Can You Take Off Polish With Hairspray?

There's nothing worse than chipping your nail polish or just wanting a color change and realizing you're out of polish remover. Totally killing your vibe, there, but if you've heard that hairspray can take off nail polish and are wondering if that's true, you might not totally be out of luck.

Nail polish remover is one of those beauty staples that, in theory, we all should have on hand at all times, but it always seems that when we need it most, we're always out of it. And the worst part? We usually need it when we're pressed for time and can't take the extra 20 minutes to run to the drugstore for a new bottle. Ugh. But no worries, because there are actually several ways you can get that nail polish off without remover (or, like, resorting to picking it off). And using hairspray is totally one of them.

Hairspray has chemicals that can effectively take off polish, you just have to spray it on your nails, rub with a cotton pad, and then rinse your hands to make sure it's all off. The only thing is that hairspray can be drying, so you want to make sure you get it all off.

Pantene Air Spray, $5, Amazon

And if you don't have any hairspray on hand, these are a few other ways you can take off your polish without remover.

1. Perfume

Just dip a cotton pad in perfume and rub it on your nails and it'll remove the polish and make them smell amaze.

2. Lemon Juice & Vinegar

This one is actually way better for your nails than acetone. Mix up one tablespoon of lemon juice with one tablespoon of white vinegar and rub onto your nails.

3. Top Coat

Sally Hansen Top Coat, $4, Amazon

It might sound weird, but painting a top coat over your old polish and wiping it away while it's still wet can effectively remove the color.

4. Warm Water

If you have some extra time to spare, soak your nails in warm water for 20-25 minutes. This will help soften the old polish, so you can rub or peel it off.

5. Alcohol

Not that you want to waste any of your alcohol on your nails, but it's totally effective at getting polish off when you're in a pinch.

Images: Getty Images (5); Drugstore.com