Gel Polish Removal at Home
Hello Brun lovers, Caitlynn here!
Welcome to our first blog! I thought it would be fun to kick things off with one of our favourite services…GEL POLISH!!
How did we even survive without gel polish? I try and reflect on the days, but to be honest I just don’t want to. My life over the past seven years has been happily blessed with chip free, ultra shiny bliss. Most of the ladies I talk to have made the switch, but anyone that hasn’t typically has the same response as to why. THE REMOVAL PROCESS. It can look ultra intimidating, but I assure you it isn’t. With the right tools and education, we can do anything!!
We do offer removal of gel polish at the salon, but my favorite way to remove my gel polish is at home. However, its not so fun to do at home if you’re not prepared. I’ll kick this one off with a story that happened to me a couple of weeks ago and could very well happen to any of you. Picture this: Brun’s schedule is full to the brim. What month is it?? How long ago was my pedicure?? Yes, these were all things going through my own mind even though I literally work AT a spa. So, I go on our booking system and I hope and pray to find a pedicure appointment. All I can find is a tiny spot for a regular polish application. And no, not a gel polish application but a regular polish application. Scary. So, I take what I can get, beggars can’t be choosers. This spot however requires me to have removed my own gel polish at home. Easy enough, I always have all the supplies in a cupboard in my bathroom. Its 10pm, the night before my morning regular polish change, I realise frantically that I still must remove my gel polish. I was distracted by watching the first episode of the latest season of the Hills, important things going on over here in my household. Luckily, I have everything at home! Or so I thought...
I have been on a little journey of trying to make less waste, aren’t we all? I had recently switched to silicone baking mats to try and prevent using so much tinfoil. Are you following? Tinfoil is a KEY INGREDIENT in our removal process!!!! How could I, Caitlynn, an esthetician for 6+ years, have forgotten tinfoil. My hopes and dreams were crushed, and I had to message Jade in a panic saying, and I quote, “the Pedi dream is dead”. It was at that exact moment that I realised how important and amazing our removal kits are.
Some women feel more comfortable getting their first removal done by one of our estheticans. This allows them to see exactly how its done. The thing I love most about our removal process is that it’s a soak off method, which allows there to be no damage done to the nail. How we do it is exactly how you would do it at home! I have a printout of instructions on how to do the removal inside of each removal kit. That way, if you forget a step then it doesn’t matter at all! You may be sitting there reading this and thinking “I’m fine just booking the removal with my service”, well most of the time its so busy that its hard to find the spots for those removals to be added. We need the extra time to do the safe removal. Removing the gel polish yourself allows more opportunities for appointments, and big money savings over time! (My favorite!)
So, what’s in the kit and what are the steps? Great question! The contents of the kit include:
1. OPI Expert touch lacquer remover
2. A course nail file
3. Tinfoil wraps with cotton already attached to them
4. An orangewood stick
5. A buffer block
6. The instructions (of course)
First, you’re going to rough up the topcoat of the gel polish. This step is important because it allows the lacquer remover to penetrate through the gel polish more efficiently. Next, grab the tinfoil pieces and saturate the cotton area with the lacquer remover. Apply the moistened cotton tinfoil contraption to the nail and wrap the excess tinfoil around the finger to secure. Let this sit on the nail for 7-10 minutes. When you remove the tinfoil, you will see the polish looks all cracked and will start lifting. Use the orange wood stick to gently push the gel polish off the nail. If the gel polish is still resisting, don’t push the polish off aggressively. This means the polish is still adhered to the nail, so if that happens then it needs to be soaked for another few minutes. Once all the polish is removed, use the pink buffer block provided to remove any base coast residue, and voila, you’re free and ready for another gel polish service!
Thank you so much for reading this post! Anyone that knows me knows I’m a rambler, but hey, I’m passionate about esthetics!
Caitlynn
