- Acrylic nails can turn yellow due to prolonged exposure to UV light, such as sunlight or tanning beds. UV rays can cause the acrylic material to yellow over time.
- Smoking or exposure to nicotine can lead to yellowing of acrylic nails. Nicotine can stain the nails, causing them to appear discolored.
- Acrylic nails may turn yellow if low-quality or expired acrylic products are used during the nail application process. Quality products and proper application are crucial for preventing yellowing.
- Failing to maintain and clean acrylic nails properly can result in yellowing. Regular maintenance, including cleaning and refilling, can help preserve the nail’s appearance and prevent discoloration.
Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned acrylic nail haver or you’ve just recently dipped your fingers into the wonderful world of artificial nail enhancements.
We’re sure that you’ll be in complete agreement with us when we say that, besides being costly, there’s nothing more frustrating than noticing our beautiful manicured nail staining yellow.
We can do everything to help keep our acrylic nails perfect for longer. From avoiding eating food with our fingers to making sure that we clean them consistently throughout the day to keep them spick and span.
It seems all too common an occurrence for our acrylic nails to just suddenly start to stain yellow in certain places.
So, why does it happen, and what can be done to help keep your mani flawless for longer?
Even though it’s super frustrating, yellowing acrylic nails are a lot more common than you might think – and many people find themselves experiencing this.
Not just that, but it’s also important to remember that there are a variety of different factors that can contribute to yellowing nails, including poor quality products, smoking, and coming into contact with various surfaces and items during everyday life. The list is neverending!
Luckily enough, though, it’s not all doom and gloom because the good news is that yellowing acrylic nails can easily be remedied and restored to their original glory – and this is where we come in to lend you a helping hand.
In this article, we are going to be talking you through all of the best home remedies and solutions that you can try today to restore your nails back to their former selves.
So, without further ado, ready to get rid of yellow staining and enjoy your perfectly manicured acrylic nails once again? You know what to do – just read on!
Before You Get Started Using Acrylic Nail Products
- Choose Quality Products: Use high-quality acrylic nail products from reputable brands. Cheaper products may be more prone to yellowing.
- UV-Protective Top Coat: Ask your nail technician to apply a UV-protective top coat as part of the acrylic nail application process.
- Limit Exposure to Chemicals: Avoid prolonged contact with harsh chemicals, such as bleach and acetone.
- Patch Test: Request a patch test of the acrylic products that will be used on a small area of your skin or nail. It helps you identify any adverse reactions before they affect your entire set of acrylic nails.Avoid Home Kits: DIY acrylic kits can be more prone to errors that lead to yellowing.
What Are The Main Causes Of Yellowing Acrylic Nails?
Just like we have already mentioned above, it is very common for acrylic nails to begin to stain yellow, and it is often due to no intentional fault of your own.
For starters, the cause of yellowing acrylic nails might simply come down to poor quality nail products used by your technician, or even by an improper technique that caused your acrylic nails to not set correctly, making them more prone to becoming damaged and dirty.
So much so, that one of the most common culprits of yellowing acrylic nails is expired acrylic monomer and polymers used on the natural nail, which then has a snowball effect and prevents the acrylic from being able to dry and bond correctly to the nail – which then puts the acrylic at a higher risk of getting stained.
For this reason, it is very important that you make sure that you are only getting your nails done by a qualified and reputable nail technician who has many years of experience in performing acrylic nails to a salon-worthy quality and level.
Fun fact: Did you know that nail products that don’t contain UV protection are at a higher risk of yellowing in color over time?
The more you know! Keep in mind that all professional nail technicians will make sure to use nail products that offer built-in UV protection.
If you don’t feel that the above reason could be the culprit of your yellowing acrylic nails, then there are a variety of other factors that might be causing your acrylics to change in color.
For the most part, it is highly common for acrylic nails to begin to appear discolored from the general “wear and tear” of everyday life.
Our hands are often the first point of contact for just about everything that we do, so with that being said, it should only be expected that our nails should take the brunt of it all.
Cooking with different ingredients, eating with our hands, cleaning with harsh chemical products, self-tanning, and so many other things can all contribute to discoloration of your acrylic nails.
So don’t become disheartened or frustrated if you’re noticing that your manicured nails are beginning to discolor – as chances are it really couldn’t be helped or avoided.
You should also keep in mind that lighter shade acrylics are at a higher risk of becoming discolored over time, so if this is something that you really want to avoid as much as you possibly can, then you might want to consider opting for darker acrylic manicured nails going forward.
Luckily enough, just like we have already mentioned above, there are a variety of ways that you can help to get yellow out of your acrylic nails – which brings us to our next point! Read on.
Quick Guide to Why Acrylic Nails Turn Yellow
- Inadequate Application: Incorrect or rushed application of acrylic nails can trap air bubbles or cause improper curing, which often leads to yellowing.
- Lack of Maintenance: Neglecting proper maintenance and fill-in appointments can allow moisture to seep under the acrylic nails, leading to yellow stains.
- Allergic Reactions: Allergic reactions to acrylic products, such as liquid monomers or primers, can cause discoloration or yellowing in some cases.
- Infrequent Fills: It is important to avoid regular fill-ins and allow acrylic nails to grow out too much to prevent yellowing.Incorrect Aftercare: Not following proper aftercare, such as moisturizing cuticles and keeping nails clean, may also leave nails vulnerable to yellowing.
Simple Ways To Get Rid Of Yellow Discoloration In Acrylics
So, now that we have taken the time to talk you through some of the possible reasons why you might be finding yourself with yellowed acrylic nails – we are now going to be sharing with you some of the easiest methods that you can try out today to restore your acrylic nails back to their original appearance.
For the most part, most of the methods that we are going to be sharing with you below will likely consist of items that you already have sitting around in your house somewhere.
Which means that you likely won’t have to worry about going to the trouble of buying anything. Whenever you’re ready, read on to check them out:
Keep In Mind
- Use Sunscreen: When your acrylic nails are exposed to direct sunlight, apply sunscreen or UV-protective products to shield them from UV rays.
- Moisturize Cuticles: Keep your cuticles moisturized to maintain the health of your natural nails and the acrylic overlay.
- Avoid Overexposure to Chlorine: Rinse your nails thoroughly after swimming in chlorinated water to prevent yellowing.
- Monitor Medications: If you’re taking any medications that may cause nail discoloration, consult with your healthcare provider to explore alternatives or preventive measures.
- Hygiene: Maintain proper nail hygiene to prevent fungal infections or other issues that can lead to yellowing.
Option #1: Lemon Juice
A tried, true, and loved method – even if you’ve never had to deal with yellowing acrylic nails before, we’re almost certain that you’ll have heard of the purifying power of lemon juice!
Even though lemon juice is most famously known as being the perfect solution for spray tans gone wrong, you might also be interested to hear that lemon juice also doubles up as a pretty great cleaning tool for discolored nails, which is exactly why we have featured it as our top option.
If you’re interested in giving this method a go, then you’re first going to need to make sure that you have plenty of lemon juice.
The last thing that you want to do is get halfway through cleaning your acrylic nails, only to discover that you run out of juice.
Alongside that, we also recommend that you use a dish to pour the lemon juice in, as this will make it a lot easier to dip your cotton wool pads inside.
When you are ready, all you will need to do is take your cotton pad or ball and dip it into your lemon juice.
After allowing it to soak for a few seconds, you should then take the lemon juice-soaked cotton wool ball/pad and immediately apply it to the first nail you are going to be cleaning.
After you are happy that all of the yellow discoloration stainings has been removed, you can then move on to the rest of your nails until all of them have been effectively cleaned and your acrylic nails have been restored to their original appearance.
If you discover that the yellow staining isn’t coming off your nails too easily.Then we recommend that you dip your hands into the bowl of lemon juice for around 10 minutes, as this will help to break down the yellow staining so that you will have a better chance of rubbing the staining off with your cotton wool pad/ball.
Top tip: To help speed up the cleaning process of your yellowed, discolored acrylic nails, why don’t you apply a few drops of lemon juice to each nail before beginning to clean each one individually This will allow your nails to soak in some lemon juice prior to being cleaned, which will make cleaning off the yellow stains a whole lot easier!
Option #2 Hydrogen Peroxide
If you find that the lemon juice isn’t enough to get rid of the yellow staining on your nails, then you might need something a little bit stronger.
So, if you happen to be dealing with particularly stubborn stains, then we recommend trying out the hydrogen peroxide, as it is one of the best and most effective options at removing discoloration from acrylic nails.
If you’re interested in trying out this method, all you will need to do is mix 1 part hydrogen peroxide into a small to medium-sized bowl that contains four parts of water.
Once you have done this, you can then proceed to simply take a cotton wool ball or pad and wipe it over your nails until all of the discolorations are gone, or alternatively soak your nails in the mixture for around 5 minutes.
If you happen to have any stubborn stains that just won’t seem to come off, then we recommend that you take a toothbrush and use it to gently scrub over your nails after you have soaked them in the hydrogen peroxide mixture.
As a side note, even though hydrogen peroxide is one of the best ways to remove yellow stains from acrylic nails, there is a risk that your acrylic gel polish color could become discolored in the process.
For this reason, we do not recommend that you use hydrogen peroxide unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary, or if you have yellow stains that are especially hard to get rid of.
Alongside that, we also recommend that you make sure to wear a mask, as this will help to protect you from any fumes that the hydrogen peroxide releases while you are using it.
Pro Tip To prevent Yellowing Of Nails
Apply a clear base coat before painting your acrylic nails with colored polish to create a barrier and prevent staining or yellowing.
Option #3: Whitening Toothpaste
Last but certainly not least, another way that you can effectively remove yellow stains from your acrylic nails is to use whitening toothpaste!
Even though you might not necessarily think to use a whitening toothpaste in order to clean anything but your teeth, the truth is that it doubles up as a pretty awesome stain remover on acrylic nails, too – which is why it’s made it to our list!
Any whitening toothpaste that you have in your home will be fine to use (so long as it contains peroxide, that is) but if you do not have any whitening toothpaste currently to hand, then this is a great option that we recommend checking out.
In order to use whitening toothpaste to get rid of yellow staining from your acrylic nails, all you will need to do is take an old toothbrush and apply the toothpaste to it.
Once you have done that, all you will then have to do is simply begin to scrub your nails until you can see that all of the stainings have been effectively removed and your nails have regained their initial appearance. It’s as simple as that!
Option #4: Baking Soda
Image by @omoyecooks via Instagram
Baking soda can be an effective and natural remedy for reducing yellowing on acrylic nails.
It acts as a gentle abrasive, helping lift away surface stains that may be causing the yellow discoloration.
When mixed into a paste with water or hydrogen peroxide and applied to the affected areas, baking soda can help break down and remove these stains.
However, it’s important to note that baking soda is typically most effective for surface staining and may not wholly eliminate deep or severe yellowing.
Consistent and gentle use over several days or weeks may be necessary to achieve noticeable results.
As with any nail care method, it’s essential to be patient and avoid excessive scrubbing to prevent damage to the acrylic material.
How Do I Keep My Acrylics From Turning Yellow
If you want to maintain the best appearance of your acrylic nails and prevent them from turning yellow, here are some tips to follow.,
it’s essential to follow some critical practices. First, choose high-quality acrylic products and a reputable nail technician for application.
Apply a UV-protective topcoat to shield your nails from UV light exposure, which can cause yellowing.
Limit direct sunlight and tanning bed exposure, and if you smoke, consider quitting or reducing your smoking habits, as smoking is a common cause of nail staining.
Regular maintenance appointments, gentle cleaning with non-acetone nail polish remover, moisturizing your cuticles, and wearing gloves when using harsh chemicals are all essential to prevent yellowing.
Lastly, when it’s time for removal, seek professional help to avoid potential damage to your natural nails.
Following these guidelines can help keep your acrylic nails looking pristine and free from yellowing.
Fun Fact :
Acrylic nails can turn yellow due to reactions with the sulfur compounds found in some foods and beverages. For example, if you often consume garlic, onions, or turmeric, it can lead to yellow stains on your acrylic nails.
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