Many people love the look of press-on nails but hate the process involved in removing them. While some may start to fall off on their own, with others you may actually end up losing skin and parts of your nail bed trying to pry the press-on nail off. The key to saving the nail underneath is to learn how to properly remove the press-on nails.
Prepare your press-on nails for removal. Begin by trimming down the nails so that they're flush with the tip of your natural nails. Then use a nail file to remove any shine that's on the fake nails. Many press-on nails have a sealing coat of polish on the top to keep them looking good, and this can make them difficult to remove.
Place your nails in a bowl of acetone. Fill up a non-metal bowl with pure acetone, and begin soaking your fingernails in the solution. It will take quite a while, so get comfortable. Eventually the acetone will begin to dissolve the nail itself and soften up the glue underneath.
Remove any residual press-on nail. Using your cuticle stick, scrape off any additional glue that may still be present after the soaking process. You might find that a few extra minutes of soaking will take off any trace amounts of glue still left on your nails.
Take care of your natural nails. One you've safely removed your press-on nails, you need to pay special attention to the nail bed underneath. Buff out any imperfections caused by the glue and moisturize your nails with a heavy hand cream.