I love gel nail polish, but taking it off can be tricky. Luckily if you have the right tools it’s a snap! (These are week-old nails. I managed to chip the one nail yesterday at the airport so it was the perfect time for a new color.) I DIY my own gel nails, but if you get yours at the salon you can still save a few bucks by removing your old gel before you visit.
I have used foil and cotton balls, but now use removal wraps. I purchased these at Ulta for $10 for 100. More recently I purchased these from Amazon, and found the quality to be the same, but you get 200 for $10 with Prime shipping. At a cost of only $.05 for both hands, the wraps are a steal.
I also use Red Carpet Manicure’s Erase remover. 100% acetone will also work and is a little less expensive.
Apply the Erase or acetone to the cotton on the removal wraps.
Then wrap up each nail and wait. Wrapping them by yourself is tricky but not impossible. (If you have an extra person around getting them to help is a good idea, though!)
After ten minutes your polish should look like this. Use an orange stick to scrap off the rest of the polish. If any spots are difficult to remove just put the wrap back on the nail for a few more minutes.
Your nails are now ready to paint again. If you’re planning to skip polishing for a while just buff the nails and you’re done!