How to Remove Your Gel Polish at Home Safely

Nails in trouble? Blanc Nail Bar saves the day with an at-home tutorial on removing gel manicures safely.

There’s a lot we’ve missed during COVID-19 that we never thought we would—like putting on a full face of makeup for happy hour or dragging our butt to a cycle class at 7am. Thanks to virtual happy hours and live workout streams, we’ve found a way to cope. One problem we haven’t been able to solve? Our three week old gel manicure. Lucky for us, Reynoldstown’s Blanc Nail Bar (@blancnailbar) has some tips for how to safely remove your gel at home. It’s time to stop using your grown-out nails as a time tracker, ladies.

Things you will need:

1. Acetone

2. Aluminum foil

3. Nail file

4. Cotton balls

Step one: Buff nails with file to remove as much gel as possible without touching your natural nail.

Step two: Soak a cotton ball with acetone and place it on your finger. Use the aluminum foil to secure the cotton ball to your finger.

Step three: Do a short ab workout, apply your favorite sheet mask, read a chapter of your favorite book—anything to fill the 15-minute soak time.

Step four: By now, you should be able to remove the gel safely with your nail file. Just apply your favorite hand cream and you’re good to go.