How to Remove Gel Nail Polish Without Destroying Your Nails

By Mara Santilli and Alexis Bennett

Reviewed by Diane C. Madfes, MD

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So your gel manicure is in the chipping-beyond-repair stage and it's time to figure out how to remove gel nail polish at home—because let's be real, who always has the extra time (or money) to hit up the nail salon again?

Tempting as it may be, the last thing you should do is just rip your gel manicure off with your bare hands (polish pickers, listen up). Your nails might look fine to the naked eye when you tear your gel polish off this way, but you can actually strip the delicate layers of the nail plate (the hard part of the nail that grows out) and potentially cause serious damage leading to dry, brittle, and cracked nails, Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City and a clinical instructor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College, tells SELF.

We definitely don't want that to happen, so we asked Dr. King as well as professional nail artists how to remove gel nail polish at home while keeping your nails pretty, as healthy as possible, and ready for their next coat of color.

How to remove gel nail polish at home | Steps for soaking off gel nails | How to remove gel polish without acetone | Gel nail polish remover products

The easiest and fastest way to take off gel polish at home is to use acetone-soaked cotton balls wrapped in tin foil, and then scrape the remainder of the polish off with a nail buffer or nail file, Molly Romah, lead nail artist at Chillhouse spa in NYC, tells SELF. (See more details of those steps below.)

But if you’re in a pinch and don't have all of those supplies on hand, you can file down the top layers of gel polish with a nail file and then soak your fingers in a bowl of acetone to get the rest of the polish off, she adds. Just keep in mind that each gel nail polish brand will be different when it comes to the time it takes to soak off your nails, according to Romah. So it's best to not start the gel-nail-polish-removal process if you’re in a rush.

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Acetone—which you’ll need to remove your gels in most cases—can seriously dry out the nails and skin around them by depriving skin of its natural oils, according to Dr. King, which is why you should try to shield your poor cuticles. "Before you soak, protect the surrounding areas with a cuticle oil," celebrity manicurist Patricia Yankee tells SELF. There's no need to get a fancy specialty cuticle oil unless you want to. A tried-and-true quick home remedy is Vaseline ($4, Amazon). The petroleum jelly will create a barrier to minimize the acetone's damage. Aquaphor ($17, Amazon) works too.

The gel topcoat is a tough, nearly impermeable layer that seals the color in place—that's why gel manis are able to last for weeks instead of days. Scratching the surface with a coarse nail file will help the acetone to penetrate without a hitch. "When filing, apply light and parallel pressure," Yankee suggests, which will help you avoid scratching the nail plate underneath.

Acetone ($5, Ulta) is stronger and more effective than non-acetone nail polish remover, making it exactly what you need to remove your gel nail polish. Drench some cotton balls (or cotton pads) with the stuff, then hold them in place on your nails by wrapping each finger with aluminum foil. (You don't have to buy any special tin foil—Romah recommends cutting cooking foil in small squares to wrap around each finger). According to Yankee, this traps in heat to help the gel break down faster.

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Gel polish formulas vary in strength, so the wait time can be anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. The process will take about 10 minutes for softer gel polish, and may take longer the harder the gel is (polishes used for nail extension and strengthening are typically harder), Romah says. If you don't get it exactly right the first time, you can always rewrap and keep on soaking.

Yankee's expert tip: "Sometimes it's best to do one hand at a time at home. I like to start with the dominant hand to get the toughest part out of the way." So if you’re a lefty, begin soaking the nails on your left hand, and then your right hand will be a breeze. "It's a small change, but it makes a huge difference," she says.

Once you give the acetone time to work its magic, remove the foil and cotton and then grab the file (or a nail buffer or cuticle stick) and continue to gently scrape the layers to safely remove the gel polish from your nail. If you’ve soaked long enough, the first few coats will begin to peel off easily.

If you encounter more resistant layers, you’ll need to loosen them up with another acetone soak. Repeat the soaking-and-scraping method until you’ve safely removed all of the color, including the base coat.

"After you finish soaking in acetone, you want to make sure that you wash it off thoroughly," Yankee says. She also suggests applying another coat of cuticle oil to replenish some of that lost moisture from the acetone.

If you want to get a little fancier than petroleum jelly this time, try the highly rated favorite Maccibelle Cuticle Oil ($7, Amazon), which comes in three different scents: milk and honey, pomegranate, and tea tree and lavender. Yankee also suggests keeping the moisturizing habit up for a few days "just to replenish the moisture in your nails," since acetone can be so harsh. After you apply the cuticle oil, it's a good idea to follow up with a rich moisturizer or hand cream that contains humectants, emollients, and/or occlusives—apply it to your nails and the surrounding area to nourish dried-out skin post-acetone application.

"Humectants, like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, are substances that bind water into the stratum corneum (the very outer layer of the skin) and can help retain the skin's moisture," Dr. King says.

Emollients, which are nourishing fat- or oil-based ingredients (like squalane or ceramides) help ensure the skin doesn't lose moisture, and also help soften and smooth skin texture. Occlusives—which include ingredients like petroleum, beeswax, and lanolin—physically block water loss from the skin, Dr. King says.

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Especially if you have sensitive skin or are prone to onychoschizia—a condition of brittle peeling nails, per the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology—frequent use of acetone can irritate your skin and nails. "Acetone strips the skin of oils and can contribute to dryness, which can lead to onychoschizia," Dr. King says. The best solution is to use acetone-based nail polish remover sparingly (luckily, gel manicures last a long time, so you won't have to remove gel nail polish too frequently) and moisturize well afterward, Dr. King adds.

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And if you have particularly sensitive skin and/or have dry, brittle nails, it's smart to use nail polish remover formulations that are acetone-free, which you can get at the drugstore, your local beauty supply store, or online, whenever possible. Compared to acetone it will be a longer wait to soak off gel polish or tips using the above steps, Romah adds, but non-acetone remover ($7, Amazon) may be less irritating to your skin.

When it comes to acetone-free formulas, you might be wondering if something like vinegar—a common home remedy for removing nail polish if you’re out of remover or want a chemical-free alternative—can remove gel nail polish. But let us save you a google: Romah doesn't think vinegar is strong enough to do the trick and take off gel polish. "If you want something less strong than acetone, then use a non-acetone remover to remove gel," she says. You can also use it to remove the glue from press-on nails from your nails, she adds.

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The process of removing gel nail polish isn't exactly the hardest thing in the world but, hey, sometimes you want to streamline the whole ordeal even more. There are sets with everything you need to take off your gels, as well as handy products to troubleshoot some of the more annoying parts of the process. Below, find our recommendations for taking your gel removal to the next level.

For a pro gel nail removal without a strong smell, you can use CND Offly Fast. It's an acetone formula, but it's meant to be less drying to your nails thanks to conditioning vitamin E and macadamia oil. You can use the product to soak off gel nails or tips, Romah says.

Walmart

Looking to remove gel nail polish without acetone and without irritating sensitive skin and nails? This one is resin-based and should work just about as fast as acetone. It's best to keep it away from your cuticles and surrounding skin as much as possible though since it can cause a burning sensation on broken skin, the manufacturer says.

Amazon

If you want to soak with less trouble and mess, this kit comes with a soaking pot with bristle walls to rub against your nails as you soak. Reviewers say it speeds up the process. Plus, you can refill the pot using whatever acetone you want.

Save yourself a few steps with these little foil nail wraps. No need to soak your cotton balls or cut up stripes of aluminum—just add acetone onto the built-in pad and you’re good to wrap.

The MVPs of this gel polish remover kit are the nail clips, which you can use in place of aluminum foil to create an airtight seal for soaking and a push-down pump dispenser for your acetone. Beyond that, it also includes a coarse nail file, soaking pads, and a cuticle pusher that doubles as a polish scraper.

If you want to skip aluminum foil altogether, these wraps use flexible self-adhesive material instead. Kind of like using acetone-soaked Bandaids.

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