Removers - polish and cuticle?

[Anonymous]

There's lots of new nail polish removers, but which ones work? I tried Piggy Paint Nail Polish Remover and it did nothing. I just ordered Young Nails onto the Next Nail Polish Remover Concentrated Cream. I'm curious about Lippmann's Stripper and her Cuticle Remover. Does anybody know if they're worth a try? Or can you recommend other removers (both polish and cuticle)? 

Thanks!

[PhysicalChemist]

I always use pure acetone (from Sally Beauty) to remove nail polish and Deborah Lippmann's cuticle remover is my absolute favorite for removing cuticles! I tried her nail polish remover, but it has a scent which I don't care for.  I also use her cuticle cream to keep my cuticles from drying during the day and I use Aquaphor on them at night. Hope this helps! 🙂

[Kim888]

@Anonymous the Sephora nail polish remover is surprisingly amazing! Works super well and they have a glitter edition as well!

https://www.sephora.com/product/instant-nail-polish-remover-P297134?skuId=1350263&icid2=products%20grid:p297134

[Anonymous]

@Kim888 I searched Sephora and either I passed right over that or the site wasn't working! (Since the Fenty launch the site often doesn't work for me, and I'm not getting the usual emails. Maybe I should ask CS..)

Many, many years ago there was a product sort of like that. It had a piece of foam in the jar, with a hole in the middle (just one hole). It might take the polish off one nail and that was all. If this one really works like the video shows, I want it! I've put it on my ever-growing wish list. My birthday is this month, I really have to order anyway, right?

I've just got to say to all of you, @Kim888, @PrettyPaint, @Beadshopgirl, @RGbrown, you're way better than the "Nordstrom Beauty Ladies"!

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous

I second @PrettyPaint's recommendation for Zoya Remove+. I was a strict drugstore-remover user until I tried a bottle of this stuff. Holy cow...it locks the color into the cottonball so you have way less smearing and staining of the skin, and it doesn't dry me out so badly that my fingers turn white (which makes I feel like I need lotion immediately); it leaves my nails perfectly ready for my next polish.

I'm currently using Butter London cuticle exfoliator; I like it fine and it seems to work well. I also have some Zoya/Qtica cuticle oil gel that is also quite nice. I don't have much of a strong preference for cuticle stuff though...it's only been in the last few months that I've started using anything at all, so I haven't tried enough to have a fave yet.

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown  I just wrote to @PrettyPaint above about my experience with the Zoya remover. Your explanation is a lot better than mine! But yeah, it prepares the nails better for a new mani than the old stuff!! I gave myself a better manicure than I've done in ages! 

Thank you for the tip, I really love this stuff!

[RGbrown]

@Anonymous

Yay, so glad to hear you love it! 💕

[Anonymous]

@RGbrown Thank you! Now I'm heading to Amazon to order the Zoya for sure!!

I know what you mean about the cuticles. Usually I just use oil and push them down and they're fine. But tonight, for reasons unknown to me, they were just awful and I had to clip them! Horrors!!

[mnichole]

I LOVE Zoya's nail polish and remover. (At last count, I have around 50 shades...) I would suggest following them on Facebook & Instagram. They have AMAZING sales every few months and occasionally give away free polish (maybe two or three times a year). If you're ordering (I order most of my shades because Ulta is the only place near me that carries it and they only carry a few), I would order directly from them if possible to make sure you're getting a quality product.

Also, while on your search for removers; I would suggest staying away from pure acetone use on a regular basis. It's VERY strong and will destroy your natural nails. I paint my nails at least once a week and about seven months ago I started having issues with splitting and peeling nails, something that's not normally a problem. I didn't realize the remover I was using was pure acetone. It was the same brand I'd always used (Sally Hanson), but they stopped caring non-acetone and started using the same color label for their acetone formula. Now that I've stopped using it, switched back to non-acetone and started using Nail-Tek to help; my nails are almost completely recovered.

[Anonymous]

Hey @mnichole , it's nice to meet you! I didn't see your post until just now.

I'm using the Zoya remover now and it really does make a difference! I didn't even know that you could buy pure acetone until recently ( @RGbrown is probably still laughing at me! ) I have never seen Zoya polish but I'm going to look for their site.

I won't buy anything from Ulta after what they did the other day! They sent me a new password, in PLAIN TEXT via email! In case you're not into web dev, that is something that is absolutely forbidden, especially for an ecommerce site that stores credit card information! I called them and told them to cancel my account, the guy said he had, told me to try to login again and I'd see that I couldn't. No, he didn't know what he was doing and I could still login! I ended up changing my address, deleting my credit card info, and changing my password. I couldn't believe it, I will not buy from a company that treats my security so dismissively!

Sorry for the rant, blatant disregard for internet security sets me off. (In case you couldn't tell!)

My nails were in really terrible shape, constantly peeling and breaking, that's why I came back to nail polish! I'd stopped doing my nails for YEARS and they were so weak, it was awful. So I use Essie primer (Millionials, I think), then a couple different base coats before I put on polish. But the absolute best thing I found is the Deborah Lippmann Smooth Operator - the buffer thing! My nails kept looking like I had bubbles in my polish. It was actually the rough surface of the nails! Once I got them smoothed out, my polish goes on so much better!

Thanks for the tip about Zoya's polishes! 

[Beadshopgirl]

@Anonymous The Piggy Paint remover will only remove Piggy Paint nail polish, not regular polish. I just use the non-acetone oil-free store brand polish remover from the drugstore or Walmart. As for cuticle removers, I've been using the Sally Hanson one for years; it works really well. I've heard excellent reviews on the Blue Cross cuticle remover. 

[Anonymous]

@Beadshopgirl Thank you for explaining about the Piggy Paint! That experience has kept me from trying any non-acetone removers, and it turns out it was just my stupidity. <SMH> Are the Piggy Paint polishes good?

I'll get the Sally Hanson cuticle remover, I've been using her products for years with no complaints. Thank you!

[Beadshopgirl]

@Anonymous They're not great, but they're very non-toxic, as they are a water-based polish. They sell Piggy Paint in baby stores here. I tried a bunch of them, and they're fine for kids, but I prefer real polish. It's true that non-acetone polish is slower at removing than acetone, but it gets the job done, and is generally a little less smelly. 

[PrettyPaint]

I like zoya remove plus for polish remover.

[Anonymous]

@PrettyPaint Thank you! I actually have that on my Amazon wish list, because it comes in the little 8 oz but there's also the 32 oz refill. If you say it works, I'm gettin' it!!

[PrettyPaint]

@Anonymous I hope you like it!

[Anonymous]

@PrettyPaint  I hope you see this! I finally got the Zoya remover and it's a "wow" from me! I love the packaging, that you can just press you cotton on it and get the remover, rather than have to turn the bottle over and risk spilling too much out. I had a little trouble using it at first, it's somehow different than the old removers? I can't describe how, but you have to use it a little differently... less scrubbing, more gentle dabbing and waiting? But once I got myself adjusted to it, I loved it.

Now here's the big surprise - the manicure afterwards is the best I've done in ages! I think it's the combination of the Zoya remover and the lippmann smooth operator buffer, but before I was never completely getting all the basecoat off my nails, I think. The Zoya remover took everything off, then I was able to really smooth the nails perfectly with the buffer. At least that's my theory!

So thank you very much for the tip!

[PrettyPaint]

@Anonymous Yay! I’m so very glad you like the remove +. And it sounds like you got the bottle with the flipper container, which I really like. It seems a lot more secure. 

It sounds like your manicure looks great! I have been neglecting my nails lately, but this makes me want to paint them soon.

Thanks so much for the update, and I’m glad it worked out for you!

[Anonymous]

@PrettyPaint I'll let you know! Is it strong enough to clean the necks of the bottles (my polish bottles always end up all gooed up and hard to open because I have no depth perception and am always hitting the brush on the outside of the neck) and the brushes? I like to clean the brushes, I think it's easier to do a good job with a clean brush!

[PrettyPaint]

@Anonymous I actually haven't tried it for bottle necks, etc. I would think pure acetone may be cheaper and more efficient/stronger for this, but someone else may have a better idea.

[Anonymous]

@PrettyPaintI may be misremembering the conversation I had with my hairdresser, but I think she said that you had to go to one of the professional supply houses to buy pure acetone and they won't sell it to the general public. Acetone is used in the manufacture of illegal drugs and is one of the chemicals that explodes or catches fire or whatever it is that happens that results in huge fires of drug maker places. (You can tell I don't know the ins and outs of this! But there was a house that blew up nearby, one person was badly burned and the others dropped him at the closest place they could - a Loaf 'n' Jug!) Maybe it's state-regulated, too.

My Cutex nail polish remover (first ingredient is acetone) does a great job of cleaning the bottle necks and brushes, and I don't have that many anyway. I wouldn't want to mess with straight acetone. Even though I don't smoke or have candles, things can happen and I live in a very high fire risk area.