Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown * Beauty writer and editor for more than 15 years * Appearances made as a beauty expert for television segments, including the Today Show and New York Live * Live New York Fashion Week coverage on behalf of Allure Magazine

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and

Hana Hong

How to Remove Gel Nail Polish at Home Without Ruining Your Nails (2)

Hana Hong

Hana Hong is the beauty & fashion editor at RealSimple.com. She has been a writer and editor in the beauty and fashion industry for more than six years, sharing her expansive knowledge on skincare, hair care, makeup, fashion, and more. In addition to her broad network of beauty experts, she uses her family's background and training in skin science and cosmetic chemistry to differentiate between effective skincare formulations and marketing jargon.

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Updated on April 04, 2024

Fact checked by

Emily Peterson

Fact checked byEmily Peterson

Emily Peterson is an experienced fact-checker and editor with Bachelor's degrees in English Literature and French.

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  • Overview
  • Steps
  • Aftercare

Even if you love your gel nail manicure, it's important to know how to remove gel nail polish safely to avoid nail damage. Spoiler alert: Don't peel! While gel polish may get a bad rep, the removal process is the most important part of keeping your natural nails intact. Rather than paying for a nail salon gel polish removal, follow these expert-approved steps for properly removing gel polish at home.

Tracy Lee Percival is a celebrity nail artist and energy healer.

Why Removing Gel Nail Polish Safely Is Important

Gel polish is super shiny and lasts for weeks. However, the dreaded removal process takes time and can seriously wreck your nails. While it's easy to point the finger at gel polish, nail artist Tracy Lee Percival explains nail damage occurs because of improper removal—not the product itself.

"Never buff, file, push, pick, or peel off gel polish," warns Percival. "Doing so will remove the delicate keratin layers of your nails and weaken them. And unlike our skin, nails don't regenerate the same way, so once a nail is damaged, it needs to grow out with all of the layers intact, which can take up to three or four months."

How to Remove Gel Nail Polish at Home Without Ruining Your Nails (3)

Materials

  • Aluminum foil
  • Cotton pads or cotton balls
  • Cuticle oil or lotion
  • 100% pure acetone
  • Cuticle stick
  • Glass bowl

Instructions

How to Remove Gel Nail Polish With Acetone and Foil

  1. Prepare Your Nails and Hands

    1. Wash your hands to start with a clean slate, ensuring nails are free of dirt and grime.
    2. Using a buffing block or soft grit nail file, gently buff your nails. This will break the seal off the top coat and help you remove the gel polish more quickly. You'll still see polish on your nails, but the shine will be dulled.
    3. Coat your cuticles and the surrounding skin with cuticle oil or thick moisturizer to protect the skin from the drying acetone. Acetone on the skin can cause dryness and irritation.

    Don't buff off the polish completely. Buffing until the gel nail polish is gone will damage your nails.

  2. Prep Foil and Cotton

    Cut foil into small squares that will fit around the tip of your finger. Then, cut cotton pads or balls into pieces big enough to cover the entire nail.

  3. Soak Nails in Acetone

    Pour acetone into a glass bowl. Soak fingers in the bowl for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check your nails. If any gel nail polish remains, re-soak in additional five-minute increments until all the gel polish is off the nail.

    If you accidentally spill some of the acetone, open a window to properly ventilate the area and let fresh air into the space, helping the acetone evaporate.

  4. Wrap Nails in Foil to Remove Stubborn Polish

    Soak cotton balls in acetone and place them over the entire nail surface to cover the gel. Wrap each finger with small foil strips to hold the cotton in place.

  5. Check Progress

    Wait 10 to 15 minutes and check one nail. If gel nail polish remains, re-wrap the nail with cotton and foil and soak in additional five-minute increments until all the gel polish is gone.

  6. Scrape Remaining Polish

    Take off any excess polish by gently scraping it with the cuticle stick. It should be easy to remove at this point.

How to Give Yourself a Hydrating Manicure After Removal

After removing gel nail polish, give your nails a fresh manicure to help your nails stay strong.

  1. File Nails

    Gently file nails to the desired length. Try to file in one direction at a time, starting on the outer edges and working towards the nail's center.

  2. Push Back Cuticles

    Using a cuticle stick, push back cuticles (the overgrown skin around the nail). Avoid cutting cuticles as this can cause bleeding and lead to infection.

  3. Apply a Nail Strengthener

    Once you've filed your nails and taken care of the cuticles, apply a nail strengthener to the nail's surface. Try CND RescueRXx Daily Keratin Treatment, which repairs damaged nails with the power of keratin protein and moisturizing jojoba oil.

  4. Hydrate Cuticles

    Finally, hydrate and harden the cuticles by massaging an oil into each nail for 10 seconds. Try OPI ProSpa Nail & Cuticle Oil, which has a brush-on applicator so you don't have to get your hands greasy.

How to Remove Fake Nails Without Damaging Your Real Ones

Sources

Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.

  1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (2022). ACETONE ToxFAQs. In Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts21.pdf

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