I can't get the Gel Polish off!

[shhshhesasleep]

Off to a fancy spa next week and booked in for a pedicure. To have the gel polish off first is £10 so I thought I'd do it myself.
So far I have put high strength remover on cotton woo pads, wrapped each toe in foil, put old socks on then waited thirty minutes.
They're exactly the same! Please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Are you using acetone remover? Normal remover won’t work

You need to use pure acetone, and did you gently file the surface of the top coat?

Is the remover pure acetone? My beautician puts hot pads on the foil wrapped nails which seems to help. It only takes a few minutes. I've also seen them warm the acetone slightly.

Does the remover have acetone in it? It should start peeling from the edges and then you can peel/push them off. I’m terrible with mine and just peel them off once they start going but that’s probably not great for your nails!

Just checked and it's Cutex Ultra 'removes salon gel' remover.
No I didn't file, a regular nail file?

Yes file to dull the polish, it helps the acetone work.

You need to gently file the top layer of gel with a grit file. Then you need to soak cotton pads in acetone and wrap around toes and then secure in place for 30 mins. Then use an orange Woodstick to remove the gel once it starts to break up.

I use a regular file to take the shine off before wrapping in pads soaked in pure acetone. Check them every 5 minutes or so.

Yes file the top first! Then it can penetrate past the topcoat layer. You may also need to gently scrape it to lift it off but VERY gently (Had someone destroy my nails scratching it of with a metal tool as hard as she could!).

Thank you all, I feel such a fool. I'll start again.

Gel polish needs acitone for removal. In the beauticians they use particular tools to kind of scrape/ push the gel polish off.
If you are going to have repeat gel polish that you want to remove yourself might be worth investing in a cheap gel nail kit from Amazon or such like.

I just peel mine off !

File them a bit, use acetone remover on pads and wrap in foil. You need heat as well so put your feet in socks on a radiator. Once it starts to lift you can carefully take some off. Re wrap and warm them again. It is a long job.