So, with our hair salon and nail place closed, a girl has to get creative. For those icky grown-out gel nails, we asked THE expert, Deborah Lippman — who makes our fave nail colors — how to remove them at home.
“There are 7 simple steps to removing gel nail polish, and the most important piece is PATIENCE. You will need pure acetone (not nail polish remover, must be acetone), nail file or buffer, cotton, aluminum foil, and a cuticle pusher. It’s also ideal to use cuticle oil afterward to help nourish the skin.
First, buff your fingernails with a nail file, removing the shiny coating of the gel polish. Then, soak a cotton ball in acetone. Place the soaked cotton ball on top of your buffed nail and wrap your finger in a small piece of aluminum foil to keep it in place. Once you have soaked for about 10 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and cotton. Use your cuticle pusher and VERY gently nudge the gel off the nail. If it doesn’t lift right off, do another round of soaking saturating cotton with acetone and wrapping aluminum foil. Resist the temptation to ‘file the gel off’ that is where you can damage your natural nail.”
Now if she could just tell us how to touch-up our roots…