How to Care for my Press-on Nails
- Limit water exposure. Wear rubber gloves when washing dishes or clothes, and avoid long soaks. Water seeping under the nail causes lifting, and rhinestone designs can lose stones.
- Don't use your nails as tools. Skip opening cans, scraping labels, or prying things open. Use your fingertips instead.
- Avoid harsh chemicals. Disinfectants, makeup remover, and cleaners can weaken the glue and dull the gems.
- Care for rhinestone styles. Don't rub the gems or snag them on sweaters or hair. If an edge lifts slightly, don't pick at it. Dab on a little top coat.
- Keep hands away from hot water for the first 2 hours.
- Adhesion is strongest after 6 hours.
Never pull or pry them off. This can damage your natural nails and break the press-ons.
- Jelly glue: Soak your hands in warm water for 5-10 minutes. Once the glue softens, gently push each nail up from the side and lift it off.
- Adhesive tabs or solid glue: Wrap a cotton pad soaked in remover around the nail edge. Wait for the glue to dissolve, then gently ease the nail off.
- After removal: Use a wooden stick to gently scrape leftover glue from the back of each nail. Don't sand the inside hard, or the nails won't fit as well next time.
- Check the gems: Reattach any loose stones with nail gem glue. Cracked or broken nails can't be reused.
- Clear all glue residue from the back and wipe off dust.
- Store them in their original box or a nail case, with the nails separated so they don't rub.
- Keep them out of sunlight and heat (cars, windowsills), which can warp the nails and fade the designs.
- Store the tools (jelly glue, wooden stick) in the same box.
- Bending, warping, or cracks
- Worn top coat on hand-painted designs
- Loose gems on rhinestone styles
Don't reuse if a nail is badly warped, the design is heavily worn, or many gems have fallen off.