acrylic nails look great when they're first done, but over time they begin to look dingy. Then again, who wants to spend so much time soaking them just to take them off? You can get your natural nails back without the boredom of soaking them for hours.

Wait until the nails are grown out enough that your natural nails show more than the acrylics.

Cut your acrylic nails down as far as possible using an acrylic nail clipper. Do not use regular nail clippers for this or your nails will crack and peel.

File the acrylics down as thin as you possibly can using a 4-sided buffer, concentrating on the large grain side. This will take the majority of the time in the process.Your nails should now appear as simply a stronger layer of your regular nail. There will still be a small gap between the regular nail and acrylic, but not much. If you can live with this look, all the better; simply allow the nails to grow out naturally and clip as they grow. If you cannot wait, proceed to Step 4.

Use a cuticle clipper to clip at the edges of your acrylic nails. Clip along the thin edges first, then continue up to the middle of the nails. Continue clipping at loose edges until the entire nail is gone. If you cannot find an edge at any point, use a cuticle stick to pry up an edge.

File and buff your natural nails and apply both a cuticle oil and hand lotion.

Apply a strengthening top coat of nail polish to keep your nails in tip-top shape.