Have you reached the point during #stayathome self-isolation at which the beauty cracks are starting to show? Hands up who has a set of acrylic nails that need a bit of TLC? Until you’re reunited with your beloved manicurist again, here’s how to maintain your manicure, without damaging your nails or forgoing an expert touch.

How to remove a Shellac manicure

Shellac is actually a brand owned by CND rather than a generic term for gel polish, and can be more easily removed at home. This is because it’s permeable and the product you use to remove it can penetrate through the Shellac, lifting it without the need to break the seal with a file or scrape it off – two processes that can damage the nail surface. Here, CND education ambassador Nataliya Al-Ta’ai talks us through how to remove your Shellac manicure at home.

To remove your Shellac manicure, you will need:

• CND Foil Remover Wraps or cotton wool and foil

• CND Offly Fast or acetone

• An orangewood stick

• CND SolarOil or cuticle oil

1. Wash hands thoroughly and sanitise before beginning.

2. Take a CND Foil Remover Wrap or cotton pad and saturate the cotton part of the wrap with CND Offly Fast Moisturising Remove or acetone.

3. Fold the cotton pad over the top of the nail.

4. Wrap each side of the Foil Remover Wrap around the entire finger, ensuring a snug fit. If you’re using foil, secure it tightly around the cotton pad.

5. Repeat for all fingers. You may want to do this one hand at a time to make it easier.

6. Leave the wraps on the fingers for up to 15 minutes. The removal time depends on what Shellac top coat has been used by your nail professional. This will vary from five to 15 minutes.

7. Securely grip the Foil Remover Wrap around the nail, applying slight pressure, then slide the wrap off the nail.

8. If any product is remaining, gently lift it off with an orangewood stick, moving it in the direction of the nail plate’s growth. It’s really important to be gentle here – never force the product off of the nail to prevent unnecessary damage to your natural nails.

9. Finally, saturate a cotton pad with Offly Fast remover or polish remover and rub the nail to remove any remaining product.

10. Finish by applying CND SolarOil or cuticle oil to the nail and cuticle to keep nails hydrated and healthy.

How to remove a gel manicure

It’s a slower process to get gel polish to budge, and you will probably need to file or remove the top layer of it before wrapping your nails with foil and remover. Brands that offer gel include Red Carpet Manicure, OPI and Gelish. Nail technician and Louella Belle ambassador Jenni Draper explains how to manage your gel and acrylic manicures at home.

To remove your gel polish, you will need:

• 10 small pieces of cotton wool

• 10 squares of foil

• Acetone or gel polish remover

• A nail file

• Buffer

• An orangewood stick or cuticle pusher

• Cuticle oil

1. File or trim the length of the nails with nail clippers.

2. Use a nail file to score or file the top of the gel polish to break the seal.

3. Saturate a piece of cotton wool with your acetone or remover and place on top of the gel nail.

4. Wrap the nail and cotton wool in tin foil making sure that the shiny side of the foil is on the inside – this helps with retaining heat to help accelerate the removal process. Make sure that the foil is as tightly wrapped as possible; any air that can get into the wrap will evaporate the acetone and dry it out and this will prevent it from working effectively.

5. Now be patient! Wait 15 minutes before you remove the foil. If you remove it too soon, the gel will not have had enough time to soak.

6. After 15 minutes, remove the foil wrap. The product should have come away from the nail completely. Push any loose gel away from the nail bed with the orangewood stick. If there are bits of gel polish still attached to the nail, score over them again and rewrap them for another few minutes. Do not be tempted to pull them off – this will damage nails and weaken them.

7. Smooth the surface of the nail with a nail buffer, then file to your desired length, shape and apply plenty of cuticle oil.

How to remove acrylic nails

Acrylics can be removed in the same way as gel polish, but note that it will take a bit longer. You’ll need to leave them for 30 minutes before unwrapping the first time, and then rewrap and leave for a further 15 minutes. The most effective way to remove them is the soaking method.

To remove acrylic nails, you will need:

• 2 small glass or ceramic bowls

• 2 larger bowls

• Acetone or gel polish remover

• A nail file

• A buffer

• An orangewood stick or cuticle pusher

• Cuticle oil

• A towel

1. Place your acetone in a small glass bowl and place this bowl into a larger bowl filled with warm water. The warm water will warm the acetone, which helps to accelerate the removal process. If you have enough bowls, do this for both hands – if not, you’ll need to do one hand at a time.

2. Cut the length of the nails down with a pair of clippers.

3. File over the top of the acrylic nails with an abrasive file, not a natural nail file. Make sure you rough over the entire nail.

4. Apply cuticle oil to all the cuticles and surrounding skin to help prevent the acetone from drying them out.

5. Dip the nails into the acetone in the bowl, which should now be warm. Try not to put more of your fingers in the bowl than necessary as acetone is very drying on the skin.

6. Cover the bowls and hands with a towel to keep the heat in. Now wait 30 to 40 mins.

7. Remove hands and push the acrylic off the nail with an orangewood stick. If there’s still product on the nail, file over and re-dip until everything is removed.

8. Buff over the nails with a natural nail buffer and file the nails to required length and shape.

9. Wash hands, then apply hand cream and lots of cuticle oil.

And, if you’re considering attempting acrylic infills at home?

“I wouldn’t necessarily recommend trying to infill your acrylics at home but the next best thing is to file or trim the nails down to a shorter length, buff over the product gently and smooth it into the natural nail. Then apply a nail strengthener to the regrowth area to level the nail out. You can then apply nail varnish over the nails to cover up the regrowth,” suggests Draper.

Previously published on British Vogue