Soaking off acrylics, need help!

[loulou84]

how long should it take to soak off a set of acrylics? as at the minute its taking me 1hr 15 mins, then the customer is also wanting a new set sos all in all it taking 2hrs 15 mins is that to long? and if so how can i reduce the time? thank you in advance

 

[ChicUnique]

You might be quicker to infill or rebalance them? I usually do that rather than soaking them off and doing a new set, so I'm not sure if that's too long or not I'm afraid xx

 

['chelle]

It takes me around 40 minutes to soak off a full set. Could it be the product you are using, or is your product application too thick? You could try gently warming the acetone by placing it in a small glass bowl, then placing the bowl into a larger bowl with hot water in it, this will speed up the process a bit.

 

[BeeBeautiful]

How are you soaking them off? Do you submerge their nails in acetone or wrap in cotton pads soaked then wrap foil round the nail? This is a much easier method and is basically nicer on the nail and fingers too. Try popping their hands in heated mitts, that'll help speed the process up. (make sure there is no leaking acetone or exposed elements as acetone is highly flammable.) c

 

[Welsh Nails]

You can also purchase a nail soak bowl, which you fill with heated water, like a hot water bottle, this in turn then holds acetone. Acetone works better when heated gently! ( NOT microwaved!!!!) used to be able to buy the bowl from a lady called Fiona on here, but I'm sure you can now get them loads of places. When the acetone is in the bowl, the client places the nails in and can gently rub the top of the nails against the rough surface of the bowl. Removal can be up to half hour with this bowl, but I never had a removal take longer than that!
You just need to check on the nails regularly to ensure that the product is coming away nicely and so you don't soak for any longer than you need to.

 

[Stephanie]

Hello, first off I am sorry you are having such a hard time removing these acrylics. Seems like they were put on too thick or was just not filed down enough before soaking in acetone!

Do you own an e-file, If not I would highly suggest you get one if you work a lot with acrylics. It will save you time filing by hand & hurting your wrists in the process!

The way I used to do it is the old fashion way! remove top coat or color if there is one & then file down as much as you can without causing any discomfort to the client. Once it is done I used the old method of acetone on a cotton swab wrapped with foil. Leave on for 15 mins & check back. If it was still not enough I would leave it on for an additional 15 mins.
By then it was ready & coming off with a bit of a buff.
TBH, I really never liked doing a new full set after removal. The nails are always thin & weak & so I always advised to just buff with a 4 sided buffer & buff it to a natural shine. Use a lot of moisturizer & then cuticle oil.

I wont lie, I once had a client that took me 4 hours to remove g-d only knows what she had on those nails. For all I know it was acrylic used by dentists to do a tooth filling. Why do I think it was that, because no matter how long I tried filling her nails down it just didnt budge! No matter how long I tried the acetone in foil routine that didnt budge either! By the time I was done I told her that her nails were so weak & so brittle all I would do for her was offer to buff them to a natural shine, moisturize very well & top it off with cuticle oil. She so thanked me for helping her & I couldnt wait til she left because it was the worst set I ever had to remove in my life! I cried so much I really questioned if I was in the right business because it never took me 4 hours to remove a set!

If it took you only 1 hour & 15 mins, it's fine, dont beat yourself up for it!
Just keep on doing the best you can to keep it from getting all bulky looking!

Hope this helped.

 

[beesam]

I too have had a couple of clients with these nails on and also took 4 hours to remove. Nail condition underneath was terrible and they both had no idea what was on their nails only that they lasted forever and were lovely and long! Both clients now changed over to Bio Sculpture never to return to the last salon!

Sam x

 

[Emily Case]

When I soak off a full set, I take the bulk of the enhancements right down (I used to use a hand file but I now use my e-file for this), then soak off the rest in 2 manicure bowls (warm water in the bottom compartment, then acetone in the finger holes).

Every 10 minutes I take one hand out, scrape off the gummy acrylic with an orangewood stick, then put it back into the acetone until it is off COMPLETELY so no filing of the natural nail to get stubborn bits off.

Heating the acetone helps to reduce the time it takes to get to work, and scraping off what is already gummy means the acetone isn't working on the stuff that it doesn't need to.

It takes about 30 mins in total to file down and soak off, then I apply a polish or buff & SolarOil to finish which takes another 10-15 mins.

xxx