It's always a good feeling getting a fresh set of nails done but it can be a right pain trying to remove the stubborn press-ons without damaging your nails.
Well, it seems the age-old problem has finally been solved after one woman shared her genius hack on how to take off stick-on nails that won’t damage your natural nail bed underneath.
Talk about a life-saver.
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TikTok user Emilia, or @emiliabarlowe as she’s known on the platform, regularly shares nail care hints and hacks with her followers and her latest one is a total game-changer for anyone who loves a good press-on nail.
Check it out:
Press-on nails have come a long way over the past few years, and the designs and styles available now rival a salon-manicure.
And while it’s all well and good, given the nails don’t pop-off at inopportune moments, there's always a worry that when it comes to removing them, you could potentially ruin your own nails underneath.
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But Emilia has shared a simple solution to removing them with no fuss and, perhaps even more importantly, no damage to your own claws beneath.
In the clip, Emilia mixes up a solution of hot water, hand soap and oil, which she then soaks her hands in.
After soaking them for 15 to 20 minutes, she is able to gently remove the nail using a cuticle stick. Et voila - clean, fresh nails.
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In the video, she explains: "Tell me why I’ve been taking these little bad boys and just popping them off with my mouth, in excruciating pain, when I could have just soaked them in a little oil and water."
And Emilia’s tip has been a hit with her followers, with one person responding: "Omg I was literally ripping my press-ons off when this video came up on my fyp [for you page]."
Another asked: "Where was the video when I was taking them off this weekend?"
While a third commented: "I’m so glad I saw this! my latest nail glue is so strong you would swear it’s gorilla glue."
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However, it’s important to stress that this should only be tried with press-on nails.
Manicurist Jessica Lee told The Sun that if you have acrylics then you should consider 'going to a salon as you could cause harm to your normal nail bed if this isn’t performed correctly'.
She continued: "As for hard gel, these can’t be soaked off as they need to be filed down by a professional so they would never even budge if tried to remove at home."
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Lee added that the nails in the video are 'normally a lot easier to get off as the glue isn't as strong as professional use'.
Emilia herself also advised one commenter who'd recently taken their 'gel tips off' to 'never rip off gel/acrylics and get them professionally removed' and specified that this trick works 'only for press-ons'.
Rhiannon Ingle