Breezy Days: How to: Take Care of Your Nails After Gels

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July 26, 2016

How to: Take Care of Your Nails After Gels

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SallyStrong #CollectiveBias


I have been lovin' on gel nails for the longest time, but they take a toll on my nails! Some times I'm not good about removing the gels properly and taking care of my nails afterwards, which does further damage. I picked up the Sally Hansen Complete Care 7-in-1 Nail Treatment and Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil from my local CVS store to start my after-gels nail care routine. Below is how to remove gel nails with inflicting the least amount of damage, and then a "polish break" nail care tutorial. 


1. Put acetone on a cotton ball, place on nail, then wrap in foil
I used a basic acetone I had on hand, then placed the soaked cotton ball on my nail to then wrap in pieces of kitchen foil. I needed to get some help doing my second hand, but then I can let them all soak at the same time! 



2. Let all your nails soak for 5-10 minutes
The longer you leave them on, the easier it is to peel off the gel polish. Although, I got a bit restless after 5 minutes and decided to take off my foiled tips :)


3. Start peeling and chipping off gel coat 
This is the part where you need to be careful. You won't want to dig into your nail when trying to take off the gel polish because it will cause some serious damage! Make sure to grab a gentle tool or even use your other fingers to get right underneath the polish and peel upwards.


4. Sand down the rest of the gel off the nail & wipe with acetone
I used a fine grain nail file to sand down the gel residue, then I cleaned up the nail with a quick cotton wipe of acetone.


5. Prepare your cuticles by pushing back the nail bed gently and clip off stray cuticles
Use a tool to push back your cuticles softly, then clip off the stray cuticle skin around the nail to make sure you have a clean canvas!


6. Use Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil on nail and massage into nail bed
Brush this onto nail and nail bed to stimulate nail growth, moisturize, and care for dry brittle nails. This natural oil complex has vitamin E, wheat germ, apricot kernel, aloe, and panthenol which conditions cuticles. This is exactly what my dry nails need!




7. Rinse off excess oil with soap
Since I'll be applying a polish after using the Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil, then I'll rinse off my hands with soap and water to make sure the oil doesn't interfere with the polish. 


I want a natural look until I get my next gel set, but want to care for my nails in the meantime. That's why I love this Sally Hansen Complete Care 7-in-1 Nail Treatment since it serves as the following for my nails: top coat, base coat, growth treatment, strengthener, ridge-filler, brightener, and ultra-moisturizing nail treatment. Crazy awesome and efficient! 

It helps in restoring dry nails to a healthier and more beautiful set of tips in 3 days! The shine lasts up to 10 days and has the following ingredients to make my nails even more moisturized and healthy: avocado oil, sea salt, pomegranate extract, and calcium which fills in ridges. 



9. Enjoy beautifully clean nails and nail beds! 


How do you care for your nails when they need a "polish break"? How would you use the Sally Hansen Complete 7-in-1 Nail Treatment?


4 comments:

Krystal // The Krystal Diaries said...

I actually stay away from gel polish because after a few times my nails were so thin and brittle they hurt. I love the look of gel and how long they last but I can't do it :(

Unknown said...

I've never had gel nails before but I've seriously been considering it! I'm going to purchase some of those Sally Hansen products for myself first so that I'm ready for when it's time to take them off. I also heard Sally Hansen's gel manicure line is great! [client]

Ellen Ross | Ask Away Blog said...

I think every girl needs to read this post if they ever wanna use gel nails! Love it!
XO Ellen from Ask Away
www.askawayblog.com

Kelly said...

I had gel for many months and although I loved how they looked and how long they lasted....they were awful on my nails. It's been over 4 months and my nails are finally getting harder and growing! I use the same oil that you mentioned, nightly!