Removing gel polish / is this standard?

[WellTidy]

I had my first ever gel polish at a salon a few weeks ago. I was delighted by them, and decided that this would be the start of a new me, I would get them done regularly. I’ve never taken any interest in nails, having bitten them for decades, so it was all completely new to me. The lady said not to take it off at home (not to pick at it as it would damage my nails) but if I wanted to have it off to go back to the salon.

So I went back a few days ago. . The owner it was this time said that the gel would have to come off as I was choosing a new colour. Fine. I hadn’t thought how it would come off but I was horrified when she used a nail file to remove it. And then painted some lumpy looking clear polish type thing and filed that off too.

Is this standard? I do t know what I had in mind but it wasn’t that! I’m sure my nails must be wrecked underneath this new gel. I think I maybe thought they’d use heat to take them off (?!) or something stronger than normal nail varnish remover and rub with a cotton pad.

Is it build in a bottle she put on?

Mine soaks cotton wool in something and then wraps the nail with foil and leaves for a while, before scraping them off (most kind of peels off) and using a nail file to get the rest. Currently having a break as my nails have become very damaged and weak underneath. They do look great but unfortunately they are not great for your nails long term.

You can do it at home using pure acetone, cotton wool pads and tinfoil. Buff polish with a nail file. Soak half a cotton wool pad with acetone and put on the nail and wrap with a strip of foil. Wait 10-20 minutes and see if it's peeling. Scrape off and use the acetone pad to get stray bits of polish

The top layer of shine needs to be giled off. Some will wrap cotton in acetone and wrap them, and the initial filing is to allow the acetone to penetrate the gel polish for it to be scraped off.

The stuff she put on after filing was likely a bottle of gel polish remover. I have some and it makes the polish bubble and lift ready to be scraped back and filed.

The nails themselves also need gentle etching for the polish to adhere for longevity or it'll lift within a day or two

My nail tech does exactly this.

Like you I have decided that in future I won't have gels because my fingernails used to be sooooo strong but now they are really weak and break if you look at them. They did look great with gel on though!

Think my dd has these

mylee.co.uk/products/mylee-remover-foil-wraps-100-pcs-per-box?variant=40071573143736&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrpGI1qSn-AIVSLDtCh01ZgSwEAQYASABEgKoAvD_BwE

Yes, mine does this too (in the North East)

I've had mine done once and had a similar experience. I also didn't know whether this was normal and so have never had it done since.
I was really shocked at the damage to my nails. it took a long time for it to grow out; you could see the line of damaged nail vs new healthy nail slowly making its way up my nail bed over a matter of months.

Ah, sounds like it is quite standard. I had no idea - I don’t think I’d have had them done in the first place if I knew the removal would be so brutal. I don’t see how it can be anything but hugely damaging to nails so I think I will stop. They’re really lovely to look at so it’s a shame. I’ve bitten them for decades and love to see them looking pretty now 😒

I've used gel polish for years and have them redone every 2 weeks and my nails are still normal / strong.
I take mine off myself before having them done by wrapping them in cotton pads soaked in acetone and wrapped in tinfoil then I push the gel off with a tool I bought from ebay, you can also use an orange stick.
Then a light buff and apply solar oil.
I've seen friends nails that have been filed off and they were ridged and weakened.
Ignore your manicurist and remove them yourself that way you know you are only removing the gel and not touching your actual nail.
Filing them off is quicker for the manicurist and they are probably charging you for it.
When you've had them redone apply solar oil to your cuticles every night before bed.

Lots of salons will tell you it is not damaging to nails but I promise you 100% it is !

Keep them for special occasions like holiday and such like

They do look lovely but very very bad for nails

@dunpaying is there anything else instead that you can have done that protects the nails? I’m a nail biter and would love to strengthen and protect mine on the rare occasion I get them long enough

My salon files them off with the little machine thing. Like a sander.

I only get my toes done because it feels so damaging.

Why not just have them done with normal varnish then?

@GnarlyOldGoatDude there are various strengthening things you can buy

Think Sally Hansen has a good one

I'd just have a manicure which will make them look better

Daily strengthening product and a nice normal polish when they long enough

Jelly supposed to be good for nails but not sure if that's an old wives tale

Are you just having gel polish on your own nails? If so, just paint your own nails at home. It's cheaper and a little bit kinder on your nails.

I use Sally Hansen Miracle Gel. It's a regular polish/varnish. But it lasts for a week. I do my nails myself now with this.

I used to go to somewhere that did this. It's quicker for the salon to remove the gel this way but it's sooo much worse for your nails. You can say no, that you don't want to have the drill used.

There is a difference between gel polish and gel nails. Gel polish is like nail varnish only instead of air drying it is cured using an LED lamp. To remove this you need pure acetone and the gel polish should just flake off. There should be minimal nail prep in terms of not touching the nail bed, usually no filing at all.

Then there are gel nails, like acrylic nails but instead of using the powder and liquid they use a gel product which can be painted onto the nail. This gel can be built up to a thicker layer to add strength to the nail. Again this is cured with an LED lamp and has to be removed with acetone. The difference with this one is that it is thicker so can take longer, most nail techs will file off at least the polish that covered it to allow the acetone to soak down through the layers. Some use an e file or electric file. Not all of the gel has to be removed, they can leave the base layer on and then add onto it. It depends what you had ie coloured gel rather than clear/nude gel with a polish over the top.

Gel polish can be easily done at home with an LED lamp and acetone remover. There are a million videos on YouTube showing you how to do this. You need to know the difference between gel polish and gel nails. I am not a nail tech but have done my own nails at home for over 20 years.

I stopped having this done as eventually I started to get brown yellow ish spots on my nails and over time they got bigger and went rigt through my nail into the skin below. My nail tech said it was normal. 😬
I did however, get an at home gel kit. I went with a polish brand called Beatles as it's a bit more natural (as much as can be). They arnt quite as hard wearing or as thick, but they do look great. 😁

Thank you. I’ll get some acetone to remove it myself in future, and continue not letting them near my finger nails!

The initial filing looks brutal but it’s only getting the top couple of layers off. Then mine get soaked in acetone and wrapped in foil for a bit. Then the last layers have kind of lifted off and she scrapes the rest off and then it’s a gentle file. I’ve got none on at the minute and my nails feel fine, maybe slightly thinner than normal but they’re not wrecked.

A nail tech should never use an electric file to remove every single scrap of gel off your natural nail, they are just making their jobs easier by removing the majority of the product and then they soak off the rest. I have an electric nail file, far easier than hand filing.

If you have builder gel, can be from a pot or a bottle, then this is a thicker coating and will take time to remove with acetone. You are advised to remove the clear top coat that is usually applied over polish or onto gel nails for a shiny finish or at least file some of it to allow the acetone to penetrate into the gel to remove it.

Gel comes in different viscosity depending on what you are doing with it and how skilled you are at applying it.

There are several professional nail technicians on YouTube whose natural nails are beautiful and not damaged despite all of the products they use. This is about skill. Acrylic nails take skill as you have to work quickly before the acrylic hardens. However, gel is wet until you cure it meaning a lot of less skilled people can apply it, myself included although I did used to do my own acrylic nails.

Brown spots or "greenies" on nails are not the norm and is either caused by bad prep work or the nail lifting ever so slightly and allowing moisture to get in between the product and the nail. Like I have said lots of videos on YouTube and some really good nail techs, Suzie from Nail Career Education and The Nail Hub.

I use this to remove mine. Just paint it on and leave for 5 minutes before removing with an orange stick.

Some nails take a couple of goes but it's much quicker than most other methods.

Thank you @MissMogwai I’ll order some of that.

You're welcome.
It's a god send for me as I can't be arsed soaking them off or the tinfoil thing.
It's also very satisfying watching the polish bubble up!

It won't be very good for the nails but I doubt anything is really!