Monday, September 20, 2010

5 minutes nail polish removal tutorial

Disclaimer: I am definitely recommending this method. I do not claim this as my own. I learnt it from Deborah Lippmann so I'll recognise her as the original source. However, the true origin of this amazing 5 minutes method is yet to be discovered.


Nail polishes are terrific when you don't need to remove them. It used to take me up to 30 minutes swiping the nail polish off using millions of cotton buds. It was both a waste of time and precious cotton buds that are needed for other great things like making sure my ears are squeaky clean. Too much info?

One bright and sunny day, I was browsing through my favourite nail blog (because I have no life), I came across a Youtube clip of Deborah Lippmann showing her quick and easy way of removing nail polish. That lady is a genius. I tried it at once and it worked so well. I've been using this method for a couple of months now and it has been unbeatable! Except with large chunky glitter like China Glaze Doll's House but maybe it was my fault since I applied 5 coats of the stuff. I've been introducing this amazing method to my friends and they all love it (the ones who tried). So here's a tutorial if you don't yet use this method.

Step one. Gather your equipment. You'd obviously need nail polish remover, I like mine acetone-free. It is purely psychological because as long as you're not consuming acetone, it won't do much harm. You nail polish is actually killing you more than your remover. Now that you've gotten your remover, get some cotton balls. They have to be BALLS. Not buds, not tissues, BALLS. Go out and buy a packet if you don't have any. They are so cheap and will last you forever. I only need 1 ball to remove both of my hands.
Now grab your ball. They're so fluffy. Unravel it into a strip.
It should come apart easily as the ball itself is produced by ravelling a strip like a snail shell.
Split your strip down the middle vertically into 2 strips. I am saving you money!
You can continue to split but I like mine with a little bulk. So now tear them into little pieces that are nail-sized. No need to be neat since this is all going to go into the rubbish bin anyway.
Keep tearing until you have a lot. I usually have 12-15 pieces. 10 for my nails and the others for wiping and cleaning up any bits of nail polish left behind.
Now you have the cotton pieces ready. Get your nail polish remover and pour it into the lid and fill it up like so.
Nice and smelly. Now take one of those cotton pieces (let's call it CP) and dip it into the remover. Don't dunk it in. Just dip in the edge because the remover will travel up the CP. Too much remover on the CP will dribble like crazy when you're pressing the CP onto your nail. It could travel up your hand all the way to your elbow. Happened to me before. Not a pleasant experience.
Press the wet CP onto your nail gently. It should be completely wet and cover your entire nail.
Do the same for all the other fingers. I like to do mine one hand at a time because I need the other hand to wipe the CP off.
Leave them on your nails for 1-2 minutes, give or take. That's the time where the remover is doing its job. This is similar to soaking your nails in remover but a lot less harsh on your skin. You nails will not absorb the remover. Like I said before, your nail polish would've killed your nails more than the remover. Next, grab a new piece of CP and wipe off the wet CP from your nail while pressing down with some force. Put some muscle into it! Do it from your nail bed to your nail tip. This way, your nails will not be damaged.
If you do it correctly, almost everything (if not everything) should come right off your nails.
I only have some polishes remaining on the sides because my thumb is flat, not curved like my nails, so I couldn't apply enough force to wipe the sides. Now repeat this for all the other nails.
This is with only one swipe. My index finger, middle finger and pinky are completely clean in just one swipe! This would've taken forever with cotton buds. Use your remaining CP to do the other hand and clean up any bits that maybe be left on your nails.
In the end, you'd have beautifully clean nails.
I even have a strip of CP left over. So that means I've used less than 1 cotton ball to remove all my nails.
I did time myself and found that I've completed the whole process in under 5 minutes, including the soaking time. So I don't think I'll ever return to the primitive cotton buds method ever again.

Just a few important things before I go:
♥ Never use tissue to remove nail polish. Tissue is actually quite coarse and will damage your nails.
♥ My nails used to peel even when I used cotton buds. With this method, my nails don't peel nor dry out anymore after removal.
♥ Always wipe from nail bed to nail tip. Swiping back and forth and/or in the opposite way will make your nails peel.

Now that it only takes 5 minutes for you to take off your nail polish, maybe you'd change your nails more often. Come on, I dare you.

301 comments:

1 – 200 of 301   Newer›   Newest»
Wypipo...Sigh... said...

I found this through another blog and it works wonders! I love it even more because I don't have to mess with aluminum foil, which seems so silly to me to use for my nails.

Thanks!

Joy said...

You have gorgeous nails! Wish mine would grow like that. And I will be using this method tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!

Joy said...

such a grand idea!

A1nettie said...

you just saved me a huge headache

Dianne said...

I just followed your instructions, but mine didn't actually come off with one "one" pass. Some nails took 1-1/2 to two swipes. I have a professional mani done once a week and on the 2nd day after I also top it with another top coat of clear "Essie non-chip top coat", so I actually have 4 layers of polish. Could this be why? But, it did come off a lot easier... I'm going to tell my manicurist about this and see if she'll try it. She uses the professional "cotton strips" and not the balls. Thanx so much for sharing this!

Anonymous said...

To remove glitter nails polish I use small squares of white felt as it holds it shape. It can also be reused. I think I might have to try this technique the next time to see what kind if results I get. Thanks

Tamara said...

Some tips from what I learned:

- Don’t put it in the cap like she does, mine had little pieces from the seal band and it caught the cotton dumping it over a couple times. {Side note: acetone will remove the painted finish from iron sinks…. oops}. I think I’m going to get out a glass shot glass and dedicate it for nail polish remover. REMEMBER: acetone will eat through most plastics!

-I am going to actually cut the cotton next time for a cleaner edge to sop up the remover easier.

-Don’t let it soak up too much remover, or when you go to squeeze the cotton off your nail you get acetone running all down your arm and all over the place. I think the cutting mentioned above will help eliminate this.

-She let hers sit on the nail for 1-2 minutes, I really only needed a good 45 seconds MAX after getting them all on the nail for it to take mine off. And I use a base coat, color, decoration, and then a top coat.

Beauty Tutorials said...

OH MY GOSH! This is the cutest thing ever!!! Gotta try this!

Anonymous said...

Great idea! Thanks for sharing! Your nails are beautiful!

Anonymous said...

give us the secret of how you grow such beautiful nails

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to try this. I usually only use one cottonball when I remove mine also.
Tip: Apply some remover to a cottonball an hold it on your finger for a few seconds. This works really great with glitter nail polish. (coming from someone who loves glitter).
~moemoe

Anonymous said...

why would you clean your nails with cotton buds to begin with?

Kate said...

Awesome! I need to try this :)

Kate said...

Awesome! I need to try this! :)

Nail Tech said...

Just use damn acetone, it works like magic and for the limited amount of time it's actually on the nail bed it can't do THAT much damage. Not nearly as much as the actual polish would do. Saves crazy amount of time than using non-acetone (unless of course you have nail extensions on - then stay away from acetone. Otherwise I say acetone it is, and with one swipe, regardless of cutting, and fitting nails with little cotton strips, you'd waste so much time fitting nails with said strips. Too much of a time waster for me.

Anonymous said...

Anyone tried this with shellac nails?

Anonymous said...

For shellac you have to use Acetone, wrap the nails with tinfoil and let sit for 10 mins.

My daughter uses this technique at her spa.

Anonymous said...

An easy way to remove glitter polish is to wrap your finger with cotton/remover & place a piece of aluminum foil around the tip of your finger. Let sit for a few minutes & pull all off while whipping the polish off. Easiest way i've seen to remove glitter

Anonymous said...

Shellac- I know you have to use acetone, just wondering if this technique of the cotton pieces (with acetone on them) laid on each nail would work the same/better than the tinfoil menthod

Anonymous said...

I thought this was how everyone removed nail polish! I guess it's only us Iowans! Lol

Anonymous said...

In the amount of time it would take to prepare the cotton ball,I think my method of holding a soaked pad on each nail for several seconds would save a lot of time and or frustration.
I have used the shellac (the kind that has to be cured under a light) and my tech just files/buffs it off with an emery board.

Anonymous said...

umm, "learnt" is not a word.... neither is "reconise"

wynterdawn said...

You MUST use the tinfoil for Shellac of any other soak off gel...I am a nail tech, trust me it won't work with out it!!

Nina said...

Actually, "learnt" is a word. It is used more commonly in the UK than the US. "Recognise" is also the common way of spelling "recognize" in the UK.

Anonymous said...

Really? All that wasted time? I just use acetone remover and get it done with. I also only remove the polish after about 10 days to 2 weeks. I just do the tips of my nails, and add more polish over. My nails are strong, and adding another layer of polish strengthens them. I have beautiful nails. I am always asked where I get them "done". I do them myself and they are done better than a professional manicure.
This was a waste of my reading time, but I did want to leave a comment.
(Besides, the same ones who are concerned about the acetone, are you the same ones using disposable diapers?)

anotheranonymous said...

Ithink "Anonymous" is cranky.....must be the acetone!!

marem said...

I second that "anotheranonymous"

This was a wonderful tip that she shared with us...why do people have to be disrespectful to others?

Anonymous said...

Love how ignorant Americans are-what a shame! Color or colour? Language is a living organism.

Anonymous said...

Great info. Thanks!

P.S. Wow, Anonymous, I think you may be over-generalizing a bit.

Anonymous said...

Nice tip, but that's a lot of writing. This should be a tweet, not a blog post. How about this:

Put acetone soaked bits of cotton ball on your nails for 1-2 minutes, then wipe off.

Done.

Anonymous said...

No it won't because the acetone will evaporate to quickly so it needs to be wrapped with foil.



Manicurest:)

Anonymous said...

Omg u need a new manicurest she is doing more damage to ur nail filing it off than just using acetone alone, I prefer to use OPI's expert touch remover it removes in 15min and conditions the nail at the same time:)

Hayden said...

Anger issues!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Why on earth would you try and remove nail polish with cotton buds? No wonder it took you forever... Cotton balls soaked with remover ? How ingenious! I've only been using that method for 30 years.

Anonymous said...

Only my opinion..but this seems pretty silly. It only ever takes me TWO cotton balls to get my polish off. By the time I got that stupid cotton ball unrolled and torn apart AND soaked...I could've already got my polish off the old fashioned way.

Anonymous said...

Careful. You are insulting well-read Americans with your stereotype.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why people take the time out of their day to leave rude comments on blogs. If you don't like what she blogged, then don't read it! If reading it was "a waste of your time" then please explain how typing out a rude and unneccesary comment is time better spent?

Anonymous said...

Please disregard all negative comments and blog on baby. I'm quite old and have never heard of this it was not a waste of my time. Thank you very much

Anonymous said...

wow All these anonymous people are confusing me. Oh well what's one more? lol I can't use acetone & the non acetone does take forever so I thank the blogger for this. I haven't tried it but I appreciate her time & effort!

PS to the other anonymous ... the rude ones ... get a life. If you are that all mighty to dislike her blog shut your trap & move on. Didn't your momma ever tell you "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all" lmao ... guess not. Go be all fantastic elsewhere, us losers enjoy being nice to each other & sharin the love!

PSS is this really the place to belittle one on their "grammar errors"? Really? Does it matter? I mean that was if in fact she was incorrect, which she wasn't, but you get it!

Have a good evening, morning & or day!

Thanks, C

Anonymous said...

Blogger offers a tip, and in roll the commenters who think ripping other women to shreds makes them look smarter.

Way to kill that 'catty bitches' stereotype, ladies.

Unknown said...

Thank you! Well said!

Jasmijn said...

Wow, awesome! Definitely going to try this! Thank you very much :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I found this blog nearly impossible to read with all the spelling and syntax errors.

Just Another Book Bitch said...

How very very cool!!!! I just did & love......how did people live before pinterest.........barbarians!
Thx for the post!

patricia said...

I love pinterest too , Terrie , however I believe that some pinners are the barbarians , I get so sick of people downing others efforts to share something they feel is helpful , why do some have to be so negative ? I loved her blog and thought it well written and humorous , her pis were lovely and nails with long nail beds just beautiful ....... as far as people with syntax ,grammer ,or spelling issues ,I much prefer that as to rude ,snide ,narcissisticly bitchy comments in perfect order ... I just don't understand why people have to be so mean , if a blog/post is not your cup of tea move on , and this is supossed to be a helpful fun medium not a english and grammer test , so what if we use run ons or bad spelling , or whatever look at the heart behind the comments ...

jandy said...

Love this idea. Naysayers go away. Don't comment on a blog with PMS or correct other people's grammar. How rude.

Anonymous said...

Ty for this...deffinantly gonna try

Alliemw said...

Love this. I never thought about tearing a cotton ball in pieces before, but recently had places biopsied for skin cancer and have to clean them daily with peroxide & water mixture. I was using cotton balls like crazy, then remembered this Pin and started tearing them in pieces. Saved lots of money. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

If you found this blog difficult to read perhaps that is a reflection on your reading skills rather than the bloggers writing skills. Haters gonna hate.

Anonymous said...

Before you go all "Strunk and White" on me, yes, I know it should have been blogger's.

Anonymous said...

I actually learned this in cosmetology 16 years ago and still use this method! WONDERFUL!

~Elizabeth aka Lacquered Lizard said...

I've been using this method with Zoya Remove for a few years now. I didn't read it anywhere, just decided I didn't need to use 3-4 triple sized cotton balls every day, (I know I'm not alone in daily polish changes.) I just thought I was being frugal. Thanks for sharing this, many will appreciate it.

singinpirate said...

Hey thanks for sharing. I don't have my nails painted often enough to have thought of this before, so this is good to know info. I'm also a little lazy, and while it's nice to have pretty nails, I hate having to take the polish off, so again very handy info. Thanks.

Patti Boehm Maulfair said...

We have twin hands!! Same shape fingers, nails (shape & length), even the same skin tone!! How cool is that?

Anonymous said...

Amen.

Anonymous said...

I was asking myself the SAME thing.

Anonymous said...

Pretty sure she's British. And over there learnt is actually a very commonly used word. We've just for the most part done away with it in America, kinda like how we dropped the u in colour.

Anonymous said...

Wow thanks!! this is the easiest method to remove nail color yet. Tried it to see if it really worked, and WOW it did! Only took one cotton ball too! This will make my "mood" maincure so much easier to remove (happens about every three days before I get in the "mood" to change the color and or design!). Thanks again for this info!

Unknown said...

So glad I came across your blog while I was on Pinterest. Finally an easy way to take nail polish off. I am going to try it. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend. :)
Janet Bernasconi
Janet's Creative Pillows
www.janetscreativepillows.blogspot.com

Tara said...

Such a fantastic idea! Will be trying this asap!

Anonymous said...

What a great tip! I wear glitter mostly and it takes forever, can't wait to do this!
And to the haters with the rude comments, WOW! Really??!! You understand no one made you read the post right. If you feel so strongly you really ought to grow up and quit living on your computer.

Anne said...

Thank you all so very much for your support and encouragements!

I am incredibly honoured that you guys have found it helpful. I was blown away by how well it worked the first time too. This is still my go-to removal method, even after almost 2 years.

Anonymous said...

Why wouldn't you? What a silly question! Obviously you don't ever take polish off your nails

Pink Pamalamma said...

Yes they are, they are the British spelling of "learned" and "recognize"...though there is a typo, with the "g" missing in her "recognise". Aside from that minor typo, these words are correct in British English. :P

Pink Pamalamma said...

Why be so rude? If you don't like it, don't read it. No one forced you to read this post or this blog in general. If you don't have anything of value to say, don't say anything at all.

Pink Pamalamma said...

I totally agree!

pixie duster said...

I don't want to be negative, but your nails make me HATE my nails! How blessed you are to have those beautiful long nail beds! Oh, and thanks for the tip on polish removal. Definately will try this.

Anonymous said...

Hi I'm with NailPolishCanada.com we're wondering about featuring some swatches in our newsletter. Please contact me at rachael@nailpolishcanada.com for details. Thanks & have a great day!

Unknown said...

Can i just say great idea, but your use of the English language is atrocious. Your grammar needs work and your spelling is awful. I cant believe someone would publish a tutorial without using spell check and someone to proof read it. Jusy a sign of our wonderful school systems.

Loi-Renee Letts said...

OMG. Why doesn't everyone know about this! And to imagine all the precious time I've wasted trying to get my nails clean. Thank you so much for this information. Now I'm looking forward to wearing my darker polishes more often. Those tend to be the hardest to remove.

Anonymous said...

Jusy a sign? Who proofreads for you?

Pam said...

This is a great idea. It makes me want to immediately paint my fingernails so I can remove the polish tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

OK.

Now I would like to address those who apparently belong to the ever-growing "SOCIETY FOR THOSE WHO POSSESS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH, GRAMMAR, AND EVERYTHING ELSE." I do not have the credentials to join such an esteemed organization, but I do have limited experience in the fields of writing and editing. For 35 years I have been a professional technical writer and editor for IBM. Consequently, I am beginning to grasp some of the fundamentals in these areas.

I carefully read Anne's post, then I carefully read it again. While there are a few misspelled words [I do not count words such as "color/colour," both of which are correct]. There are even fewer glaring grammatical blunders. I assure you that after all these years, it is impossible for me not to edit every single word I read, no matter what it is or where I read it. While reading this, I rewrote hardly anything and I enjoyed the subject matter more than I was annoyed by the content. It would be gracious of those of us reading the post to overlook minor composition boo-boos, and simply enjoy the information that Anne has been thoughtful enough to share with us.

Finally, it is my opinion that no flaw in this post comes close to the amount of rudeness exhibited in the bad-mannered and insensitive criticism directed toward Anne. Was this necessary? What is the result of all this pompous and judgmental abuse? Is Anne now certified to teach high school grammar, thanks to your helpful comments?

Listen. What has happened to courtesy? Respect? Simple friendliness, and kindness?

I guess it's just a sign of the declining civility among boorish people on the Internet.

Anonymous said...

Well said.

Kevin said...

Oh lawds. I'm a DUDE and I knows to use some cotton bawls! And I don't even wear polish. :/
Great back to basics, I guess.

PS: The nails WITH the wispy cotton actually look pretty cool, IMO. I think trimming it a little and using it decoratively (instead of to remove) could be a fun Halloween effect. :P
Kevin - Makeup Reviews
Good tip though, for those that don't know or aren't nailtechy.

Anonymous said...

These rude women that are criticizing this blog are obviously unhappy people that need a man or a happy pill or something. They need to get off pinterest where they bring people down and get a life!

Anonymous said...

First, great tip. I may actually wear polish more often because it'll be easier to remove instead of me picking at it over the span of several days...'cuz that's oh-so-attractive.

Second, preach it Pam! Really, people, this isn't a speech before the UN televised to the world. It's one person kind enough to share something she found helpful...about **removing. nail. polish.** Surely you have better things to do. And if you don't, it's time to turn off your screen and go outside.

Lia said...

Anne, thanks for posting this. Pay no mind to those who bullied while they were young and never grew out of it or were bullied themselves and are wanting to return the favor. Folks like Ann Chabal teaches us some valuable social lessons we can only hope they, themselves, will one day learn.

Anonymous said...

To the one who wrote the article- "learnt" is not a word. You sound like an ignoramous!

Anonymous said...

Learnt is used commonly in most English speaking countries except America.

Anne is from Australia where colour is also correct.

We also spell the following differently:
organise not organize
aeroplane not airplane,
behaviour not behavior
catalogue not catalog
metre not meter

And there are hundreds/thousands more examples of differing spelling and grammatical structures. We generally use a form of the English language that lies more closely to its British origins.

This blog reads just fine for what it is - free information on the internet.
People that read blogs and expect them to be proofread are idiots. If you want a guarantee something has been proofread then spend some money and buy a book or a magazine, don't lynch bloggers who mostly do it for fun, not to fleece you of money.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I especially appreciated the extra tips about rubbing one way. I tend to scrub things to death. No wonder my nails are such a mess!

Anonymous said...

Yes, the old saying holds true: "If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all." I appreciate the tip! Obviously the people that clicked on this blog were looking for other ways to remove fingernail polish easier. And was kind enough to inform you of the method that works best for her!

Anonymous said...

Im so doing thiss!!! Thank u so much :D now i dont have to recycle my CP hahah i would use atleast 3-5 to remove all the nail polish. Trying this tonightt!!

Anonymous said...

Agreed! You're spending way more time writing a nonsense comment than you ever would splitting cotton balls. Don't like it? That's fine, but no need to get all grumpy about time when clearly you have enough to complain!

Anonymous said...

I'm confused on how taking nail polish off with nail polish remover and a cotton ball takes more than 2 min...what nail polish are u using that it takes half an hour? This seems waaaay more time consuming.

Elizabeth said...

You are amazing i can not believe this actually works thanxs for the tip!
LOL

Mandi said...

I just tried this and I couldn't believe it!!! I never like wearing nail polish on my fingernails because I HATED taking it off!! This is so simple and I will NEVER go back to 5 paper towels or 10 cotton balls or whatever else I used. NEVER AGAIN. Thank you so much!!!!

Bstrung said...

Great! Off to try it now.

Anonymous said...

I like your comment and agree with those who know how this works...take what you want, share/pin/post) what you like, and walk a way from it if you don't like it!

Anonymous said...

Lol what I was thinking!

Anonymous said...

Her spelling was fine. She's from the UK, not USA. They spell things differently. They would say they use Proper English, not Americanized English. lol Kudos to Anne for taking time out and putting such effort into helping others make a tedious task more bearable.

Anonymous said...

You clearly have the time to bitch and moan... why dont you find something productive to do w your time?

Linda said...

It's a great idea. I should certainly try this and will advise to all my friends. They will like this method :)

Sarah said...

You have BEAUTIFUL hands & nails! Thanks for the blog!

Anonymous said...

well done! i shall try this soon. my main question is What colour polish are you sporting in the pictures? it is quite a grand colour and i've been seeking a medium green such as yours.

Unknown said...

What in the world is going on with this blog??? This woman just gave a wonderful tip that she kindly shared with others. I am quite sure she did not expect to be belittled, put down and humiliated by grammar snobs. We are not all from the same country and there are different forms of spelling in other countries. Instead of being so full of yourselves, try not leaving ANY comment if you are that self-righteous and hateful.

Nancy said...

I love the idea and plan to use it next time. (I'm out of remover!!!)

Lou said...

This is a wonderful idea, thanks for taking the time to share with everyone! I can't wait to try this!

Anonymous said...

Works every time! Thanks!

Jen said...

Fantastic blog. I'm not one to normally sit and read them, but this one really applied to me and I'm grateful for the post. Good for you for putting this up there for anyone to see and don't let anyone make you think twice about posting anything else. Keep it coming with your useful tips!!

Julia said...

@Deborah Cleveland-Eddy is absolutely right. There is no reason for people to be so rude to someone. If nail polish is a hot button issue for you, it's time to get a life. BTW - the author's profile says she is in Australia, so her spelling is appropriate for her part of the world.

Anonymous said...

acetone is absorbed through the skin and can damage you liver

Cheryl said...

I intend to use this method tonight. I want to be certain to tell Anne that I appreciate her efforts and have no complaints about her grammar, spelling or syntax. Those of you who feel the need to be rude and obnoxious, stifle the urge next time. You're stupid is showing.

Anonymous said...

I would use this but cotton balls just give me the worst goosebumps/chills from just picking them up or even looking at a picture of them, much less pulling them apart XP

Anonymous said...

Cotton buds aren't practical at all.. They're so small. I've never even considered using them lol. Cotton balls are the only thing I've ever known anyone to use for removing bail polish.

Anonymous said...

muchas gracias!!! this is a great, practical and wonderful idea.. I am going to try it!! thanks a lot..

Anonymous said...

umm.. it takes like 45 seconds to remove polish if you just wipe it with a tissue dunked in remover.... am i the only one who has no trouble with this?

Anonymous said...

I want to try this. The ONLY thing I have to add is, it is NOT learnt...it is learned!! For crying out loud will you people learn ENGLISH.....if in AMERICA!! Go to school and get your face out of your telephone!

Anonymous said...

This is amazing! Work's like a charm.
one suggestion I have is, you said that this doesn't work for the sparkly nail Polish, but the only thing I've found to really work for sparkly nail Polish is acetone. It takes it off easy. But if you're opposed to using acetone then you can just ignore this suggestion!:)

Anonymous said...

Great idea , i'm happy to have found it !! I have try it and it's so easy to do and the nails are very clean !! Greating from France !

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip. Keep up the courage to continue to share for those of us who appreciate your efforts to help others, and please ignore the rude people who complain about the post being a "waste of time" and then go on to waste more of their time making rude and catty comments.

Ketutar said...

Hi, Anne! :-)

Leaving a comment as you wished.

I saw this on Pinterest, too, and had to come and see if this was some sort of joke... Had eyes big as tea saucers when I saw you remove the cotton with nail polish. 8-o I can't believe this works! Dang!
Thank you for sharing this! (Even when there are people on the planet who obviously knew this already decades ago but didn't bother sharing... So - even more thanks :-D
Going to polish my nails right now so I can test this :-D

I also adore your nails :-D

And about some comments... wow... Learns me not to read comments on other people's blogs... 8-0

KristinaDeath said...

Awesome Thanks For sharing this great tip!

xo Kristina
http://kristinaxdeath.blogspot.com/

eveangel100 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
eveangel100 said...

That's pretty cool! Wish that would work for gel polish (aka Shellac). I do my own gel manicures (you can buy everything on Amazon, it's really easy). I know you're not supposed to, but I wait until my gel polish has grown out for a few weeks and is starting to lift, then I just peel it off. It actually doesn't damage my nails that much - and I think it's way better for you than soaking your fingers in acetone. I read somewhere that it can cause nerve damage in your fingers.

Anyways... to my fellow Americans who have a problem with her spelling: get over it. She's obviously not from America, she said "rubbish bin" and "cotton buds". If that isn't a tip off for you, then you're a twit! ha

And really? Her spelling and grammar isn't poor at all! Everyone knows that people in UK, Australia, and Canada put the "u" in colour and other words. Sheesh.

Unknown said...

saw this pose on MyGlam, i think this ia a great idea, it'll slove my nail polish removing problems :) thanks for sharing :)

xoxo
Lots of Luv from Ruth
I'm following you :)
Please check out my blog and follow if you like :
http://tboruth.blogspot.com/

Joanne said...

I was skeptical but tried it on my toe nails and was happy with the results. I only used one cotton ball for all ten toes and the dark polish just slid right off! Usually I use a ton of cotton balls soaked with remover.

Thank you!

Jessica - RiotDemon said...

I always use this for glitter manis.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I've always used cotton balls to remove my polish, then I'd use cotton buds to remove any remaining polish around the edges, if needed.

Anonymous said...

The author is from Australia and it is therefore learnt. Take 30 seconds to scan the comments and you would know this. Now don't you feel smart?

April said...

Just a few notes. I've been a nailtech for 25 years so I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions. This is a great at home method albeit a little time consuming. You can achieve the same results by holding the cotton ball on the nail for about 15 seconds and then wiping without having to spend the time shredding the cotton. Don't over saturate the cotton it makes the cotton slick and less effective at "scrubbing". Also, there are several terms being tossed around here. There are 3 common removers. Non- acetone polish remover, acetone polish remover, and pure acetone. Please don't confuse acetone polish remover for acetone. You cannot remove artificial nails or gel polish such as the brand name Shellac effectively with acetone polish remover. You need pure acetone. The reason by the way a lot of techs don't use cotton to remove polish is fuzz. ( it is our enemy. Lol) Pure acetone is a chemical ketone naturally produced by our bodies during digestion and respiration processes. Obviously we use a synthetic version. It is not evil. It has a high evaporation rate which makes it very drying. It does not cause nerve damage, kill your liver or melt all plastics. I buy acetone in a plastic container. It can cause nose and throat irritation and should not be inhaled. It is difficult for your body to absorb acetone due to the high evaporation rate even soaking in it. I do not like non-acetone polish remover because it is not as effective, has a much longer evaporation time leaving the other chemicals on the skin longer and because of this can soften artificial nails. And last but not least none of these removers are strong enough to break down the keratin in the nail plate to damage the nails. Over drying of the nail plate can cause moisture to leave the nail plate, seperating the layers. The direction you remove polish has nothing to do with this. I don't want people to feel responsible for peeling nails when it can be so many things such as diet, medications, heredity, and cosmetic products such as polish ( which is very drying), facial creams with AHA's and BHA's. ( I'm also an esthetician). Over all these are great tips. I just hate the fear mongering people do over chemicals they do not understand or work with. So please remove away with confidence! And enjoy your polish and gel polish. One way to offset the drying effects of polish and gel polish is daily cuticle oil which CND (the makers of Shellac) recommend. (and no, on a properly prepped nail plate it will not make your polish lift) :)

April said...

Oh and one more thing, that poster was right. Gel polish such as Shellac should NEVER be filed or buffed off the natural nail EVER. It can be buffed off artificial nails which for obvious reasons cannot be soaked off. If your tech is doing this find another tech.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Just thought I would point out this post is now 2 yrs old. Thanks to pintrest it has gotten its 2nd wind. Having said that I would also like. To point out this blogger is a lovely young lady who at the time of this post was still in HS in Australia and yet many chose to blatantly bash her with their ill placed opinions on pretty much everything. Shame on you ladies. Way to be a role model for are youth. Anne, kiddos to you for not letting it stop you from writting several more great posts.
From One of the Guys (trying to be at least)

ChilledOutAnony said...

I read through the comments, and I am so confused by the people who are angry by this... I don't get why they had to spew their anger and vitriol. It didn't accomplish anything. You didn't delete it. People, like myself, still find it to be a nifty idea. (Although, I prefer the idea of using reusable felt, but I also like the idea of doing each nail at the same time.) Meh, live, learn, combine techniques. If I find information I don't want to use, I move on. It's all good. Everyone needs to just chill out, pet a kitten or puppy, or get a hug, or just have a nice stroll; just enjoy life. Fighting online is pointless.

Anonymous said...

I was picturing someone running to a cotton plant to pick buds, what a strange thing! Apparently "buds" are swabs (British English vs Amer), aka q-tips. Yeah, using the element of time works wonders in cleaning, not just for nails. Great nails and great demo!! =)

Anonymous said...

So the extra piece of CP that is used to wipe of the nails, is it soaked in nail polish remover or dry?

Unknown said...

Amazing idea. Just keep it simple that's the trick, I must keep this in mind. Thx for thinking of it

rayna said...

I love it!

Gotta say..(does my spelling and syntax bug you? Hehehe) it really shows how poorly you read and understand what your reading when you complain about this blog entry. I didn't even notice the spelling errors. Or lack of...DER!

Unknown said...

If you do it right, I use 2 basecoats (one to nourish & one adhesive) usually 2 coats of polish, then a topcoat. Sometimes I add nail art as well. I think this is a GREAT idea. It usually takes me 5 cotton balls & a half hour to remove mine. Why so negative?

mimiyuyu said...

I use a base coat, 2 coats of color, a quick dry top coat, more nail polish for nail designs and then another top coat. I do the quick dry in between because as a mom of 3 I usually have ONLY ONE chance a day to do my nails. So now with about 6 coats of polish on my nails it DOES take up about 15 minutes the traditional way to take off my polish and also using up like 12 cotton balls.

mimiyuyu said...

OMG I just used this method and .. it came out great. I use about 6 coats of nail polish. Only 2 of my nails required extra swipes but I still only used 1 cotton ball to remove both of my hands AND it only took like 3 minutes tops. Love this method now.

mimiyuyu said...

I used a dry one

Relyn Lawson said...

You have the most gorgeous nails. NOT FAIR! :^)

April @ illistyle said...

you have beautiful nails! Great tutorial. Brilliant.

Anonymous said...

This is a great way to remove polish.. The origin of it though most likely leads back to the polish removers makers. This is actually how you are supposed to remove polish, or it was when I used to do my nails all the time over 40 years ago. I was one of the first black nail polish wearers when I was about 16. It was hard to find.. You kids nowadays are so lucky. But anyways I never took the time to tear the cotton into so many little pieces. Maybe in half or quarters. Cotton balls are so cheap. But thanks for posting this because I keep telling my daughter to do it and she just looks at me like I don't know what I am talking about. Now I can show her this and say see.. I was right..lol

Ashley said...

works like a charm! Great way to quickly get off glitter polish

Vero said...

Amazing!!!! thank you!!

Unknown said...

Some people are so critical! If you think it is a waste of time, DON'T DO IT!! This person is only trying to be helpful. Also if she wants to use acetone free remover, leave her alone about it!

Anonymous said...

Love it! I never knew why my nails pealed! U actually taught me a lot! I just thought I had bad nails! Haha thanks for ur great post!

Jessie - Nailed it NZ said...

You're a genius! I have such issues with glitters and the tin foil method is a pain. I have glitter polish/gradient on at the moment, so I'll try this when I take it off. And seriously, you have some of the rudest commenter's I have ever seen. The nail blog community is nice - obviously these trolls crawled out from under some other bridge. I'd just delete them if I were you!

Baylie Rheannon said...

This confuses me on how to do this. Someone should make a video so I can visually see.

Unknown said...

This is confusing to me. Someone should make a video so that I can visually see

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips! I didn't know the things about not wiping with tissue or in certain directions to prevent peeling nails.

Jenice Armstead said...

I can't wait to try this ... Thanks for sharing :)
Jenice

Anonymous said...

I thought this was how everyone removed polish, well, what April the Nailtech said anyways. Good post though.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Anne, this works, and gentle too. I came here for a removal tip, but I swear it's like Days of Our Lives on here! Can't stop laughing at the bitchy comments, some women must be real bored huh?!! LOL
Thanks for the tip chicky, there are a lot of smiles on here for you.
From V
Australia :) :) :)

Anonymous said...

Lol that's what I was thinking too. This seems really time consuming. And reference is continually made to "killing" nails. Nails are already dead, extensions of dead cells, just like hair. So really, the only potential for damage is mechanical or physical. Any other nail issue is usually related to something internal, not the polish or remover that you use.

Anonymous said...

Ugh I have the SAME problem, I use paper towels or toilet paper :( and It takes forever

Lady Bug said...

Very clever! We were hoping you'd be willing to review our product, the Lady Bug Nail Polish Holder

Anonymous said...

I'm going to try it when I use dark polish! It seems to take forever to get that stuff off , but I love it! Ha!

If we spent half the time showing kindness as we do judging others, the world might be a little more pleasant! Don't forget to look in the mirror and see that we all have areas to work on before we start pointing fingers!

Thanks Ann!!

Anonymous said...

I don't know if there is much point in adding a 153rd comment, but I will anyway. Anne, your post is so cute! I love your sense of humor and detailed instruction. Thanks for being sweet and helpful!

Megan

Anonymous said...

I found this on pinterest and had some chipped shellac on my nails and was the middle of the week no time to go get them fixed so I tried this method and wow!! Even worked well with the shellac and tried with just reg polish a couple days later.... I must tell you that I was glad I read this! So simple and I used less than half of one cotton ball and very very little polish remover.... Just as you said I too will never go back to the "old" method!! THANKYOU!!!! ~ Jenna Siegle

Jenice Armstead said...

Okay ... I tried this and it TOTALLY WORKED! I love it ... it works for your toes too. You pretty much do the same thing only I use a few more drops of remover to get ALL the layers of polish off ... WOW... this makes doing my toe nails FUN AGAIN!!! Thanks GIRLIE!

All the Best,
Jenice
www.jenicearmstead.com

elizabeth ann said...

Another tip: be sure to wash the slight residue of remover off your nails before repolishing...it will make your new polish last longer without chipping or flaking.

Anonymous said...

In all forms of English, cotton swabs or buds are the correct terms, "Q-Tip" is a brand. FYI, so is Kleenex (they make tissues) and so is Heinz (they make ketchup aka catsup). But then again, you DID say "American English", didn't you? ;)

Jennifer Dudley said...

Thanks for the tip. Can't wait to try it. The pictures are awesome!

Anonymous said...

Im not being rude, I promise. It's just that I learned this awhile ago and was happy to know this info later, so I thought I'd share...
PS stands for Post Signature; so besides he fact that your PS was before your signature, because PS is now used as a "slang" intro for interesting but random information the does not relate to previously addressed topics, if you have 2 PS's, it should be PPS, rather than PSS. This way you are saying that it is after the Post signature(pre is before, post is after-I'm sure you were aware of this), rather than the Post Signature Signature, which would just be one's signature.
I just thought id let you know :)
So instead of PS, then PSS... It should be PS, then PPS, and is there are more than PPPS, and so on.
God bless!

Unknown said...

This is amazing! I came here from pinterest with very low expectations, but this is basically magic! I will have to give it a shot. Also, thanks for the tip about peeling nails. I never considered that could be a cause.

(P.S. You're hilarious.)

Unknown said...

In America Brand names do become common place nouns. In my house Cuties ate now the preferred nomenclature for mandarin orange

Anonymous said...

Potato potato... lets call the whole thing off ;) - ignorant American with a PhD

Anonymous said...

"What in the world is going on with this blog?".....lmao....too funny. I think when people are unhappy they fling it in all directions.

Unknown said...

Ahhh, I hate doing this. But I hate it even more when someone tries to correct someone, and has only marginally correct info to do it with.. PS is not post signature. It's post SCRIPT. Meaning after the main body of the writing - usually a letter. There is absolutely no requirement that it be placed post signature. So you were not not wrong, but you weren't not not right.

I would have never bothered to make a grammar nazi post, ever, in my life, had I not become completely sick of people posting simply to correct grammar. I don't understand. "For the love of God you spelled wrong because it's not AMERICAN!".. Seriously? People actually do this? I'm not familiar with this area of the internet - my fiancee left the page up - but is this really how people are now? If so, I'm disappointed..

Oh, Anne... Thank you for posting this great idea and sharing with others, you will help my fiancee save tons of cotton and time! :) Ignore people who can't make a meaningful contribution, or say thank you for taking the time to share this for the benefit of others. :)

Anonymous said...

Then we will be sure not to sit in a bathtub filled with it.

Anonymous said...

Great idea! You have awesome nails!

Anonymous said...

Note to self: If ever I decide to blog make sure comments are turned off.

Anonymous said...

Thanks For sharing this.

girlsheartnailart said...

for those of you saying "by the time i have the cotton cut and ready i would have had my nail polish off already." why don't you keep a stash of already cut cotton balls in a baggie ready for you to use? that way everybody wins. but thanks for being children, it was great entertainment

wanda said...

HONEY, Ignore the ignorant people in this world. Instead of keeping their comments to themselves they had to show their ignorance and how cruel they can be. Just keep up the good work. God Bless You, Wanda

Anonymous said...

To get off glitter nail polish easily, just put a thin layer of Elmers glue on your nail, then a base coat, then your glitter polish. When you want to take it off, just grab a cuticle pusher and push from the nail bed down & it should come right off.

Apriljoy said...

Omg.. I've been taking nail polish off wrong my entire life... better late than never though!

Apriljoyyyy.blogspot.com

shawn52 said...

How To Remove Nail Polish Naturally

Anonymous said...

Well aren't you just a snotty know-it-all little twat! You couldn't just thank her for the info and keep the "I know better" bits to yourself? Rude silly bint.

Anonymous said...

The acronym "P.S." stands for "Post Script," not "Post Signature," as you incorrectly stated. And the abbreviation for "I would" is "I'd," not "id."

Sentences end with punctuation (such as a period), not an emoticon. I learned this a long time ago and just thought I'd share it with you. After reading your comment, it's apparent that until you learn to use punctuation, you have no business correcting anyone about anything. And FYI, the addition of an emoticon doesn't make you seem like less of a jerk.

I just thought I'd let you know. Period. :)

(Doesn't feel so nice to have strangers correct you for no good reason, does it? Especially over such petty, unimportant bullshit. You should remember that the next time you feel the need to spout off online.)

Anonymous said...

A. "Learnt," according to Webster's, Funk & Wagnalls. AND the Oxford English Dictionary, IS a perfectly proper and acceptable past-tense. form of the word "learn."

B. It's spelled "ignoramus," not "ignoramous." You may have failed at maliciously correcting a stranger on the Internet, but you've passed IRONY with flying colors. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

...and those extraneous periods are. the result of a malfunctioning keyboard, not an inability to. use proper punctuation.

Anonymous said...

^^that wasn't nice . She was just giving tips because her exact way may not work for everyone .

shawn52 said...

How To Remove Nail Polish Naturally

lolo said...

By the time I read this and do all the steps, it would have taken twice as long to remove my nail polish. Why do people make easy things more complicated? Oh! So they can blog about it and be hip!

Anonymous said...

I'll try this next time

Anonymous said...

does this work with the sparkles because sparkles are HARD to get off.

Anonymous said...

Thank ya fer writin this blog. It sure be mighty nice to knoe. Ive never learned anything lyk it before... haha. Stick that in your juice box and suck it, you egotistical grammar Nazis.

Seriously, this really is a neat tip. I paint my nails a lot, and it's a pain in the buns to remove nail polish for me, because I use like 1000 coats.

Anonymous said...

All this bickering over nails and cotton balls/buds--get a life people.

Anonymous said...

it takes longer to rip up the cotton ball and then wait. i don't get it. they are cheap... anyways, let me know when someone finds a way to easily remove the glitter ones. lol...

Unknown said...

Amen!!!

Unknown said...

LMAO! Speak for yourself. I, for one, plan on soaking luxuriously in an enormous bathtub filled with acetone while simultaneously smoking a cigar. A big, fat one. I'm pretty sure my liver won't notice.

Anonymous said...

But you read it and commented on it, too, didn't you?? LOL!

Lena said...

Wow, people are terrible! Great post, thanks for sharing it. So sorry you had to deal with all of the super rude comments!

Anonymous said...

Please don't be afraid of acetone. It is just as safe to put on your skin as rubbing alcohol and as long as you don't chug a pint glass full of pure acetone you will be absolutely fine. The acetone in the nail polish remover at the store is diluted with water. I just go to work and squirt lab grade acetone onto my nails. The polish comes off in about 5 seconds, but the next time I am trying to remove polish at home I will try your method!

Lou said...

I have read this and I love this. I will be doing this from now on. My nails peel and I can never understand why but I love having colour on my nails.

Thank you so much.

Lou

www.thekeypieces.co.uk

OzarksUSA said...

I love this idea!


http://ladyoftheozarks.blogspot.com/

lindsay elizabeth said...

Who uses cotton balls or even uses q-tips. Use face pads and it comes of with a little rubbing. Literally takes minutes to seconds...this process is a huge waste of time unless you use glitter. I use base coat, 3 paint coats sometimes decoration and top coat and have never had a problem before. You must have a lot of time on your hands to spend 5 minutes just removing you poliah. Takes me that to do the whole process pretty much!

Anonymous said...

They are words from the land where English was actually invented! Right here in good old ENGLAND! And the typo is yours, she wrote "recognise". They are also the correct spellings in other English-speaking countries like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. It seems like it wasn't just tea that was thrown into the sea in Boston, grammar rules also........

Anonymous said...

I thank you for your post! I have now changed my polish every week for 6 weeks thanks to you.

I feel bad that people have been so rude to you and hope you will disregard their ignorance.

Cheers for a great day!
J

Stephanie B said...

I love reading the comment section of posts like this because you can always get even more tips. Something I have learned along the way is that one way is not always the best for everyone. I was excited to read 195 comments with hopes of picking up a few more. What a disappointment to read all of the B.S. Too bad, this should have been more fun. A spirited debate on polish removing. To the too few people who chose to add something meaningful, thank you. I do the normal base coat, 2 coats color, followed by a top coat. Essies 3 way Glaze works for me. I don't have too much trouble taking off polish but have a few new ideas to play with.

Anna, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Amazing! I can't believe how rude people have been in your comment section- seriously, you don't have to take that kind of crap! Delete (and/or at least block) them...
Anyways- I am very cheap and do not mind spending the extra -wait for it- 30 seconds (!!!!) to pull a part a cotton ball, especially since I now only have to use a fraction of the nail polish remover I used to (and only two cotton balls) If you leave it on extra long, it even works on ridiculous amounts of OPI glitter polish ;-)
Best wishes!
-Amy

Anne from Pintesting said...

Hi Anne,

My name is Anne and I've recently started a blog site called Pintesting (www.pintesting.com). I test and review Pinterest pins and rate them on several criteria, then give an overall rating on a 5-point scale. You can see a little more detail of how it's done on my site (http://pintesting.com/methodology/).

I'm testing your "5 minutes nail polish removal tutorial" (http://gingerbreadmanne.blogspot.ca/2010/09/5-minutes-nail-polish-removal-tutorial.html) and wanted to let you know.

I will be posting the results later this evening and will let you know when they're available.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ahernandez@pintesting.com.

Sincerely,
Anne Hernandez

Anne from Pintesting said...

Hi Anne,

I'm very happy to let you know that your recipe received 5 out of 5 pins, congratulations! You can review it now at http://pintesting.com/tip-tuesday-5-minutes-nail-polish-removal-tutorial/.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Anne Hernandez

momoffour said...

Thank you so kindly for posting what you have learned so that others who may not have tried this method can give it a try. I have tried many methods with different things (cotton balls, tissue, etc.) But never thought to try this certain method. I can see where the damage of rubbing continuously could damage the nail; and for those that can't use acetone like myself struggle to get the nail polish off, this would work. Thank you again and I too will be trying this method today.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your Great Extra trips.

Meredith M. said...

What a great technique! I tried it out today, & I was really pleased at how the little pieces of cotton stuck to my nail. That meant I didn't have to hold down the cotton while letting the remover soak in. Also, because the cotton piece was so flexible, the sides of my nails got well-soaked too, which is hard to accomplish with a full cotton ball or a pad. Thanks for taking the time to share this!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I just tried this method and it did NOTHING to my nail polish. I put the cotton pieces with remover on them on each nail on my left hand, waited 2 minutes, then I tried to "swipe" my thumbnail (really hard). The nail polish is still completely attached and intact, still shiny even. So I scrub at it with a cotton ball for ten minutes, polish still looks good as new. All the other cotton pieces are still on my nails, and it's been ten minutes so I try "swiping" them...pressing harder on each one, as they all come out still completely covered in polish. I can not press any harder. I can't get this polish off, it's like I like I painted my nails with adamantium. what. the. fuck.

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