Painful Acrylic Nail Removal: What to Expect & What's Normal

Question
I got a fill yesterday at a place I've been going to for years, although this person has only done it once. The old acrylic was lifting at the edges and was really grown out as I waited longer than I should have to go in. She was removing old acrylic on one nail and there was one tiny piece left in the center of the nail that she was tugging at and trying to pry off. It really hurt and the nail bed is super thin, "Paper thin" as she said. So I asked her to stop and just file it down instead and she did with no problem. When she was done she brushed on the liquid they apply before the acrylic and the pain on that one nail was unbearable, both on the side and in the center. It burned so badly I was almost in tears, to me it felt like she had ripped the nail bed a little when she was tearing at it and whatever that was had come in contact with the skin under the nail. The pain didn't stop for about 15 minutes. She tried to rinse it a little with another dropper of something else, but only after she put the acrylic right on top of it, assuring me that it would help. Today the nail bed is red and painful. Am I getting an infection? I'm a little scared that this is going to cause a huge problem. What do I do?

Answer
Hi Pam
No, I don't think it will get infected. However, your nail was either overfiled or torn from the nail bed. And when she applied primer, it burned even more. I would leave the nail alone, removing it would only make it worse. Your nails need to be maintained every three weeks. Going longer than that causes the nail to become unbalanced and put too much pressure at the back of the nail.
Be sure to let the salon know what is going on. If they seem like they don't care, find another salon that will take better care of you. You should be able to go to any salon and receive a clean, pain free service. I am finding that to be more and more difficult these days Pam.

Hope this helps :)

Brooke Gilliam