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How to Remove Shellac Yourself While in Lockdown.

The temptation to bite off, pick or rip off your nails will be the first way you attempt to take off the gel polish, but resist it at all costs. Whilst it is best to have a professional remove it, read how to remove gel polish off at home safely and recommends the following steps

Since the social distancing restrictions kicked in, which put a stop to all beauty services, we’ve been inundated with requests from numerous people desperately in need of our nail services. Most of the enquiries have been from customers needing to remove gel (shellac) polish or SNS off their nails.

We don’t know how long the restrictions are going to last but we want you to know that we’ve got your back! Over the coming months, we’ll be posting blog articles and videos for you to manage your beauty and self-care needs at home.

The temptation to bite off, pick or rip off your nails will be the first way you attempt to take off the gel polish, but resist it at all costs. Whilst it is best to have a professional remove it, our resident nail expert, Tatiana, says that it’s possible to remove gel polish off at home safely and recommends the following steps…

  1. Start by gently filing the topcoat off. You don’t need to remove all of the top layers, the aim is to file it slowly to start loosening the product and remove the shine.

  2. Soak a cotton pad in 100% pure acetone. Place the cotton pad around your finger and wrap aluminium foil around it, do this for each finger and allow to soak for 15 minutes. This step may need to be repeated a few times until all product is dissolved and able to be gently wiped or scraped off.

  3. Using a cuticle pusher, gently lift the dissolved products of the nail plate and take off access products with the acetone soaked cotton pad. If you don’t have a brown stick at home, try the dental floss hack, although this is at your own risk 🙂

  4. Gently file your natural nail with a block buffer or a very soft nail file, this can also help take off some of the remaining bits of product.

  5. Wash your hands with soap to remove any access product, and then apply cuticle oil and massage into your cuticles and nails. It’s important to hydrate your nails as acetone sucks the moisture our of your nails.

The whole process should take about 20-30 minutes, and remember, the aim is be gentle in order to avoid damaging your nail plate.

This method can also be used to remove SNS from your nails, although it’s a much tougher product, so you may need to spend a little extra time at each step. If you have any specific questions, pop them in the comment box below!

Check out this video by Allure for a visual on how to remove gel (shellac) polish!