Can I File My Own Acrylic Nails

Need to become your acrylic nails off, but don't have the time or patience to get to the salon? We've all been there — merely information technology pays to remove that manicure correctly instead of, say, prying them from your natural nails (ouch!) or mindlessly biting them off while absorbed in a TV-watching session. If yous're wondering how to take off your acrylic nails quickly at home, we've got you covered — and we've even got an acetone-free option.

Unfortunately, removing acrylics forcefully means removing some of the many layers of your natural nail plate, too, co-ordinate to Savannah Walker, a professional nail artist and owner of Manifest Boom in New York City. "Usually this results in thin, flimsy, damaged nails, which last for months until they abound out," she says. And that'south the best possible scenario! And then, if you choose to wear acrylics, we suggest keeping this handy tool kit at dwelling for a damage-free removal:

Tools You'll Need to Safely Remove Acrylic Nails

100% Pure Acetone Boom Polish Remover

EC Labs amazon.com

$12.99

Cotton wool Assurance

Sky Organics amazon.com

$5.99

Wrap Aluminum Foil

Reynolds amazon.com

$17.56

Pocket-size Bowl

Youngever amazon.com

$15.99

How to remove acrylic nails at habitation with acetone

Keep in mind, even if yous follow these 5 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. All the same, "if the acrylic process is done patiently, it can be nigh harm-free," Walker says. Now, follow these simple steps from nail pros to take acrylics off fast without damage:

i. File off as much of the acrylic nail as possible

Instead of filing your nails in the usual mode (along the top edge of the nail), you'll need to thin out the entire expanse the acrylic covers. "Using a coarse dust file , file off equally much of the acrylic product as possible," Walker says. "You need a actually adept file for this; an emery board would exist useless." Look for a 100-grit nail file, which is fibroid enough to file down the surface of the acrylics, or a nail drill.

Pro safety tip: "Exist careful non to cut the skin effectually the nails with the edges of the file," she advises. "Always 'season' a new file by using some other file over the edges to soften them."

two. Soak off any remaining acrylic nail

Close up of woman's hand in bowl of soapy water

altrendo images Getty Images

Once the acrylic has been filed downwardly much every bit possible, Walker recommends soaking the nails in 100% acetone blast smooth remover for as long as it takes to deliquesce the production.

There are two ways to practise this. One method is to identify an acet0ne-soaked piece of cotton over each nail, then wrap each fingertip in foil, Walker advises. "This is the superior technique," she says. Otherwise, yous can try soaking fingers in a bowl of acetone. It'due south simpler, but "the bowl technique is very harsh on your skin and takes longer," Walker notes.

If you do get this route, "just dip your nail tips in the basin to avoid drying out the skin on your fingers and hands," says Practiced Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab Managing director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. "Be certain to only use acetone in a well-ventilated area, because it is very volatile and can easily irritate your respiratory system."

3. Gently scrape or buff off the last $.25 of acrylic

Later on soaking in acetone, bank check nails "every xx minutes or so to scrape off the softened acrylic using an orangish stick or cuticle pusher, repeating this process until all the product has been dissolved," Walker says.

There may be a few small areas of acrylic that remain, but don't get rough with them! "If there are whatever footling $.25 of acrylic that won't budge, a soft cream nail buffer tin be used to buff those little stubborn bits smoothen," she says.

5. Protect your nails from future acrylic damage

Acrylic isn't necessarily bad for nails, but information technology can take a toll on natural nails. For acrylics devotees, endeavor to accept a weeklong break from them every month so your nails' health doesn't completely dwindle. During that time, brush on one glaze of a strengthening nail treatment every day to preclude breakage, like this moisturizing oil created past nail creative person Deborah Lippmann.

To requite them an fifty-fifty more intensive handling, "encompass your nails with cuticle oil and cuticle foam, then wrap each paw in a warm washcloth for v minutes," says manicurist Deborah Lippmann, founder of Deborah Lippmann boom collection. The upshot: shinier, stronger nails in no fourth dimension.

How to remove acrylic nails at home without acetone

You can remove acrylic nails without acetone using an acetone-free nail polish remover as a soak-off solution. Only know that "if you wish to avoid acetone, it will accept longer to remove acrylics," says Anastasia Totty, a LeChat Nails Educator in Saint Johns, Florida. Hither'south how:

Start past trimming the extra length of the enhancement using blast clippers to cut down on the soaking time, she advises.
Use a 100-grit nail file to remove every bit much product equally possible without filing into the natural blast. "This volition remove any acme coat, gel polish or nail art making it easier for the solution to penetrate the enhancement," Totty explains.
Soak a slice of cotton in the remover and wrap your fingertip in a piece of foil about two inches long, with the piece of cotton fiber in direct contact with the acrylic, repeating on each finger. Look xv to 20 minutes, and then remove the foil and cotton and gently push the soaked product abroad from the cuticle using an orangish wood stick or cuticle pusher. "Be patient and don't scrape or peel whatever of it if it's not soaked enough," she says.
If you lot have acrylic left on nails, wrap them again using more of the remover.
Use the file to shape nails, gently vitrify if necessary, and wash hands to remove whatever remaining solution.