Here’s how you can better remove glitter polish and rock star toes.
Nail Polish
When glitter nail polish has to go, there is one tried-and-true method that never fails to remove all those pesky glitter flecks. So the next time a client complains that her glitter is too hard to remove, show her this technique and all your glitter problems will dissolve before you know it.
Glitter nail polish really sticks to the nail plate because the glitter flecks act as mini shields that protect the adhering base coat and polish underneath from the removal solution or acetone.
As Light Elegance lead chemist and CEO Jim McConnell explains, “You can think of the glitter as small, steel plates that reduce the ability of the solvent to attack the polish underneath and get it to be softened and removed. And you can even notice when glitter polish is being removed that the polish on the surface and in between the specks of glitter may be removed, but the glitter fleck remains on the nail because the lacquer under the glitter particle is still not being attacked by the acetone and thus is still adhered to the fingernail.”
The antidote?
Soak the glitter polish off in the same way you would a soak-off gel-polish.
Simply apply acetone to a cotton ball and apply it over the nail, and wrap with aluminum foil to keep it secure against the glitter polish. Allow it to sit for five to seven minutes, then give a firm twist and pull, and the polish comes right off.
The main thing is to be patient enough to allow the acetone to fully dissolve the lacquer in, around, and underneath the glitter.
It’s recommended to use pure acetone for glitter polish because of its rugged adhesion.
Gel-Polish
Unlike regular polish, glitter soak-off gel-polish tends not to be more difficult to remove than its full-color, soak-off gel-polish counterparts. This is because the base coats for soak-off gels are typically thicker than regular nail lacquer base coats, and they are also UV-cured, thus keeping the glitter flecks suspended further from the natural nail. So when the soak-off wraps are applied, they are able to get down underneath the glitter flecks to dissolve the base coat.
Rock Star Toes
Rock star toes, if they are done with soak-off gels (and not gel-polish), should have the top shine layer etched off with an e-file or medium-grit hand file before applying the soak-off wraps. And if they are not done with soak-off, use a sanding band or e-file to remove the product, but be careful not to file too far down.
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