SO YOU PEELED OFF YOUR GEL.... Practical Tips To Get Your Nails Back In Shape!

by Kara Crevier

So you just peeled off your gel.... I'm not judging!! BUT I want you to heal your nails ASAP and then never do it again ;) But in all seriousness, peeling your gel is BAD. It not only takes off your gel polish, but it also takes the top layers of your nails with it which can leave your nails with bumps, ridges, peels, and feeling bendy/weak/dry or ALL OF THE ABOVE! It also prevents your next manicure from adhering as well as it could!!! 

(PS. This is why I avoid soaking off my gel at all times because even though soaking them in acetone is more gentle than peeling, there are still peeling adjacent activities involved which can leave your nails feeling weak. Read this blog HERE for more info on how I like to *properly* remove my gel polish!)

This is going to be short & sweet because I want you to fix your nails quickly and make changes that will help keep them strong in the long run! Let's get into it!!

If you just peeled off your gel manicure, here’s what I recommend doing:

So WHY are we doing this process?

First off, I personally LOVE to have gel on my nails to give them a layer of protection from the elements when they're feeling weak or bendy. The way I think of it is this: if my nails are bending and brittle, would I rather let them "breathe" and potentially hit them on something and break them more, or should I put a layer of gel on them to give them protection so I can live my life normally and my nails can grow without breaking even if I hit them on something?? I'm choosing the second option! 

SO! Your nails still need to be prepped properly for your gel manicure to last. If they're feeling really weak and even maybe hurt, be extra gentle. Be sure to use a sponge buffer to prep the surface for the gel mani too! 

I always suggest using Mega Stick Base coat from Kokoist when your nails are bendy or weak because it's their softest, most adhesive base coat. And since we all read THIS BLOG POST about different levels of gel, we know that if our nails are bendy, we need a flexible base coat to bend and flex with our nails, right? Right!  

Then I love to add some builder gel on top of that because it'll give your nails SO much strength so they won't bend and break and can grow a little bit while your nails underneath are healing and are super safe from all of the evil elements of the world! 

If you want to learn more about builder gel, be sure to read these posts:

BASE GEL, BUILDER GEL, TYPES OF GEL & MORE!

Kokoist x Nail Thoughts Builder Gel Bases Review + Hybrid Gel and Pure Gel Explained!

BUILDER GEL MASTER BLOG POST!

How I'm Growing My Nails With Gel Polish!

And then of course we need to finish off our manicure with a top coat, but you already knew that :)

Other things that will help your nails in the long run:

  • Educate yourself on how to execute a PROPER and SAFE gel manicure
    • If you aren't doing this, your manicure might be lifting/peeling (which can lead to YOU peeling off your gels), or worse, causing allergies! 
    • Learn about how to execute a proper gel manicure HERE!
    • To be frank, with my gel process and products that I recommend, my gel manicures practically NEVER lift or peel, so therefore I never peel them either
  • Use high quality gel products that won’t lift/peel so you’re not tempted to pick
    • No more sus amazon gel please
  • Learn how to use an efile to do gel manicure fills so you never have to peel/scrape off your gel.
    • This will protect the top layers of your nails and prevent them from being bendy and weak!
    • This has been a GAME CHANGER for my manicure process. I actually LOVE using the e-file now. It's so satisfying and fast to use. 
    • Learn more about the e-file process HERE!
  • If you are still struggling with your gel manicures or e-file process and want to get some one on one help, BOOK A PRIVATE MASTERCLASS WITH ME! :)

I hope this post helps and inspires you to stop peeling your gel off RIGHT AWAY :) Get in touch if you have any questions!! 

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