Removing a Dip or Gel Manicure at Home

Your nails looked amazing a few weeks ago. Now they’re lifting and chipping. Every day you don’t remove them, you risk peeling them off and destroying your nails or catching them on a lifted corner and accidentally ripping them off.  No nail salons means you have to remove them. Start by filing the top shiny surface off. Once you’ve done that and exposed the raw polish, now you should soak them. The best option is acetone nail polish remover. If you have that, soak cotton balls in remover and place them on each nail. Then wrap the nail in aluminum foil and wait ten to twenty minutes. At this point, you should be able to file away the excess nail polish. If not, place the cotton balls back onto the nail and leave them on for another five minutes. You will be able to file the rest of the polish off then.  Great. But what do you do if you don’t have acetone remover? Now what? Try substituting vodka for the acetone. No vodka? White Vinegar is the next best option. What if I have none of these? Try applying nail polish and then wiping off with a paper towel. Repeat this over and over again until the majority of the polish is removed. File when dry and repeat.As a last resort, if none of these options work, soak nails for long periods of time in hot water. Lift at the edges with tweezers or a metal nail file. Keep soaking. Do this as often as possible until the polish lifts from the nail bed.Once the polish has been removed, be sure to nourish your nails with a cuticle and nail oil. If you don’t have one, try coconut or olive oil. Massage that into your nail beds and cuticles. Follow with a hand cream and wear cotton gloves if possible.