Gel manicures are awesome…until they're not. Until you're three weeks in, your nail beds are grown out, and you're forced to either trek back to the nail salon to get them removed or—and it hurts us to think about this—painfully pick and peel the polish off yourself, resulting in hardcore damage.
But trust us when we say it *is* possible to remove your gel polish at home, if you've got the proper know-how. So to save your nail beds (and your sanity), we rounded up the five easiest gel-removal tutorials from the experts. Check them out, ahead.
1. With Cotton Balls and Foil Strips
2. With a Polish-Removing Steam Machine
3. With Disposable Rubber Glove Soaks
4. With Foam Pads and Finger Caps
5. With Gel Acetone and Reynolds Wrap
Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan, obsessively writing about new makeup launches, the best hair products (curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare formulas that really work for every skin type (follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.
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