How Long Does It Take To Soak Off Nails

Need to get your acrylic nails off, simply don't have the fourth dimension or patience to go to the salon? Nosotros've all been there — just it pays to remove that manicure correctly instead of, say, prying them from your natural nails (ouch!) or mindlessly biting them off while absorbed in a Boob tube-watching session. If y'all're wondering how to take off your acrylic nails quickly at home, we've got y'all covered — and nosotros've even got an acetone-free option.

Unfortunately, removing acrylics forcefully means removing some of the many layers of your natural nail plate, too, according to Savannah Walker, a professional nail artist and owner of Manifest Nail in New York Urban center. "Usually this results in thin, flimsy, damaged nails, which final for months until they grow out," she says. And that's the best possible scenario! So, if you choose to wear acrylics, we propose keeping this handy tool kit at home for a damage-free removal:

Tools You'll Demand to Safely Remove Acrylic Nails

100% Pure Acetone Blast Polish Remover

EC Labs amazon.com

$12.99

Cotton fiber Balls

Sky Organics amazon.com

$5.99

Wrap Aluminum Foil

Reynolds amazon.com

$17.56

Small Bowl

Youngever amazon.com

$15.99

How to remove acrylic nails at home with acetone

Keep in mind, fifty-fifty if you follow these v steps, you may be left with somewhat compromised natural nails, depending on how the technician applied them the acrylics in the get-go place and how carefully you execute the removal. All the same, "if the acrylic procedure is washed patiently, it can be virtually impairment-free," Walker says. Now, follow these simple steps from nail pros to take acrylics off fast without harm:

ane. File off as much of the acrylic nail as possible

Instead of filing your nails in the usual way (forth the top edge of the nail), you'll need to thin out the entire expanse the acrylic covers. "Using a coarse grit file , file off as much of the acrylic product as possible," Walker says. "You lot demand a really practiced file for this; an emery board would exist useless." Await for a 100-grit smash file, which is coarse plenty to file down the surface of the acrylics, or a nail drill.

Pro prophylactic tip: "Be careful not to cut the pare around the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "Ever 'flavour' a new file by using another file over the edges to soften them."

two. Soak off any 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 boom polish remover for as long as information technology takes to deliquesce the product.

In that location are two means to do this. One method is to place an acet0ne-soaked slice of cotton over each boom, then wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. "This is the superior technique," she says. Otherwise, you can try soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. Information technology's simpler, simply "the bowl technique is very harsh on your skin and takes longer," Walker notes.

If you practise go this route, "only dip your nail tips in the bowl to avert drying out the skin on your fingers and hands," says Good Housekeeping Institute Dazzler Lab Director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. "Be sure to merely use acetone in a well-ventilated area, because it is very volatile and can easily irritate your respiratory organisation."

three. Gently scrape or vitrify off the last bits of acrylic

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

At that place may be a few pocket-sized areas of acrylic that remain, but don't get crude with them! "If there are whatever little bits of acrylic that won't budge, a soft foam boom buffer tin be used to buff those little stubborn bits smooth," she says.

5. Protect your nails from future acrylic damage

Acrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but information technology can accept a cost on natural nails. For acrylics devotees, try to take a weeklong break from them every month so your nails' wellness doesn't completely dwindle. During that fourth dimension, brush on ane coat of a strengthening nail treatment every day to prevent breakage, like this moisturizing oil created by nail artist Deborah Lippmann.

To requite them an even more than intensive treatment, "cover your nails with cuticle oil and cuticle cream, and so wrap each hand in a warm washcloth for five minutes," says manicurist Deborah Lippmann, founder of Deborah Lippmann blast drove. The effect: shinier, stronger nails in no time.

How to remove acrylic nails at dwelling without acetone

Yous can remove acrylic nails without acetone using an acetone-free nail polish remover as a soak-off solution. Only know that "if you lot wish to avoid acetone, information technology will take longer to remove acrylics," says Anastasia Totty, a LeChat Nails Educator in Saint Johns, Florida. Hither'south how:

Showtime by trimming the extra length of the enhancement using nail clippers to cut down on the soaking time, she advises.
Apply a 100-grit blast file to remove as much product as possible without filing into the natural blast. "This volition remove any top coat, gel smoothen or nail art making it easier for the solution to penetrate the enhancement," Totty explains.
Soak a piece of cotton fiber in the remover and wrap your fingertip in a slice of foil nearly two inches long, with the piece of cotton fiber in direct contact with the acrylic, repeating on each finger. Wait fifteen to twenty minutes, then remove the foil and cotton and gently push the soaked product away from the cuticle using an orangish woods stick or cuticle pusher. "Exist patient and don't scrape or peel any of it if it'south not soaked plenty," she says.
If you have acrylic left on nails, wrap them again using more of the remover.
Utilise the file to shape nails, gently buff if necessary, and wash hands to remove any remaining solution.