During that time, brush on one coat of a strengthening nail treatment every day to prevent breakage, like this moisturizing oil created by nail artist Deborah Lippmann. For acrylics devotees, try to take a weeklong break from them every month so your nails' health doesn’t completely dwindle. Protect your nails from future acrylic damageĪcrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but it can take a toll on natural nails. There may be a few small areas of acrylic that remain, but don't get rough with them! "If there are any little bits of acrylic that won't budge, a soft foam nail buffer can be used to buff those little stubborn bits smooth," she says. Gently scrape or buff off the last bits of acrylicĪfter 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. "Be sure to only use acetone in a well-ventilated area, because it is very volatile and can easily irritate your respiratory system." 3.
If you do go this route, "only dip your nail tips in the bowl to avoid drying out the skin on your fingers and hands," says Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab Director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. It's simpler, but "the bowl technique is very harsh on your skin and takes longer," Walker notes. Otherwise, you can try soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. "This is the superior technique," she says.
One method is to place an acet0ne-soaked piece of cotton over each nail, then wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. Once the acrylic has been filed down much as possible, Walker recommends soaking the nails in 100% acetone nail polish remover for as long as it takes to dissolve the product. "Always 'season' a new file by using another file over the edges to soften them." 2.
Pro safety tip: "Be careful not to cut the skin around the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "You need a really good file for this an emery board would be useless." Look for a 100-grit nail file, which is coarse enough to file down the surface of the acrylics, or a nail drill. " Using a coarse grit file, file off as much of the acrylic product as possible," Walker says.
Instead of filing your nails in the usual way (along the top edge of the nail), you'll need to thin out the entire area the acrylic covers.
File off as much of the acrylic nail as possible Now, follow these simple steps from nail pros to easily take acrylic nails off at home fast without damage: 1. However, "if the acrylic process is done patiently, it can be virtually damage-free," Walker says. Keep in mind, even if you follow these steps, you may be left with somewhat compromised natural nails, depending on how the technician applied them the acrylics in the first place and how carefully you execute the removal.