Thread: life after acrylics

With surf season here and a full schedule of beach, job, dyeing and toddler (the last being my favorite) I've been thinking about having the acrylics removed for a while..my nails have always been strong and grow fast

What can I expect for potential problems othet than having not so glammy nails anymore?

Have you ever removed them before? Get a good cuticle oil to use every day so they don't dry out too much. They may be a little soft & you should probably wear some type of base coat to protect the nail even if it's a clear coat. If you already have good strong nails, that's great. Just keep them protected and you should be ok.

I had acrylics for 3 or 4 years and quit the habit about 2 years ago. My nails were thin and kind of ratty looking for about 2 months, even with a manicure. This only lasted long enough for the old nail to grow out and new nail to grow in. I chose to go polish free for the first several weeks, even though my nails would have looked neater with polish. I wanted to give the nail lots of time to breathe and grow in healthy.
Expect them to be weak, thin, prone to splitting, peeling, or breaking. Keep them clipped short and neatly filed and this won't be as much of an issue.

If you can sit still long enough you can remove the acrylics at home and control damage. Buy acetone, pour 1/2" into 2 glass containers, soak your nails. Acetone will help loosen the acrylic causing it to lift from your natural nail. This does not happen quickly but you can monitor progress. I also used clippers to cut the acrylic short prior to working with Acetone. After all acrylic is removed I frequently massaged a quality cuticle cream into my nails to keep them moist and smooth away the areas roughened prior to the nail tech applying the acrylic product.

It'll sound crazy but believe me, this is the best way to remove them. You'll need a towel, aluminum foil (tear into 10 square pieces about the size of your palm), 10 cotton balls, a cuticle stick (the long stick with the slanted edge to help remove the acrylics once they're soft) & acetone. Lay the towel on a table. Your hands are going to lay on the towel. Now take 1 cotton ball & 1 piece of foil. Soak the cotton ball in acetone & put it on the acrylic nail. Make sure to cover the whole nail. Now wrap 1 piece of foil around your finger & nail. Once you get all 10 in place, it'll look crazy but in about 30 minutes, take one off to see how it looks. Take your cuticle stick & gently start at the cuticle to see if it'll slide off. If it doesn't come off easily, put the cotton & foil back on your nail & give it another 15 minutes. You'll probably be able to get all of them off by then. Give your hands a real good washing & put on your cuticle oil or a really good hand cream.

Another thing I didn't think about is if you find the the acrylic won't come off, then you have MMA on them. MMA is illegal but a lot of your cheaper shops use it & disguise it as something else. If the acrylic is not significantly looser after 30 minutes, you probably have MMA on them & you'll have to file it off. If you think you've got MMA on them, let me know & I'll tell you how to file it off so that you don't damage your natural nails. HTH...

Originally Posted by chisgran

It'll sound crazy but believe me, this is the best way to remove them. You'll need a towel, aluminum foil (tear into 10 square pieces about the size of your palm), 10 cotton balls, a cuticle stick (the long stick with the slanted edge to help remove the acrylics once they're soft) & acetone. Lay the towel on a table. Your hands are going to lay on the towel. Now take 1 cotton ball & 1 piece of foil. Soak the cotton ball in acetone & put it on the acrylic nail. Make sure to cover the whole
nail. Now wrap 1 piece of foil around your finger & nail. Once you get all 10 in place, it'll look crazy but in about 30 minutes, take one off to see how it looks. Take your cuticle stick & gently start at the cuticle to see if it'll slide off. If it doesn't come off easily, put the cotton & foil back on your nail & give it another 15 minutes. You'll probably be able to get all of them off by then. Give your hands a real good washing & put on your cuticle oil or a really good hand cream.

Another thing I didn't think about is if you find the the acrylic won't come off, then you have MMA on them. MMA is illegal but a lot of your cheaper shops use it & disguise it as something else. If the acrylic is not significantly looser after 30 minutes, you probably have MMA on them & you'll have to file it off. If you think you've got MMA on them, let me know & I'll tell you how to file it off so that you don't damage your natural nails. HTH...

Great system! Wish I had known about it years ago.

thank you this sounds a lot better than having them shove that tiny slicer under my nail..makes my butt pucker just thinking about it

After removing the acrylics I highly recommand OPI's Nail Envy nail strengthener treatment and the OPI Avoplex cuticle oil. Used as directed they really helps soft, thin nail to get healthier!

If you file them really thin before the acetone/cotton ball/foil trick they will come off even faster. Use a really rough file but be careful around your cuticles.

I just took my "solar nails" (hmmm) off this way, and got a Shellac manicure in a sheer pink, which has held up admirably and made my nails look, if not glam, then at least cared for. I found this site and have purchased a base coat, top coat and my sheer pink. I already have a UV lamp. I'll be doing my own Shellacs. As my nails grow out I'll keep them short until all the rough stuff from the acrylics is gone. Then we'll see if I can grow actual lengthy fingernails. What I like about the Shellac is that there's no filing of the nail surface in order for the polish to adhere, so you're not taking off a layer of nail each time you do your nails.

Also trying Onymyhrr, which a friend who plays classical guitar recommended to help nails grow faster and stronger. I'm skeptical but willing to give it a try. I will report back on results.

Good luck with this!

Originally Posted by showtime

Great system! Wish I had known about it years ago.

You pick these kinds of things up when you've been a nail tech.

When I do have to remove nails, it is so easy plus you can get up & move around.

Originally Posted by jesennia

thank you this sounds a lot better than having them shove that tiny slicer under my nail..makes my butt pucker just thinking about it

Don't EVER let anyone do this to your nails. Help is always here when you need it from me. If I miss this thread, just p.m. me as I'm on here almost every day. Before I went to nail school I had one of my pinkie nails taken off this way. It lifted the entire natural nail off & I had to keep it cut short. Anytime I tried to grow a nail, it would lift once it got so long or got hit. It took my nail over 10 years to get corrected & that was keeping it really really short. Once I went to nail school, I was appalled at some of the things people will go thru. Not fun & can be dangerous. So please ask away but don't put yourself at risk.

Originally Posted by maiaraqs

If you file them really thin before the acetone/cotton ball/foil trick they will come off even faster. Use a really rough file but be careful around your cuticles. Good luck with this!

I did forget to mention filing them. I wouldn't file them real thin tho because the acetone may burn. You definitely want to rough up the nail. The acrylic nail should have scratches in it. And Maiaraqs is right, watch those cuticles. There's nothing like getting acetone in an open wound.

Oh BTW, there's a website called Beautytech that has hair stylist, nail techs, estheticians, anyone in the beauty industry. These ladies/gentlemen are like us here on Bhuz, from all over the world. You can find someone reputable in your state/country to talk to & some of the people (just like Bhuz) are educators. Check them out if you have any questions, too.

thank you for the info, i just sucked it up and had the nail tech do it..nice perk to living in the city is being able to walk to the shop :)

she soaked my nailed in acetone for about 20 minutes and used the drill thing to even out the bumps, then used cuticle oil and put a gloss over the nails..they came out looking pretty decent but i'm blessed with strong nails and hair

although now i miss wildly colorful nails with glitter and turtles painted on :)

Originally Posted by chisgran

Don't EVER let anyone do this to your nails.

If I apply acrylics/gel/fibers like silk or glass fiber I buff the nail plate with the gray end of a shining buffer after I´ve *cleaned carefully and removed non living cuticle*(dead cells that makes polish flake and nail enhancements lift)

That´s all.There´s no need to rough up nails with a file before OR after acrylics-LESS prying layers of healthy nails off!

When removing I soak off,or if not soluble´(UV gel) I file until there´s a smidgen left(no thicker than polish)and let it grow off.

If done by a trained,educated(hygienic)pro;
nails *should be in same or better health than before* after enhancements been removed!

As an old nail tech I must say-doing nails is just like bellydancing...the uneducated/undercutters/yada yada gives us all a bad rep

Update on Shellac:

My Shellac manicure lasted two weeks with no chips/cracks/nuthin'. My nails are short but still look good and feel better than they would if I'd nothing on them.