This is Leslie Mary Shy, and I'd like to offer you my tips on nail polishing

Removing nail polish
Items needed:
⦁    Paper towel coated work area
⦁    Extra squares of paper towels
⦁    Cotton balls
⦁    Alcohol
⦁    100% acetone (not polish remover)
⦁    Electric fan
⦁    4x4-inch squares of aluminum foil (one for each nail)
⦁    Dull knife
⦁    Nail file
⦁    Nail buffer
⦁    Orange stick

There are basically six types of nail polishes:
⦁    Glued-on false nails
⦁    Traditional lacquer nail polish
⦁    Dip powder acrylic nail polish
⦁    Adhesive-backed false nails
⦁    Salon-applied epoxy or acrylic nail polish

To remove adhesive-backed false nails
⦁    Apply a drop of lacquer thinner to the underside of the false nails
⦁    Gently peel them away from your nails
⦁    While it's possible to get them off and reuse them, you will need to rejuvenate and/or replace the adhesive tape

To remove glued-on or false nails
⦁    Soak a cotton ball in 100% acetone
⦁    Press the cotton ball onto the glued-on nail, saturating the glue underneath
⦁    Wait at least two minutes
⦁    This will make the plastic nail soft or even dissolve it
⦁    Peel or remove the plastic nail and glue off. Some glues will not come off easy and will need to dry so you can file it off

To remove a traditional lacquer nail polish
⦁    With a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover (acetone), press the cotton ball onto the nail for about 5 seconds, then slide the cotton ball off your nail toward the tip
⦁    With a clean, acetone saturated cotton ball, wipe the nail and finger clean

To remove epoxy or acrylic nails
⦁    For either salon-applied or home-dipped nails (this type of nail polish is typically the hardest to remove)

Make enough 4x4-inch aluminum squares, and enough cotton balls for each fingertip you are going to strip. This is normally 20 squares at a time

⦁    Lightly file each nail to roughen up the top of each nail
⦁    This is done to speed up the removal of the polish.
⦁    Take a cotton ball and impregnate it with 100% acetone
⦁    Apply it in direct contact with the polish to be removed
⦁    Take an aluminum square and place the square’s center at the tip of your finger with the cotton ball
⦁    Fold/wrap the foil around the cotton ball and fingertip
⦁    The aluminum ensures that the impregnated cotton ball stays in contact with the nail
⦁    The aluminum also will keep the thinner from quickly evaporating
⦁    After all fingers are wrapped in foil, hold your fingers pointing down and wait 5 or more minutes
⦁    Squeeze the foil and cotton ball and pull them off your fingertips
⦁    Use the back edge of the dull knife to scrape the polish from quick to tip
⦁    Depending how thick the polish is, you may have to repeat this cotton ball and foil process a couple of times
⦁    After you have all the polish cleaned off, lightly file the top of your nails, then, clip and shape your nails

You are now ready to apply new polish!

If you don't intend to re-polish your nails right now, go to the last paragraph

Applying nail polish
A salon is always best, but here is our DIY version :)

Items Needed:
⦁    Paper towel coated work area
⦁    Extra squares of paper towels
⦁    Cotton balls
⦁    Alcohol
⦁    100% acetone
⦁    Nail file (coarse and fine)
⦁    Electric fan
⦁    UV light if you have one
⦁    Orange stick

Prepping the nails and fingers
⦁    File the nails to the desired shape
⦁    With the orange stick flat-end down on your nail, push your cuticle up
⦁    Do this to every nail to be painted to make is easier to paint your nails, and to allow some nail growth without getting a gap between the polish and the cuticles
⦁    Lightly file the top of the nails
⦁    This gives the polish a better grip/staying power on the nails
⦁    Wipe the nails with a cotton ball impregnated with acetone
⦁    Let the acetone evaporate
⦁    Wipe nails and fingers with a different cotton ball impregnated with the alcohol to remove all traces of oils
⦁    Let the alcohol evaporate
⦁    Pour some olive oil into a bottle cap
⦁    From this cap, dip a toothpick, (do not use a “Q” tip, they are too big) into the oil, lightly apply the olive oil to only the skin around the nails you are working with
⦁    Don’t forget the pushed-up cuticles
⦁    Do not forget the skin under the tip of the nails
⦁    This will help keep the polish off the fingers
⦁    If the oil gets onto the nails you will need to re-clean the nail

⦁    With the applicator, apply the polish to the nails
⦁    Two even, thin coats with a drying time between the coats are better than one thick coat
⦁    If you apply a thick coat, it will take much longer to dry

Drying the polish
⦁    Place your hand either under the UV light if you have one, or,
⦁    Place the nails in front of a fan
*    It is the motion of the air over the polish, not the temperature, that removes the volatiles in the polish to harden (dry) them
Note:
While the polish might feel dry to the touch, it isn’t
⦁    You need to avoid any contact with the polished areas for at least ten minutes or more depending on the polish thickness
⦁    Always avoid items that contain acetone

Polishing your nails without nail polish
⦁    File the tops (flats) smooth to remove the growth marks, grooves and ridges using a coarse nail file
⦁    Then, smooth away the roughness using a medium file (normally, on the back of the coarse file)
⦁    Using the coarsest part of a buffer board (normally marked #1), smooth the top of the nails
⦁    Using the mid-range part of a buffer board (normally marked #2), smooth the top of the nails to a mild shine
⦁    Using the finest part of a buffer board (normally marked #3), smooth the top of the nails to a bright shine

I hope you have beautiful, strong and healthy nails using these tips just for you!