FYI, Taking Off Your Gels Shouldn't Hurt—Experts Explain How to Remove Gel Polish Without Pain or Damage (2025)

Call me a commitment-phobe, but I usually steer clear of long-lasting gel manicures. I love getting my nails done, but the idea that I could be looking at the same mani for two to four weeks and then need to go to the salon to take it off is a little unnerving to me. Sometimes the mood strikes to change it up at a time when it’s tough to fit in a nail appointment on the schedule. Fortunately, in a pinch, there are ways to remove a gel manicure while still protecting the integrity of your nails—you just have to do it right.

To empower myself with the proper know-how, I asked top nail artists and dermatologists everything you could ever want to know about gel manicure removal and how to maintain healthy, strong nails (even when you DIY). From a step-by-step guide to the soak-off method to the one thing you should never experience while taking off gel nail polish, read on for their best advice to prevent damage and keep us out of nail jail.

How do you remove gel nail polish at home?

The best and simplest way to remove gel nail polish at home is to follow the soak-off method. There are slight variations on the tools and techniques you can use, but generally, the method uses acetone to break down the gel polish so it slips off easily without harming your nail plate. Here are the six easy steps:

Step 1: Know When It's Time

“One of the biggest issues I see is not removing gels soon enough,” says editorial nail artist Miss Pop. “When you see the polish lifting around the edges, it’s taking the top layer of your nail off with it,” she warns. This is why, as satisfying as it may feel, peeling off your gel polish is not a good idea. Leaving your gels on once they’ve started lifting can allow water to get underneath, potentially resulting in fungus. (Yikes.) So, while it’s tempting to try to extend your gel mani into week five, it’s better to recognize when it’s time for the polish to come off.

Step 2: Stock Your Kit

You want to have everything you need on hand before you begin the removal process. Once you’ve started, it’s not ideal to pop out to CVS with tin foil fingers or worse, need to improvise and use a product that can potentially damage your nails. The tools you need are a nail file, 100 percent acetone (any less will make the soak time much longer), cotton pads or balls, orange wood sticks, and something that can maintain contact and compression between your nail and the cotton pad. It’s a matter of preference, but you can use nail clips or tin foil—you can even get pre-made foil wraps with the cotton pad included. Oh, and don't forget cuticle oil and/or a strengthening nail treatment.

Step 3: Crack the Topcoat

To kick off the removal process, first, you’ll need to file off the shiny top layer of your polish. “It’s called cracking the top layer,” says Miss Pop, “you’re taking off that top coat so the acetone can soak in.” Visualize it as the difference between spilling a glass of water on a porous piece of wood versus a shiny, varnished floor. A file suitable for natural nails—180 to 240 grit—will be coarse enough to break through that top layer. You’ll know you’re ready to move on to the next step when your nails look matte.

Step 4: Sit and Soak

Put 100 percent acetone on a cotton pad and place it over your entire nail. Next, clamp the pad in place with a nail clip or by wrapping your fingertips in tin foil. Then, it’s just time to sit back and wait. Different polish brands may have varying suggested soak-off times, but ten to 15 minutes is a good place to start. If you’re on the impatient side, nail clips are the most convenient for checking your progress without the mess. For extra speedy removal, “warmth is the most underrated but useful tool for taking off a gel manicure,” adds Miss Pop. She suggests keeping your hands warm—either by wrapping them in a towel, or using a heating pad or heated mitts.

Step 5: Push Off the Polish

Once your timer goes off, remove your foil wraps or clips. When you’ve let your nails soak long enough, the polish should look crumbly and be almost falling off your nail. Then, use an orange wood stick to sweep away any stubborn spots. “If you feel resistance, wrap the nail back up for a few more minutes,” says celebrity nail stylist Elle Gerstein. The technique should feel less like scraping and more like a gentle push, she advises. You want to opt for that orange wood stick over a metal tool, because metal can scratch up the surface of your nails, especially when they’re extra vulnerable from soaking in acetone.

Once the polish is essentially removed, do a final wipe with acetone to get rid of any remaining color. Once nails are dry, you can then go over them with a buffer to smooth off any residue and make the nail plate shine.

Step 6: Rehydrate and Restore

Don’t leave your nails naked and afraid after removing gel nail polish. The acetone will dry out your skin and nails and leave them begging for moisture. This is an easily solvable problem with the help of a little TLC (Tender Loving Cuticle oil). Apply cuticle oil at the base of your nails and allow it to absorb. For long-term nail maintenance, consider making cuticle oil a daily ritual. Gerstein explains, “People think hard nails equal strong nails, but to be durable, they actually need to be flexible.” Moisturized skin and nail beds grow healthy nails, while brittle and dry nails are the most prone to breakage.

Finally, you can finish with a repairing nail treatment as an added strengthening step. I’ve been loving the Essie To The Rescue; it has a slight pinkish tint that’s barely perceptible, but makes your nails look lustrous and fresh while it protects your nails. I swear, when I took it off, my nails looked much healthier after just one wear.

FAQ

What happens if you improperly remove your gel polish at home?

Most of the damage from a gel manicure isn’t from the polish; it’s from the removal, so it’s only smart to be aware of potential issues that can arise when you DIY.

Picking and peeling off gel polish is a surefire way to weaken your nails. Once the color starts lifting, it seems so easy to keep going, but remember, losing the top layer of your nail will leave it more fragile than before. When you inadvertently remove the top layers of onychocytes (the hard part of your nail) with the polish, “the nail will be left with an uneven surface and white patches known as keratin granulations,” describes dermatologist Dana Stern, who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of nail issues. When you see this happen, take it as a sign that your nails need a break from gels.

The soak-off method, while more careful, requires prolonged exposure to acetone which, “will dehydrate the nail and cuticle making it more prone to brittleness, peeling, and breakage,” advises Stern. You may also scratch up your nail plate if you use too much force when scraping off the nail polish post-soak.

Even with thoughtful removal, your nails can end up a little weaker than normal post-gel mani, but you should be able to recover with proper aftercare. Improper use of a nail drill to remove your gel nail polish at home has the biggest amount of risk involved. Which leads us to…

Is it safe to use a drill to remove gel nail polish?

If you’re not trained like the pros, it’s probably best to stay away from pro-level tools like a nail drill (aka electronic file). Without education, the chances that you’re going to cause damage to your nails are extremely high. According to Stern, the main concerns are overly thinning the nail plate by over-filing, removing the cuticles, or onycholysis, which is the separation between the nail and the nail bed caused by using too much pressure.

“I would be able to use an e-file on my own nails,” says Gerstein, who notes she has been trained and working with electronic files for 25 years, “but I would never choose to do it on myself.” So, really evaluate your skill set (especially with your non-dominant hand) before purchasing that complicated drill. For classic gel nail polish that can be soaked off at home, a drill is an unnecessarily risky choice. Other types of manicures like hard gels, nail extensions, or acrylics generally need to be removed with an electronic file, and should be best left to the experts at the salon.

Should gel polish removal ever hurt?

The beauty-is-pain cliché should never apply to your nails. So if you do experience pain or stinging while removing your gels, it means something is wrong. “With gel removal, it could mean that the nail was overly thinned and the underlying nerves in the nail bed are no longer protected by the nail plate,” explains Stern. Another possibility is onycholysis, which leaves the nail bed potentially exposed. When it comes to your cuticles, Stern adds that “stinging or burning with acetone could indicate that the barrier was disrupted and so acetone is able to seep into the space that was once protected by the cuticle barrier seal.” If you’re patient and gentle with polish removal, and you don’t get too aggressive against your cuticles, you’re much less likely to experience these problems. If you do feel an unpleasant sensation, be sure to give your nails a rest and a chance to grow out before getting your next set.

Ultimately, it’s great to think about proper gel nail polish removal in terms of nail health—but remember it’s also important if you just love expressing yourself through your awesome nail art. As Miss Pop says, “The more resilient your nails are, the sooner you can get back to getting those nails done, girl.”

Meet the experts:

• Miss Pop is an editorial nail artist based in New York City. She’s been the lead manicurist at runway shows for Alice + Olivia, Oscar de La Renta, and Prabal Gurung.
• Elle Gerstein is a Russian manicure expert trained extensively in using electronic nail files and luxury nail stylist to celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Tate McRae, and Shay Mitchell.
• Dr. Dana Stern is a New York-based dermatologist who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of the nail. She’s also the founder of the highly manicurist-recommended nail care line, Dr. Dana Nails.

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