Removing extended nails at home

Experts say that incorrectly removed extended nails are one of the main reasons for damaged nail plates: this procedure is not easy, requires special care, special tools and a lot of time. Therefore, professionals advise trusting the experts in this matter in order to protect yourself from unnecessary risk.

But sometimes there are situations when it is not possible to visit a specialist. This may be due to a busy work schedule or lack of finances at the time when the manicure needs to be removed. And then the question comes to the fore: how to remove extended nails at home without damaging natural nails?

If the question is about how to remove gel nails at home, it should be noted that this is not easy to do, and therefore it is better to go to a specialist. This is explained by the fact that gel nails cannot be removed using special means: they cannot be softened or dissolved, so they are only filed off. If you do it incorrectly, when removing the gel, you can damage the nail plate so much that there is almost nothing left of it and you will have to wait two to three months for the nails to grow back on their own.

It is important to keep in mind that it takes a professional about ten minutes to remove an artificial nail from one finger. Accordingly, at home a woman with much less experience will spend significantly more time.

If it is not possible to visit a specialist, before removing gel nails, you need to purchase buffs of varying hardness, a polishing buffer, nail polish remover, nippers, scissors, a dust brush, and an orange stick. Before you remove the extended nails yourself, you need to remove the excess part of the nails using scissors or clippers. It is advisable to do this with glasses (you can have plain glasses or sunglasses) to avoid splinters getting into your eyes.

After this, using a buff of 80-100 grit, you can begin to methodically cut off the extended material, periodically brushing off the dust with a brush and wiping the surface with a cotton swab, moistening it in nail polish remover. This will allow you to determine how much more gel needs to be removed without damaging the nail plate.

When most of the gel material has been cut off, you need to take a softer buffer with a hardness of 150-180 grit and continue removing the gel, slightly reducing the pressure on the nail. At this time, the coating will begin to gradually come off, and all that remains to be done is to pry the material with an orange stick and remove the exfoliated gel. After this, you can proceed to the next nail.

Gel nails can also be removed at home using a special milling cutter, which is a manicure machine with special attachments. Before you remove extended nails at home using it, you should keep in mind that the nails under the influence of the manicure machine heat up very quickly, so you will need to take frequent breaks to cool them down. After finishing processing gel nails with a cutter, remove the remaining pieces of material from the nail plates.

Working with acrylic

Before removing acrylic nails, you need to purchase a coarse abrasive buffer, as well as a product for dissolving acrylic. If you can’t find it, you can use ordinary nail polish remover, which contains acetone: this substance dissolves acrylic very well. If it’s not there, you can just use acetone.

You will also need foil (suitable for baking), which needs to be cut into rectangles measuring 10 by 15 mm, as well as pieces of fabric for covering the nails (can be replaced with cotton pads or ordinary cotton wool).

The procedure must be done with glasses: acrylic is a very sharp material, so pinching off excess pieces, if they get into your eyes, can cause trouble. These can be glasses with ordinary glass, if not, you can use sunglasses.

First, use a nail file to remove the top layer of gel (finish gel), which is a very dense material designed to protect acrylic from scratches. If you remove your nails without this step, the acetone will not be able to properly dissolve the acrylic.

When all nails are free of finishing gel, soak cotton wool in acetone. Considering its ability to evaporate quickly, place a cotton wool soaked in solvent on each nail, wrap the foil on top and press it tightly to the finger to get rid of any remaining oxygen inside.

After this, wait about half an hour: this is exactly how long it will take for the acrylic to soften. When the time is up, the acrylic will become a jelly-like consistency and can be easily removed with any sharp tool without damaging the nail plate.

Before removing acrylic nails, you need to keep in mind that as soon as they soften and are freed from the foil, you need to act very quickly, because when it comes into contact with air, the acrylic will begin to harden again.

Therefore, fingers need to be freed from the foil one at a time: first remove it from one finger, remove the cotton wool, remove the acrylic and wipe the residue with a new swab dipped in solvent. And only after that move on to the next finger. At the end of the procedure, wash your hands well with soap and apply an emollient cream.

Post-procedure care

If you don’t plan to extend your nails in the near future, there is no need to rush to cover them with varnish: nail extensions involve filing off the top part of the nail plate, so after removing the artificial coating, your nails will not look their best.

To restore them, several times a day you need to rub a regenerating cream into the nail plates, which contains nourishing and plant extracts (it is advisable to use a special nail care product). Daily baths based on sea salt help a lot: dilute a few spoons in a glass of warm water and keep your fingers in it for about fifteen to twenty minutes.

To strengthen a thin nail plate after extensions, you need to periodically massage using vegetable oils (you can use sunflower oil). To do this, warm it up, apply it to the nail and massage it, pressing lightly. At the end of the massage, wipe the nail plates with suede - this will protect them from delamination. It will take about three months for the nail plate to fully grow, become strong and healthy in appearance, depending on the individual characteristics of the body.

During the restoration of the nail plates, you need to ensure that they do not come into contact with aggressive substances that contain household chemicals: chlorine, acetone, etc. Therefore, when starting cleaning, washing dishes and other similar work, wear gloves. After each contact with water, apply nourishing cream to your hands.