How to take off acrylic nails with oil and water

When you want a stunning manicure and long fingernails but don’t want to wait for them to grow, the obvious choice is an acrylic manicure at a nail salon.

Acrylic manicures look gorgeous and are an instant fix for length, shine, and beauty. But all good things in life must come to an end.

When your acrylic nails start to peel off, or you’re simply sick and tired of having them on, you need to know how to remove acrylic nails safely and effectively.

And while the obvious choice might be acetone, you don’t have to resort to that harmful chemical ingredient.

Instead, you can use a bowl of hot water to take off your acrylic nails.

This method is entirely chemical-free so that it won’t harm your natural nails.

It’s also 100% free, which your pocketbook will thank you for.

How to Take Off Acrylic Nails With Hot Water

Removing acrylic nails with hot water is easy, effective, and free.

What You Need

All you need is a pan to boil water, a bowl to stick your fingers into, and of course - water.

Step-by-step

1. Boil three cups of water. You can use more or less if desired. I find three cups of water to be enough to soak all of my fingernails without hassle.
2. Let the water cool down a bit. The water shouldn’t be boiling, but it shouldn’t be warm either. It should just barely be cooled down enough to stick your fingers into without scalding yourself.
3. Pour water into a bowl. Any bowl will do, as long as the bowl is big enough to accommodate your nails.
4. Place a towel down at your workspace. The last thing you want to do is end up with water spilling all over your table, couch, or another area.
5. Let your nails soak for 20-30 minutes. Yes, this method to remove fake nails is somewhat time-consuming. But it’s worth it to be chemical-free!
6. Watch for swelling. When your acrylic nails begin to “swell,” it means they are almost ready to be taken off. Soak your nails for about five more minutes.
7. Remove the nail with an orange stick or other sharp item. Be very careful. If your acrylic nails won’t budge, you will need to soak them again in a fresh batch of hot water.

That’s it!

You’ve just removed your acrylic nails using only a bowl of hot water. It doesn’t get easier than that.

How to Remove Glue Off Acrylic Nail

While your acrylic nail may have popped off without a fuss with only hot water, you will likely have some leftover glue holding on for dear life.

Don’t worry - you’re not going to need to use any special tools or chemicals to get the excess glue off your natural nail.

You have two few options to choose between:

• Use a nail file or nail buff to scrape off the excess glue from the nail bed gently, or
• Soak nails in a smaller bowl of warm water and soap

Soaking your natural nails in warm water and soap will loosen up the glue significantly, but you will still need to scrape it off using an instrument like an orange stick.

Aftercare for Natural Nails After Acrylic Removal

Although fake acrylic nails are downright beautiful, they can be pretty damaging to your natural nails.

(This is especially true if you use other methods with chemicals for removing acrylic nails.

Thank goodness we use the hot water method that is chemical-free!)

That said, nail care is imperative after you take off acrylic nails with hot water (or any other ingredient).

The best thing to do is apply cuticle oil or another type of moisturizing and rehydrating nail cream or lotion.

Massage the cuticle oil or similar ingredient onto your nails and surrounding skin.

After taking off acrylic nails, you can also perform a hot water and cuticle oil treatment.

To do this treatment, do the following:

1. Fill a container with hot water, gentle soap, and cuticle oil.
2. Soak your nails with hot water mixture for around five minutes.
3. Scrub the area around your cuticles, push the cuticles back, and remove any hangnails.
4. Re-apply cuticle oil or another moisturizer to the nails and skin.

How to Remove Acrylic Nails With Hot Water and Oil

While removing fake nails with hot water is an effective method, it can be pretty time-consuming.

If you don’t want to spend a half-hour or more trying to remove your fake nails, don’t rush off for the acetone. Instead, consider the hot water and oil treatment.

This method is essentially the same as above.

The only difference is that you will be adding a tablespoon or two of oil (any kind is acceptable, but olive oil tends to work best) to the hot water container.

It is recommended to gently push on the sides of each fake nail before doing this treatment.

This allows the oil to seep underneath the acrylics, allowing them to soften up for easy removal.

FAQ

How do you get acrylic nails off quickly?

The quickest way to remove fake nails is to use acetone, unfortunately.

Honestly, as long as your nails and surrounding skin are in good condition, it is OK to use acetone periodically.

Just make sure to adequately hydrate your nails after using acetone, as acetone is incredibly drying to the nails and skin.

Some people also recommend using the dental floss method, but I suggest against it as it can be very harmful and damaging to your natural nail.

How do you remove acrylic nails with hot water and dish soap?

Acrylic nails can also be removed with a mixture of hot water and dish soap. The dish soap acts somewhat like oil so that it will have the same loosening effect.

Does olive oil and warm water take off acrylic nails?

Can you remove acrylic nails with water?

How does oil and dish soap take off acrylic nails?