Gel nail polish is among the most popular manicure techniques globally, which has won every woman’s heart due to its ease of processing and removal and its long durability.
Have you ever wondered if there are any effective and safe homemade ways to eliminate gel nail polish, especially sugar?
Can You Remove Gel Nail Polish With Sugar?
You certainly can. Cleaning gel nails polish using sugar is a popular approach these days. Because the processing of gel nail polish is simple, anyone may apply or erase it without visiting a salon.
Is it true that sugar absorbs nail polish? Yes, sugar can absorb nail polish. Once you massage sugar against gel nails, the friction between these two aids in the removal of gel polish from your nails without causing damage to the actual nails underneath.
Also, it works because ground sugar contains abrasive characteristics and softly buffs away the old gel polish.
However, the sugar must be correctly crushed for this approach to operate. The sugar particles in conventional granulated sugar are also too abrasive.
As a result, it may damage the nails once you are using it on the coffee counter. Thus, before applying sugar to the nails, ensure it has been chopped up.
How To Remove Gel Nail Polish With Sugar?
Preparation
- Two tablespoons of granulated sugar
- Any brand of grinder will do
- Cuticle oil (optional)
- Cotton balls
- A small bowl
Friendly reminder: All the items you will use in the following steps should always be cleaned and stored with care. After 4-5 weeks, you should buy a new nail drill or nail files.
Before applying
Wash hands
You should carefully wash your hands to eliminate any debris or bacteria accumulated on top. Because germs may quickly get below your nails, you had better wash your hands using a clean soap before starting.
Doing so will prepare your nails for elimination and prevent you from infection when you accidentally scratch any sections of the skin with sugar.
Before you begin, ensure the hands are absolutely dry; alternatively, the sugar may adhere to them.
Avoid biting your nails
Avoid biting the nails, picking them, or harming the cuticles in any way. The sugaring approach can irritate the fingernails, resulting in swollen nails and fingers.
Applying
Crush the sugar
In a grinder, combine two tablespoons of granulated sugar. It makes no difference what kind of grinder you use. Simply go to the kitchen and take out your grinder.
Even though any grinder will produce satisfactory results, many individuals get success using coffee grinders. In addition, unless you have a grinder, a pestle and mortar will suffice.
Crush the sugar for 10-15 seconds or when it becomes powdered. Remember that sugar should be finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as confectioners sugar, which is why you should not overdo it.
Once the sugar stays as harsh as it is in nature, it can harm your real nails. As a result, this step is critical.
Put the ground sugar in your bowl
Pour the powdered sugar into your prepared bowl once it has become powdery. When the bowl is wet, chances are the sugar may dissolve with water, and the removal process may fail. Thus, before you pour the sugar, ensure it is dry.
Apply sugar to the gel polish
Soak a cotton ball in sugar and set it aside. To gather a reasonable amount of sugar, dip the cotton ball in the sugar several times. Afterward, to avoid making a mess, you had better shake off excess sugar.
You will need to spend several minutes for each nail to dry. Therefore, lightly massage the cotton ball over the gel nail polish once it has held some sugar. Continue to rub in a circular movement while being gentle with the force.
Repeat with the next fingernails until the first one is complete. Next, put the cotton ball back into the sugar to move ahead with the next nail. Nevertheless, you will need to change the cotton ball since it will become coated by gel polish after a while, or else it will no longer work.
The friction between the cotton balls and your nails will gradually remove the gel polish. If you rub too hard, you may cause significant damage to your real nails.
Take several intervals
Avoid using force to remove anything throughout this procedure. Because the process will take you a lot of time, after several times, you should take a rest, which may improve your removal abilities. Alternatively, you can do other tasks while eliminating nail polish.
If not, your hand may ache, and you can not perform the treatment correctly. Massage the sugar using cotton balls till no nail polish remains on the nails.
After applying
Wash the hands
There will be no harmful chemicals on your nails because you have removed the nail polish with sugar. However, you should still take extra precautions to ensure that your nails are beautiful and healthy.
By dissolving with the sweat from your hands, sugar can become sticky. Therefore, after removing gel nail polish using sugar, you should wash your hands with warm soap and water.
In addition to having sugar on your hands, some nail paint may be left on the hands, necessitating hand washing. Next, using a cotton cloth, blot out any excess water.
Moisturize the nails
The whole procedure might be harsh on your fingernails and hands. Following that, use cuticle oil or your hand cream or lotion to replenish the lost hydration, assisting your skin and fingernails in relaxing and smoothing out.
You should apply cuticle oil to the nail and the region around it. If cuticle oil is not available, you can apply other oils to the nail and surrounding the nail, such as jojoba oil, olive oil, or vitamin E.
Allow your nails to breathe
This step is beneficial before applying any new gel polish or lacquer on top. Your fingernails and nails should be resting for two weeks at a minimum.
Keep the sugar in a safe place
After finishing, you should not get rid of your sugar. Simply preserve its crystals in your cupboard until you are ready to use them again. Nevertheless, do not repeat the process too frequently. It is suggested that you do it once a month.
Are There Any Methods You Can Use To Remove Gel Nail Polish?
Yes, of course. The use of sugar is not the only method for removing gel manicures at home. Instead, you may eliminate gel nail polish by soaking the nails in acetone, hand sanitizer, hot water with salt and dish soap, or rubbing them using a soft cloth.
However, the majority of these techniques include the application of a harsh chemical to clean the gel nail polish. Therefore, the disadvantage of these procedures is that they may injure your nails and skin.
For example, using acetone is the easiest way to get rid of gel nail polish at home. However, acetone appears to be harmful to your lungs when you inhale enough of it.
For this reason, in case you need a chemical to clean your nail polish, ensure you do so in a well-ventilated environment. Moreover, you should hydrate your nails and hands after finishing to protect them from the pollutants.
Overall, you can see that despite the fact that there are other methods for removing gel nail polish, using sugar is still favored by many individuals. It employs mechanical abrasion rather than chemical abrasion and, more importantly, it is fully natural as well as non-toxic.
Can You Eliminate A Gel Pedicure With Sugar?
The answer is yes, since sugar acts by gradually buffing your polish off; it will function on any gel nail polish, despite its placement. Therefore, using sugar to remove gel nail polish effectively affects your toes and fingers.
However, remember that the sugar technique will take more time than on your fingers, so be prepared to remain in a curled posture for 20-30 minutes to get your toes.
In addition, you may ask another person to assist you in removing the nail paint from the toes if you are unable to reach them comfortably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to heat sugar and immerse the nails to remove gel nail polish?
No, it does not. When you heat sugar, it becomes sticky, and you should not apply this type of heat to your nails. You may wind up injuring your nails and skin.
For this reason, do not try heating sugar and immersing the nails in it; this might be pretty hazardous.
What occurs when you remove gel nail polish?
Eliminating the gel nail polish means you are removing the gel and your nail’s layer. The eliminated layer acts as a shield for the remaining nail. Thus without it, the nail suffers significant damage.
When you get rid of the gel nail polish frequently, your nails may weaken over time, resulting in splitting and breaking. Thus, they will not grow as long as they used to.
Textural anomalies are also prevalent – if you see your nails growing lines and bumps, which is because of the damage caused by eliminating the topcoats of the nail. Since your nail can keep developing wrongly, these textural anomalies can linger for several months or years.
Color variants are also possible. Removing gel nail polish may cause white patches and fade the entire nail. The nails can become flaky, dry, discolored, cracked, and rough as a result of removing gel nail polish.
What are some helpful tips for removing gel nail polish?
Avoid having gel manicures back-to-back
You had better space out your gel nail polish because cleaning and reapplying gel nail polish may cause many tears and wear on the nails.
When you receive gel nails every two weeks, your nail plate becomes severely suffocated, which may result in nail dehydration and, finally, fracture.
As a result, allow your nails to rest between gel applications. It is also a good idea to get a professional nail expert to check the health of your nail between applications to see whether your nails can benefit from a break from polish.
Avoid leaving nail gel polish on for an extended time
Because gel nail polish may be worn for several weeks without chipping, extending your manicure’s life is appealing. To avoid harming the nail cuticles and beds, you should remove the gel polish after every two to three weeks.
Gel nails that last for too long can cause weaker nails and trigger potentially hazardous microorganisms.
As a result, it is necessary to keep in mind that when the gel starts to lift, moisture can enter the gel and potentially contribute to the growth of bacteria.
Cuticle oil is important
The flexibility of your nails can be used to evaluate nail damage: The more rigid and durable your nail, the more probable it will break. Because cold weather causes the skin to become drier in general, appropriate cuticle moisture may make a significant difference.
As a result, applying several drops of cuticle oil to the cuticles and nails will maintain them nourished.
We recommend the essie Cuticle Care Apricot Nail & Cuticle Oil as an outstanding cuticle oil. It comes with many great features making this oil attract millions of loyal supporters.
It features a combination of soybean oils and cottonseed that are supposed to soften the cuticles and intensively moisturize the skin surrounding the nails.
The aroma is likewise addictive, but the benefits are compelling enough to persuade you to use it frequently.
In fact, when you remove gel manicures at home, it is unavoidable for you to make several mistakes. If you do not want them to happen, you had better watch this video:
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