A guide on taking off gel polish fast without damaging your natural nails

You’re so over your manicure but don’t have time to schedule an appointment for gel polish removal…Is there a way to do it at home? Why, of course there is! Soaking your nails in acetone is the safest, easiest, and most effective way to remove gel nail polish. All it takes is some acetone, cotton balls, aluminum foil, and a bit of time. So, grab your supplies, and let’s get started!

Things You Should Know

  • Saturate a cotton ball with pure acetone and wrap it around your nail with a strip of aluminum foil to remove gel polish in around 15 minutes.
  • Moisturize your cuticles with petroleum jelly before removing gel nail polish and after with cuticle oil to keep your skin hydrated.
  • Acetone is a strong chemical and can irritate skin and damage furniture, so lay a towel over your work surface and always wash your hands after using it.
2

Buff off the top layer of polish.

  1. Buffing your nail helps speed up the removal process. Simply take a regular nail file or buffer and gently brush it back and forth across the surface of your nail. Don’t rub too hard; otherwise, you may damage your natural nail. Only break through the first layer of polish.[3]
    • This breaks the seal of the polish so that the acetone can soften and remove it easily.
3

Rub petroleum jelly on the skin around your nails.

  1. Keep your cuticles moisturized with a layer petroleum jelly. Acetone can quickly dry out and damage skin. Petroleum jelly acts as a barrier between your skin and the chemical and protects it through the removal process. Dip a cotton swab in the jelly and swipe a thin layer along the edge of your nails.[4]
    • If you don’t have petroleum jelly on hand, use a lotion or balm with petroleum jelly in it instead.
    • Acetone is a chemical that reacts with gel nail polish to loosen the adhesive and free it from your natural nail.[5] This chemical can be found in your regular nail polish remover but is its strongest in its purest form.[6]
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4

Wrap your nails with cotton and aluminum foil.

  1. Let the acetone sit on your nails for 15 minutes.[7] Soak your pieces of cotton in pure acetone until they’re saturated. Then, place one of the soaked cotton balls on your nail and wrap it tightly with a small piece of foil.[8]
    • Try wrapping your nails in plastic wrap instead to create a tighter seal and less mess.[9]
    • Give nail caps a try for a reusable alternative to foil or plastic wrap.[10]
5

Swipe away the polish while removing the foil and cotton.

  1. Take the foil and cotton off in one swoop to safely remove gel polish. Pinch the foil and cotton at the top of your nail and the base of your fingertip. Press firmly, twist, and pull the foil and cotton off your nail. The majority of the gel polish should come off with the cotton.[11]
    • If there’s still a lot of polish left over, no worries! Simply do another round of soaking after giving your nails a 10-minute break.
    • Gently brush and scrape off any stubborn polish with a wooden cuticle stick, being careful not to scratch your natural nail.[12]
    • Avoid picking or peeling off the polish, as this damages your natural nail.[13]
    • Use a warm washcloth to wipe away any excess or clumpy polish.
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Community Q&A
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  • Question
    How do you get gel nails off without acetone?
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    There are three possible ways suggested for removing gel nail polish without acetone––peeling, soaking and filing and each method is described in this wikiHow: How to Get Nails Off without Acetone. However, any form of removal that requires abrasive actions, gouging, scratching or chemicals will have a detrimental effect on your nails, so be careful about the method you choose. See your salon for help if you’re uncertain about removing the nails at home, as professionals will be best equipped to remove the gel with the least impact.
  • Question
    Does gel nail polish ruin your nails?
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    Gel polish, used regularly, can weaken your nails by dehydrating them and causing thinning. Hard gels (the older style gel) are more harmful to nails than the newer soft gels. Incorrect removal of the gel can also create more problems for nails, especially if they’re scraped, sanded or gouged to get the gel off. To lessen the chances of your nails being harmed by the gel nail polish, always find out before application how the gel is removed and make sure it’s a soft gel. And it can’t help to give your nails plenty of breaks between the next application of gel nail polish, leaving your nails bare, as nature intended.
  • Question
    What kind of nail polish remover do I need to remove gel nail polish?
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    You will need to use 100% pure acetone to remove gel nail polish at home. Normal nail polish removers lack the strength of acetone needed to remove the gel, so don’t waste time using those. Before you begin, file across the top of you nails with a coarse file; doing this will break the top layer of the gel, which will help speed up the process of removal. After adding the acetone to the gel (you can wrap your fingertips in foil), wait until the gel is completely softened before attempting removal. See the instructions above for the best approach.
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Warnings

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Things You’ll Need

About This Article

Lindsay Yoshitomi
Co-authored by:
Nail Artist
This article was co-authored by Lindsay Yoshitomi and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano. Lindsay Yoshitomi is the nail artist behind the blog, Lacquered Lawyer. She was featured as one of Nail It! magazine’s “Bloggers You Should Know,” and has been on the cover of Nail Art Gallery Magazine. She has been practicing nail art for over 15 years. This article has been viewed 1,181,733 times.
2 votes - 100%
Co-authors: 15
Updated: January 10, 2023
Views: 1,181,733
Categories: Artificial Nails
Article SummaryX

To remove gel nails, you'll need some concentrated acetone, the main ingredient in polish remover. To get your acetone strong enough to lift your gel nails off, fill a bowl with acetone, cover it with foil, and place it in a larger bowl of warm water for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, dip a cotton ball in your concentrated acetone and wrap it around your nail, securing it with a strip of foil. Let your nails sit for 30 minutes before unwrapping them and taking the cotton balls off. Your gel nails should come right off! To learn how to remove gel nails by filing them off, keep reading!

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