How to Remove Acrylics Without Totally Destroying Your Nails: A Guide (2024)

I've committed quite a few beauty sins in my life: sleeping with makeup on, cutting my own bangs, popping my pimples—all the big ones. But the one that still haunts me to this day? Biting off my acrylic nails. TBH, I think my nails are still recovering from that trauma years later. But once I learned how to remove acrylic nails in a way that didn't completely annihilate my natural nails, my whole world was changed.

TBH, the safest way to remove acrylic nails is at a salon with a trained nail tech. But if you're desperate, there are some methods you can try at home that won't completely destroy your nails like biting, chewing, or picking them off would. Keep reading for a guide on how to remove acrylic nails at home (even including methods that don't involve drying acetone), plus some tips to keep your nails healthy afterward.

How do I remove acrylic nails at home?

To remove acrylic nails at home, an acetone soak is necessary to help lift up the acrylic. To that end, the easiest way to remove acrylic nails fast is to cover them with a cotton ball soaked in pure acetone, wrap your fingers in tin foil or nail clips, and let them sit for 30 minutes. The acetone will help break down the acrylics, so you can buff or scrape off the rest with an orange stick or cuticle pusher. As a ~hot~ tip (literally), try warming up your acetone before starting, which will help it work faster and more effectively on your nails. (Note: Acetone is incredibly flammable, so don’t microwave it—just run the bottle under warm water for a few minutes.)

The steps:

1. Carefully clip off your excess acrylics, cutting them as close as possible to your real nails.
2. Using a nail buffer, rough up the surface of the polish until the shine is completely gone. Removing the top layer helps the polish soften faster in the acetone.
3. Pour 100 percent pure acetone into a tray or bowl and soak your nails in it for five minutes.
4. With a metal cuticle pusher, gently push the polish off your nails, pushing from your cuticles downward.
5. Redip your nails for five minutes, then gently push again. Repeat until your acrylics have completely soaked off.
6. Buff off the rest of the smaller pieces with your nail buffer.
7. Massage cuticle oil into your nails to rehydrate them, then buff it into your nails with the soft side of a buffer. Finish with a final layer of cuticle oil.

Keep in mind that acetone is very drying for your skin and nails, so if you want a less easy approach that won't damage your nails as much, we've got you:

How do you take off acrylic nails at home without acetone?

To take off acrylic nails at home without acetone, you'll need a nail drill, which will help gently grind down the acrylic. "It's important to be aware that a drill should be used very carefully," nail artist Mazz Hanna previously told Cosmo. "Your nail artist should be properly educated on how to remove the gel with a drill since improper drill use can cause damage." Which is why it's extremely important to take caution and watch a ton of tutorials before trying it on yourself.

The steps:

1. Gently and carefully sand down the acrylics with a sanding bit, taking off the top layer of your acrylics.
2. Then soak a cotton swab with 100 percent acetone, wrap it around your nails, and cover it with tinfoil, until all your digits are swaddled in foil.
3. After 10 to 15 minutes of soaking, unwrap your fingers, then remove the excess acrylic with a cuticle pusher.
4. Rinse your hands and finish with a cuticle oil.

And if you've seen a bunch of TikToks about removing acrylic nails with dental floss or dish soap and hot water...sure, they might remove your acrylics (albeit, in a few hours), but they can potentially damage your nails too. I lost half a nail trying the dental floss trick on my acrylics, FYI, and dish soap can also be majorly drying. So if you're truly in a pinch, just go see a nail tech to get the job done effectively and with the least amount of damage.

How long do acrylic nails last?

Acrylic nails typically last two to three weeks before needing to be filled—aka touching up the bottom of the acrylic and your nail bed to hide regrowth—nail artist Rita de Alencar Pinto previously told Cosmo. However, if you fill your acrylics, you can usually get around four weeks of wear out of one set. Which brings us to...

How often should you fully remove acrylic nails?

You should fully remove acrylic nails after four weeks max, but this may depend on how fast your nails grow. “Your natural nails grow out regardless of how long your acrylics last, and you’ll start to see growth at your cuticle beds after two weeks,” de Alencar Pinto says. So even if you top your acrylics with gel nail polish and don't notice any chipping, the growth will still make your nails more susceptible to breaking, cracking, and snapping off, which, you don't need me to, tell you is painful AF and can damage your real nails.

Will acrylic nails eventually fall off?

Acrylic nails won't necessarily "fall off," but they can start lifting and cracking at the corners, which can cause them to peel off. Sometimes, if air gets under the nail, this can cause them to just pop off (like a press-on nail). But ideally, you would remove your acrylics as soon as they start lifting to avoid them being pulled off or falling off.

What to do with natural nails after acrylic removal?

After you remove your acrylics, your natural nails will likely be quite brittle and dry, so you'll want to give them from TLC. Layer on a nail strengthener every day for a week to keep your nails from breaking and smooth out any ridges, then brush a cuticle oil or serum around your nail beds to keep them soft and moisturized. You should also def consider taking a break from acrylics, gel polish, press-on nails, and even regular polish to give your nails some time to recover, especially if you notice any discoloration, cracking, splitting, or breaking.

How much does it cost to have acrylic nails removed?

At a salon, it usually costs anywhere from $10 to $20 to get your acrylics removed, depending on your location, the nail tech, and more. If you're getting a new set applied, of course, this would be an added charge.

Final thoughts:

Yup, you can remove acrylic nails at home without damage, so long as you take your time and use the proper tools (see above for our full guide). A good soak in acetone, plus lots of hand cream, should do the trick to get them off and keep your hands soft in the process. And never, ever, ever bite, chew, or peel them off, unless you want serious damage to your nails.

Meet the experts:

• Rita de Alencar Pinto is a nail artist based in New York, NY. She's the founder of Vanity Projects, a nail studio in New York City and Miami, FL. She was previously interviewed about how to make acrylics last longer.
• Mazz Hanna is a nail artist with celebrity clients like Halsey, Constance Wu, and Julia Roberts. She's also the founder of her own line of skin and nail care. She was previously interviewed about how to remove gel nails.

Why trust Cosmopolitan?

Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with six years of experience researching, writing, and editing nail stories that range from dip powder nails to fall nail trends to simple nail designs. She’s an authority in all nail categories, but is an expert when it comes to removing acrylic nails, thanks to years of making the mistake of peeling them off herself and dealing with the repercussions afterward. Now, she constantly interviews nail techs and dermatologists about how to remove acrylic nails (and remove gel nails) without damaging her nails.