"You’re picking off the top layer of the nail plate, ultimately making it thinner," cautioned Natalia Mihailova, DryBy’s head of education. "Imagine removing your makeup and taking off the top layer of your skin with it, or scratching off your makeup – that is exactly what happens to the nails if you peel them off yourself. You’re taking a layer off with the Shellac." Slightly Saw-esque mental picture aside, I can see why you might scoff a bit at this. Your nails aren’t bleeding when you peel the polish off, right? It doesn’t hurt, right? It can’t be that bad, can it?Well, yes. Your nails are actually about 10 times more porous than your skin and with constant hand-washing and sanitising, they’re repeatedly exposed to drying elements, so if you’re also picking off a protective layer? Sheesh, that’s not good. Natalia did say that if you find it too difficult to schedule in-salon removal, then next time you have a gel manicure you can ask your technician for some tips on the safest removal technique, but essentially, you’re going to need to buy acetone, cotton pads and foils, and do it the way they do.