The 6 Best At-Home Gel Nail Kits of 2022

Table of Content

• What You Need to Know About Nail Polish Removers
• How To Remove Gel Nail Polish At Home: Step-by-Step Guide
• Soak Your Nails
• Le Mini Macaron 1-Step Gel Manicure Kit
• Should You Choose a Nail Polish Remover With Acetone?
• How Do You Use An At-Home Gel Nail Kit?
• Can You Remove Gel Polish with Regular Nail Polish Remover?

After filing the top of your manicure, soak each cotton ball in acetone, and place it on your fingernail starting with your nondominant hand. Use a piece of tinfoil to secure the cotton-soaked acetone to your nail. Using a nail buffer helps smooth the surface of your nails after you’ve removed the gel polish. This can help you gently scrape off any gel polish residue without peeling off your nail polish. This set of bold-colored gel polishes is for those who want to make a statement with eye-catching nails.

Not only is it under $5, but the bottle size exceeds that of most other bottles on our list. The Sally Hansen Nail Polish Remover comes sold in a bottle. The content is very effective and will last you a long time, so you don’t have to use too much product at once. As expected, this remover does have a slight acetone scent, but it isn’t as pungent as other removers. In fact it almost has a hint of fruity freshness.

What You Need to Know About Nail Polish Removers

Once they’re chipped, you can lift up part of the gel nail with your fingernail or a pair of tweezers. Run your finger under lukewarm water and use a finger from your free hand to gently push the gel off your natural nail. If the polish won’t come off with water, cover your nail with olive oil or cuticle oil and try again. Wait at least two weeks before trying to remove your gel polish so that it has time to loosen and naturally chip off. Removing the nails from the gel nail polish remover too soon can cause part of the nail plate to come off with the nail polish. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

If you know you’ll only be doing this ritual at home, you can go for larger sizes, like the 15 ounce bottle that OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover offers as an option. You can get the same remover from OPI as a small TSA-approved 1 ounce bottle if you just need it for a few days while you’re traveling away from home. There are good nail polish removers on the market that don’t use acetone in their formula.

How To Remove Gel Nail Polish At Home: Step-by-Step Guide

If your nails are uneven after removing gel polish, you can gently file or buff the surface of your nails to smooth them. Try using a nail buffer block with a fine grain to carefully smooth your nails. Dip your fingertips into the nail polish remover, and allow your nails to soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Before you try any of these methods, it’s important to use a nail file to gently roughen up the top layer of your gel manicure.

When purchasing a new product such as gel polish remover, you want something that will last rather than a cheap and fragile replica. This guide will assist you in quickly and easily selecting the proper products while saving you a lot of money. "Once you’ve removed all the gel, gently buff your nails with a soft buffer and apply plenty of cuticle oil," Humphrey advises. "I recommend the Essie Apricot Nail and Cuticle Oil, and hand cream to rehydrate." This DIY nail set earned perfect scores for drying time, finished look, staying power, and ease of removal, and taking the extensions off won't ruin your nail beds. For something a little more affordable or user-friendly, we highly recommend Essie Gel Couture Longwear Nail Polish.

Soak Your Nails

If you encounter hard patches, lightly refile that area and soak the nail for another five minutes before trying again. When the acetone has worked its magic on the gel polish, it’s time to break out your manicure stick. Use the pointed end to gently scrape under the lifted edge of the polish and push back gently.

A gel polish remover is a specialized non-acetone solution that is used to break down gel polish. While this product is a bit higher-priced than some other nail polish options, the cruelty-free, great-smelling, and acetone-free formula is more than worth it. If you're unfamiliar with the genius of gel nail polish, let us introduce you to the best thing to ever happen to at-home manicures. Although they look similar to traditional nail polish, gel varnishes are a tad pricier but 100% worth the added cost, because they are chip-resistant and last at least 2 weeks.

No reports of major chipping until at least 7 to 10 days. Some color names are a bit misleading and affect expectations. Beetles 20-Piece Gel Nail Polish Kit, Spring into Summer Collection Check Price Most Versatile Bottom Line This large kit of mini gel nails includes every color of the rainbow. Great for the spring and summer seasons and for trying different looks. Kit includes pastels, neons, and much-loved glitter-infused shades. We love that you also get base and top coats in this generous collection.

Smell is also a factor that beauty product brands take into consideration. The more acetone a nail polish remover uses, the more it will smell like there was an accident in Dexter’s lab. There are labs filled with scientists whose sole activity is developing nail polish removers that work for you.

Should You Choose a Nail Polish Remover With Acetone?

Fill a small bowl with warm water, dish soap and salt and soak your hands in the bowl for 15 to 20 minutes. If the water starts to cool down, make sure to refill it with warm water. Once the time is up, dab your hands with a towel to dry them. The soaking process will not take the gel off, but works to loosen it. Use the coarse side of your nail file to file down your nails until they come off. Repeat the process if they don’t easily come off the first time.

Aluminum foil helps keep the nail polish remover localized to your nails and provides some protection for the skin on your fingertips. That isn’t to say some remover won’t find its way onto your skin, but it does provide some extra protection. Plus, you don’t have to sit with your fingers in a bowl for 15 to 20 minutes. Many nail polish removers contain acetone, but acetone-free options are also available. In our research, we keep in mind that acetone is effective at removing polish, but it can cause skin irritation and dry nails.

If you use gel nail polish, you have to soak each nail in pure acetone individually. You can place foil wraps or clips over your fingers and let the acetone do its trick while they’re on. If you use pads or wipes, you only have to press one wipe over each nail, and rub away until the polish starts to come off. For a more detailed look into how to use nail polish removers, let this video be of further guidance. There are typically no harsh ingredients in this type of nail polish remover.

This fast-acting gel nail polish remover gets rid of even the toughest polish. It can also be used on acrylic nails, as well as a cleaner or gentle solvent. This gel nail polish remover doesn’t have a strong smell like acetone.