How do you take gel nails off at home?

IMARNI Nails is East London's go-to for innovative nail art (Picture: IMARNI Nails)

There's a high chance that quarantine and our collective lockdown is impacting your fortnightly mani-pedi appointment.

And if there's one thing more annoying than not being able to leave our homes, it's outgrown gel nails.

So we spoke to creative manicurist genius, Imarni Ashman, the founder of cult London nail salon, IMARNI Nails, to get the lowdown on how we can remove the hefty polish from our nails in the comfort of our own homes.

Below is Imarni's seven-step DIY gel nail removal technique and all you'll need is 100 per cent acetone (£8.30, shop it here), cotton wool, tin foil and a hydrating cuticle oil (£9.50, shop it here) to re-hydrate once the polish is removed.

Step 1

Cut your nails to your desired length.

Step 2

Use a file to break the the first layer of topcoat by buffing lightly until the surface looks rough.

IMARNI Nails is East London's go-to (IMARNI Nails)

Step 3

Soak cotton balls in acetone and place over the nails before wrapping in a small sheet of foil.

Step 4

Leave your nails to soak for 30 minutes.

Step 5

Remove foil one nail at a time and your gel manicure should have lifted. You can help it along by gently scraping off with an orange wood stick (£2 for a pack of 100, buy them here.)

(IMARNI Nails)

Step 6

Gently buff your nails to remove any fine layers of gel base coat still attached to your nail plate.

Step 7

You may find your nails are a little dry after using acetone. Hydrate your nails using a treatment base coat and cuticle oil - my vitamin infused cuticle oil is particularly good to help with nail nourishment.