How to Remove Gel Polish at Home Without Acetone

Whether you are short on time or money and cannot go to a salon to get your gel manicure removed, it is useful to know how to remove gel polish at home without acetone. Salons usually use acetone but it is not something we always have lying around. You do not want to pick off your gel so let us show you how to remove the gel polish safely.

If you don’t know how to remove gel nail polish properly, you may be tempted to just peel it off. Do your nails a favor and avoid this method at all costs. When you peel off your gel polish, delicate layers of your nail inevitably go with it.

We are going to show you how you can remove gel nail polish at home without damaging the integrity of your nails.

What This Article Covers:

Removing Gel Polish At Home Without Acetone

Removing your gel polish with acetone is typically recommended and is the method employed by most salons. There are times when you need to remove your polish and you do not have access to acetone. In these cases, pretty much anything is better than simply ripping off the polish.

You can make a version of your own homemade nail polish remover with what you have at home. Stick to the following steps to remove your gel polish.

Trim Your Nails

This may not be what you want to hear but trust us on this one. Start by trimming your nails as short as possible. This will make the next steps slightly easier as there will already be less polish to remove.

Hopefully, this will also encourage some parts of the polish to start lifting. This will make the next steps easier.

Wash It Off

Unfortunately, this step is not as easy as it sounds. This step is only going to be effective if it is at least two weeks into your manicure. The gel paint needs to be lifting in some areas on your fingers.

When you find these areas where the paint is coming off, you want to run water into this gap between the paint and the nail. Turn the speed up on your tap so that the water is helping to lift more of the paint from the nail. If the paint begins to lift more, encourage it to come off by pushing it off with your other fingers.

If water is not working well for you, try using olive or cuticle oil to rub it off. Rub it into the paint and see if this loosens it at all. Remember, the goal here is to encourage the paint to come off but not to be pulling it off at all.

Soak it Off

If the running water or oil did not help loosen your manicure, try to use a warm water soak. Fill a bowl with warm water, dish soap, and salt. Submerge your nails in this mixture for 15-20 minutes.

Once the time is up, dry your hands and you should notice the polish starting to come off. This is also the best way to remove nail polish from your skin when you do not have acetone at home.

Use a Nail File

Hopefully, at this stage, you have some or most of your gel polish off. There will likely be some stubborn patches that will be trickier to get off. We recommend using a nail file to buff these parts off.

You want to completely dry your hands and nails before you begin this step. Buff the remaining polish off with a nail file in back and forth motions

Be extremely careful to only buff off the paint and not your actual nail. It can be damaging if you start filing down your own nails. You should be using the smoother side of a nail file (if it has more than one type of surface).

Nourish Your Nails

At this stage, you really need to nourish your nails. You run the risk of leaving your hands and nails dry and cracked if you just leave the nail polish removal process there.

Hopefully, you have some cuticle oil at home. If you do, rub it over your natural nails. This is very important for the longevity of your nails. If you do not have cuticle oil, make sure to invest in some for future use.

End off by rubbing moisturizer all over your nails and hands. This should rehydrate the hands and nails and prevent any cracking.

How to Remove Gel Polish At Home Without Acetone (FAQs)

How do you remove dried nail polish from your clothing?

No matter how good you are at nail painting, you should know how to remove dried nail polish from clothing. The best way to approach this is to try and pick it off without damaging the integrity of the clothing. If this does not work, you need to remove the polish with a cotton pad soaked in acetone.

How Do You Remove No Chip Nail Polish?

It is typically more difficult to remove no chip nail polish than normal gel polish. You can try our tips above if you do not have acetone, but this polish will be a lot more stubborn to come off. If you do have acetone, buff the nails down and then soak them in acetone.

you can remove gel nail polish at home without acetone

How Do You Dispose of Acetone?

Acetone can be quite a hazardous substance and is not great for the environment. Luckily, we can show you how to dispose of acetone nail polish remover safely.

If you are using acetone to remove gel polish, fortunately, you will not use a lot at a time. Ring any cotton pads out into a container with a lid. This container should be disposed of with other hazardous waste. You can keep this container until it is filled up and then dispose of it.

Then throw the cotton pads out in a tied-up garbage bag. The container that was storing your acetone should also be thrown away as part of other hazardous waste.

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