Removing Your Nail Enhancements

Nail enhancements like gel and acrylic nails make your hands and feet look really attractive, but when it’s time for a touch-up or a change in style, it’s important to know how to remove shellac nail polish and how to remove gel nail extensions. When you’re ready to have natural nails with regular nail paint, it will then be time to schedule with a salon for removal.

Remember that nail enhancements adhere very strongly to natural nails due to the molecular structure of the enhancement and the way they are cross linked. Because of this, it is not advised that you remove these artificial nails on your own. 

As a nail technician, it is important that you select the right method of enhancement removal so as not to damage the natural nail plate of the client. 

How To Remove Acrylic Nails Safely

Firstly, keep in mind that prying the enhancement off the natural nail plate should never be attempted as this will damage and weaken the natural nails and make them prone to infections. You and your clients would never want that. 

There are 2 ways in which a safe enhancement removal can be done, the soak and remove method and the foil wrap removal method. The procedures are as follows: 

• First clean the nail enhancement of all the enamel and other nail decoration. Then file the nail surface with a 240 grit file. This will allow the remover to soak in quicker and provide for faster removal.
• If you are going in for the bowl soak removal method, warm up some remover, put it in the finger bowl and then soak nails. Cover the nails with a towel to keep the nails warm while they soak to allow the remover to work more efficiently. In the case of the foil method, soak individual cotton pads in remover, put on the nails and cover with a foil. Keep the nails covered for a good 20-30 minutes for both the methods.
• Remove the towel from the nails and keep the nails soaked in the solution to clear out the enhancement with a cuticle remover or orangewood stick. Do the same for the foil wrapped nails after 20-30 minutes.
• Clean the nails and buff them for shine. Massage with oil and condition the hands with rich moisturizer.
• Wash the hands to finally remove all enhancement traces and apply polish to the nails if desired.
• Schedule a next salon visit and at the same time give the client tips to take care of their nails at home. Especially so because the nail plate has weakened to an extent when the enhancement has been removed.

These easy and correct removal methods and tips like soaking the nails in warm remover will surely help you achieve good results without damage to the natural nails. Just remember not to heat the remover over the flame directly as it is highly flammable and the result may be disastrous. Warm the remover by keeping it in a small bowl and placing this bowl in a larger bowl filled with hot water. This should do the job. Safety always comes first and never compromise on this.

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