How to Remove Fake Nails without Damaging your Real Nails

Acrylic nails are fading slightly in popularity but they are still a fashionable choice for special events or even daily life for those who struggle with growing and maintaining their natural nails. Unfortunately, acrylics can be damaging to your real nails, especially if they are removed improperly. Of course, we’ve all been guilty of removing fake nails in ways that are not exactly best, biting or pulling them off when we aren’t paying attention, but doing that can tear the real nail beneath, leaving lasting damage that takes a long time to grow out. Still, acrylic nails can get cumbersome after a while and you don’t want to wait for them to fall off on their own. Luckily, there is a better way to remove them. If you wear acrylic nails, follow this guide for removing them while causing minimum damage to your natural nails.

1. Using a rough-grit nail file, file down the acrylic nail as much as possible, focusing mainly on thinning the thickness of the nail rather than shortening it. Be careful not to cut your skin with the nail file while you work and don’t file through the acrylic and damage your nail beneath.
2. Apply petroleum jelly to your cuticle and finger around the nail to protect it and then place a cotton ball soaked in 100% acetone against the acrylic. Wrap your finger in foil to hold the cotton ball against the nail.
3. After 15-20 minutes, remove the foil and check the nail to see how much of it you can gently remove. Do not pull on or scrape the nail; if you can’t remove much, repeat step #2 until the acrylic has dissolved enough to remove it or gently buff it away.
4. Start and stick to a consistent Beauty Tonic collagen routine to strengthen your natural nails and help grow out any damage caused by the acrylic. Beauty Tonic contains collagen types I and III, the two kinds your body uses most for healthy nails. Beauty Tonic helps boost your body’s natural process so that nails grow longer, stronger, and faster.