How To Remove Acrylic Nails at Home Safely Without Risk?

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Are you a fan of beautiful fake nails but worry how to take them off safely, then this article is for you. We will explain the quick and easy methods to remove acrylic nails at home.

Anyone who follows the latest beauty trends knows about false nails or Acrylic Nails. Acrylic nails also called as ‘fake nails’ are glued on to the natural nails to hold it in place. Despite their beauty, Acrylic Nails have their disadvantages and most often need a professional help for safe removal.

Cost of removing acrylic nails are nearly the same as applying a new one. A professional can help to remove the acrylic nails else you risk ripping your natural nails off. However, time and finance constraint always play a part in seeking professional help. But there are ways to remove them at home. From fast but damaging to slow and effective, here is a list of methods of how to take off acrylic nails at home. Removing acrylic nails at home might be a better option if you run out of time or money.

There are kits available for removing acrylic nails at home. Remember your acrylic nails are glued on, so you might need to be patient and use a gentle touch.

How To Remove Acrylic Nails At Home?

You may love to watch this video to learn how to safely remove your acrylic nails –

Apart from the methods in the video I have listed some easy methods and things that are available in your basic manicure kit. You would also need petroleum jelly, cuticle oil or jojoba oil. Keep reading for your guide on how to take acrylic nails off.

1. Acetone

This is a most common method to take off acrylic nails. The acetone should be pure acetone. If you feel a burning sensation that wouldn’t go away, wash your hands and get the process done by a professional. You are going to be seated for quite some time. So be seated comfortably and pop in a movie or music and now to start.

You Will Need-

Pure acetone
Small bowl
Ziploc bag
Warm water
Nail file
Nail clipper
Orange sticks
Cuticle pusher
Nail buffer
Towel
Petroleum jelly
Cuticle oil/Jojoba oil

How To?

Trim the ends of your nail with a nail clipper. Go as much as you can go without damaging your skin. This way there’s less to remove and less damaging.
Buff your acrylic nails with a nail buffer to remove most of the product. Take care not to harm your cuticle.
Use your orange stick and carefully make a small leeway between your natural nail and acrylic nails. Acetone can dissolve the glue faster this way when it gets some leeway to come in contact with the glue.
Acetone can corrode certain surfaces and leave marks, so don’t forget to protect the surface with a towel.
Fill in a bag half-way through with warm water.
Fill in a Ziploc bag with pure acetone until your nails are submerged.
Place the Ziploc bag in the warm water carefully so that the bag stands straight.
Smother your cuticle and the skin surrounding it with petroleum jelly so that the acetone doesn’t come in contact with your cuticle and your skin. Acetone is dehydrating so protecting your hands this way is absolutely necessary.
Dip your hand in the acetone until your nails are completely in the acetone. Wait for 20 min or until the glue holding the natural nails and the acrylic nails are dissolved.
When you remove hands, you must notice that the acrylic nails have gone soft. Try peeling off your nails slowly. If you feel resistance, dip it back inside for another 5 min and try again.
Push the nails off using cuticle pusher. This is a gentle way of removing your nails which can be easily ripped off if not handled carefully. Ripping off can inflict pain and cause harm to your natural nails.
Repeat the last two steps until you can remove the acrylic nails without any resistance. Don’t try to force your nails to come off. That could cause some real damage to your natural nails.
Make sure the water remains a constant temperature by topping or replacing the water.
Wash your hands clean off the acetone and petroleum jelly.
You will see some remaining acrylic residue stuck to your nails. This, you can buff it off with your buffer.
Apply cuticle oil of your choice or jojoba oil if it’s available. You can also go for coconut oil or olive oil but jojoba oil can penetrate your nails and nourish from within.

2. Take Off Acrylic Nails With Acetone and Aluminum foil

This method uses pure acetone again but not so much acetone as the previous method. Again it is a time-consuming method, so get comfortable and start the process. If you feel a burning sensation that wouldn’t go away, wash your hands and get the process done by a professional.

You Will Need-

Pure Acetone
Aluminum foil
Cotton pads
Nail file
Nail clipper
Orange sticks
Cuticle Pusher
Nail buffer
Towel
Petroleum jelly
Cuticle oil/Jojoba oil

How to?

Trim your nails with a nail clipper or file it down. Go as low as you can go. This way there’s less to remove and easy to wrap the aluminum foil on your nails.
Place a towel on the surface you are working on since acetone can be corrosive on certain surfaces. You wouldn’t want acetone marks on your furniture.
Buff the topcoat of your acrylic nails with a nail buffer. Remove as much product as you can in this step. Be careful with this step since it’s easy to harm your cuticle.
Use an orange stick to gently pry open the acrylic nail and the natural nail. Just a little space, to let the acetone loosen the glue.
Slather your cuticle and the skin around it with petroleum jelly. Petroleum jelly prevents acetone which is very drying on the skin, coming in contact with it.
Soak some cotton pads with acetone and place it over your nails. Now, wrap an aluminum foil over your nails firmly to hold the cotton in place.
Wait for 30 min or until the glue holding your acrylic nails has loosened. You can find that acrylic nail has loosened or turned mushy. Don’t try to pry the acrylic nail out. You might end up in damaging your natural nails.
If you feel resistance, try the previous step for about 5 minutes until the nail loosens and comes off easily.
Use a cuticle pusher, to push off your nails. This prevents any damage to your natural nails.
Remove the aluminum foil one by one and while removing the acrylics.
Once the nail is removed, wash off the acetone and the petroleum jelly from your hands.
Some stubborn residue can stick to your nails. This can be removed by using a nail buffer.
Apply jojoba oil based cuticle oil or jojoba oil on your nails and cuticle. Jojoba oil can penetrate the layers of your nails and reach the nail bed nourishing it.

3. How to Remove Acrylic Nails with Warm Water?

The following method will teach you how to remove acrylic nails off with using warm water. No acetone, no damaging chemical, just warm water. This is the most nondamaging method as well. But with all the other methods you must have patience and handle with care.

You Will Need-

Warm water
Small bowl
Nail file
Nail clipper
Orange sticks
Cuticle pusher
Nail buffer
Towel
Petroleum jelly
Cuticle oil/Jojoba oil

How to?

Trim your nails to your shortest length. File it as close as you to your nail bed. This helps a lot in the following steps since there’s much less area to work on.
Place a towel on the working surface to absorb the spillage.
Buff the acrylic off your nails as much as you can without harming your cuticles.
Take a small bowl half filled with warm water. The water should not be too hot and be of tolerable heat.
Apply a large amount of petroleum jelly on your cuticle and the surrounding skin to prevent dryness. Your skin dries out when it is subjected to hot water for a long time. Petroleum jelly locks in moisture and prevents it from coming in contact with water.
Put your hands in the water so that your nails are submerged in it.
Stay that way for at least 20 min. Make sure your water maintains a constant temperature or change it if needed, for this method to be effective.
Check if the glue holding the nail has loosened or the acrylic itself is mushy. Use a cuticle pusher to gently push it off. Don’t use force in removing your acrylic nails.
If it doesn’t come off easily, place your hands in warm water as many times as you want and repeat the last 2 steps. Patience is the key when it comes to taking off acrylics at home.
Wash your hands clean of petroleum jelly.
Buff off any difficult bits to make your nail smooth.
Apply a cuticle oil with a jojoba oil base or jojoba oil itself. Jojoba oil is known to penetrate the layers of your nail and nourish your nails and underlying layers.

4. Use Dental Floss to Remove Acrylic Nails

This is probably one of the easiest and quick way to remove but also a dangerous way if not done properly and slowly. This is not recommended if your natural nail is very brittle. Also, you need a friend helping you out.

You Will Need-

Dental floss
Nail File
Nail Clipper
Orange stick

How to?

Clip off the length of your nail above your edge of your nail. And file down as much as you can.
Use your orange stick to lift off the edge of your acrylic nail.
Slide your dental floss in the tiny space you created in the previous step.
Get your friend to remove the acrylic nail by moving the dental floss in a sawing motion. Move slowly towards the end of the nail.
The acrylic should pop off then.
If any stubborn bits are on the nail still, buff them off.
Apply jojoba oil or any jojoba oil based cuticle oil to your nails.

5. Laminated Business Card

This is similar to the dental floss but safer. This method has less probability of damaging your real nails and you can do it alone. However, you should not try this method if your nails are brittle. Don’t try yanking off your acrylic nail instead keep on repeating until the acrylic pops right off.

You Will Need –

Laminated business card
Nail file
Nail clipper
Orange stick
Cuticle oil/Jojoba oil

How to?

Clip/File off the nail up to its shortest length.
Use an orange stick to gently lift the acrylic nail at both the corners to get the card inside.
Use the business card to lift off the acrylic nail slowly and gently.
Don’t concentrate on one side of the nail alone. Keep alternating the sides and lifting equally.
Keep repeating both the sides until acrylics snap off.
Don’t try to force the acrylic nails off. You might be harming your real nails underneath it.
Apply jojoba oil or any other cuticle oil based on jojoba oil.

These are the methods I’d suggest if you ask me how to remove acrylics at home. Then again, I’d tell you that your first choice for taking off acrylics should be to go to a professional although, the above methods work in a pinch. Acrylic nails, if put on and taken off properly, doesn’t damage your nail. Don’t do the business of handling acrylic nails when you are in a hurry.