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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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First, you need to be sure of exactly what type of nails you have. So, when you had your nails applied, did the technician use ANY liquid and powder in the process - as they would for acrylic nails? If so, did the tech finish the job by applying a single layer of 'gel' over the surface of the nails and then cure it under a UV lamp? If so, then you don't have gel nails. You have acrylic nails with a UV gel topcoat. Big difference between the two.
If you had UV gel nails applied, the tech would apply UV nail gel to your nails in several thin layers. Each individual layer must be cured under a UV lamp for 2 minutes before the next layer can be applied. This application process is usually completed by the application of a UV gel topcoat, or a UV gel sealer. Both of these must also be cured. If THIS is what you had done, then you do have gel nails.
If you have real gel nails as I just described, and NO liquid and powder was used during the application, than the UV gels cannot be soaked off. UV gel nails are non-porous. This means that they are not soakable because nothing will penetrate the surface of the nail. In this case, they must be filed off by a highly skilled tech because an unskilled tech can easily ruin your natural nails by filing all the way through the gel, and into your nails too. Its not easy to remove gels, and do a good job at it. Thats why you would need a highly skilled tech to do it for you. And you are right - you cannot rip them off. Nor should you pry them off, or tear them off. Never use any force to remove either acrylic, or gel nails because doing so WILL cause damage to your natural nails, sometimes severely damaging them. And do not let a tech do this either. There is no 'proper' way to force your nails off. Period.
Since you were able to soak your last set off, and it took 2-3 hours to remove them by soaking them in pure acetone, I am guessing that you had acrylic nails with a UV gel topcoat applied to them, and not real gel nails. I say this because it just makes sense to me. The top layer of gel is thin, and over time, the acetone would work its way under the nail and soften the acrylic, and the gel topcoat would come off only because the underlying acrylic is beginning to loosen. But, this would take, um, about 2-3 hours to happen. Coincidence? Not really.
If this is the case, then what you need to do is this: Get yourself a good nail file of about 150-180 grit - NOT an emery board, but a real nail file and gently file the UV gel topcoat off of your acrylic nails. Gel files easily, so it should not take you very long to do this. Don't be too aggressive with the file, just fently file away the UV gel topcoat on all your nails. Make sure you get it all off. Get into the sides of your nails, and by the cuticle area as well really good. Then, you can soak the remaning acrylic off. It will not take 10 minutes. Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are talking about. Acrylic normally takes a minimum of 20-25 minutes to soak off. The longer, the better actually. Its best to try to soak them for about a half hour, then remove the acrylic by either wiping the softened acrylic off with a clean paper towel, or by scraping it off with an orange stick. Again, do not force it off. If its not coming all the way off, jsut be patient, and soak them some more for about another 5-10 minutes, and try again. You should have no problem removing them once the UV gel topcoat has been removed, and nothing but the acrylic is left.
Now, you may insist that you have gel nails because that is what you asked for, and that is what the tech told you they were, but remember - gel is NEVER a powder. If the tech used any liquid and powder, you have acrylic nails. Plain and simple. By adding a UV geltopcoat, acrylic nails do not become gel nails. They are still acrylic nails, and I am betting that is what you have based on your description of them.
BTW, just so you can be sure, here is what real UV nail gel looks like:
http://www. cnd.com/Home/homelink- consumer- Brisa-Gel. aspx
(since the links don't seem to be working lately, remove the three spaces that I put into the address. Then copy and paste into your browser. I did this just to make the entire address appear without ending in .....)
Notice it is a gel, not a powder. Some techs will even try to tell you that its 'powder gel.' There is no such thing as powder gel. A gel is a gel. Period.
Anyway, good luck to you. |
Try suntan lotion! 
