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there's a lot of controversy when it comes to removing gel and glitter nail polish because
you can really really really damage your nail if done improperly.
While making my film NAILgasm: The nail art documentary, I got to see the techniques different
nail techs used all over the world to remove difficult nail polish. Everyone has a different
method. Some people use scraping tools, some people use electric files. i've seen it all.
this is how I personally remove both soak-off gel nail polish and glitter nail polish. I
find that this method is pretty quick and incurs the least amount of damage to my nails.
In case you're wondering these are the incoco nail polish strips with the LED gel top coat
that I did in the last tutorial.
I am using pure acetone that I got from my local beauty supply, small pieces of foil
and two cotton balls. Yes, just two.
Break apart each cotton ball into several small pieces. Dab the small pieces into some
acetone and press down onto your nail. Make sure the acetone soaked piece of cotton covers
your entire nail.
Cover your fingertip with a piece of aluminum foil like so.
Once you are done applying the remover wait approximately 5 minutes before you remove
the cotton pieces. Every product is different so this time will vary for everyone.
I removed a test piece after 5 minutes and I noticed that wasn't long enough.
You can put the cotton and foil back on your you can begin rubbing the glitter off with
your acetone-soaked cotton ball.
I waited a few more minutes before removing the remaining cotton pieces.
One trick I like to use when I remove the cotton is to press down and apply pressure
to the nail when sliding the cotton strip off the nail. I find that a lot of times the
polish or gel will slide right off when I do that.
To remove stubborn patches of glitter I take my acetone-soaked cotton and rub firmly in
one direction.
Repeat this process on your remaining nails.
Acetone is pretty harsh on your skin and can dehydrate it so you want to finish by applying
cuticle oil to the skin surrounding your nails. Gently massage in the cuticle oil
and you are done!