Recently, TV commercials have been airing, and ohora nails have become a hot topic among nail lovers, including self nailers.
It’s said to be cheaper than gel nails, with a salon-quality finish and good longevity, but… how is it really? That’s why our manicurist gave it a try!
I’m going to introduce them to you without any discernment, so I hope this will be helpful to those who are curious about them.
*This blog is written by a manicurist in Japan. The information contained in this article is available in Japan. Please note that it may be different in other countries.
- 1 What is Ohora nails?
- 2 Benefits of ohora nails
- 3 Disadvantages of ohora nail polish
- 4 An active manicurist tries out ohora nails.
- 5 Try to live with ohora nail polish.
- 5.1 The first night after I put it on.
- 5.2 Three days since I put it on.
- 5.3 Five days after application.
- 5.4 First week after application (day 7)
- 5.5 Ten days since I put it on.
- 5.6 It’s been 11 days since I put it on.
- 5.7 Two weeks after putting it on (day 14)
- 5.8 19 days since I put it on.
- 5.9 Three weeks (21 days) since I put it on.
- 6 How to remove ohora nail polish
- 7 My impressions of ohora nail polish when I tried it on
- 8 Summary
What is Ohora nails?
The catchphrase for ohora nails is “beautiful fingertips with salon-grade semi-cured gel that can be finished with a lamp.
Unlike conventional nail stickers, they use a semi-cured gel made up of layers of base gel, color gel, and top gel, which is cured with a UV lamp to finish. The quality is said to be the same as that of gel nails at a nail salon, with no foreign substances, peeling or lifting.
It seems to have gained popularity in Korea and landed in Japan in 2020.
Benefits of ohora nails
It’s a hot topic right now, but what are the benefits of ohora nails?
Cheaper than gel nails
ohora nail polish, the biggest advantage would be that it is cheaper than gel nail polish. If you look at the official OHORA store on Rakuten, you’ll see
- 1,330 yen
- 1,660 yen
- 1,880 yen
- 1,980 yem
- 2,080 yen
These are the five price ranges (as of May 2021). Compared to nail salons, we can say that the price is about one-seventh to one-fifth.
I can do it myself.
For those who don’t have the time to go to a nail salon, being able to do it yourself will be an advantage.
As I’ll explain in detail later, the first time I did ohora (I’m an active manicurist), it took me 20 minutes from prep to completion for 5 nails on each hand.
High quality
It’s easy for anyone to apply, and the quality is salon grade. If the price is low and the quality is high, there’s no way I’m not going to try this…!
However, you won’t know until you actually try it on. However, you can’t be sure until you actually try it on. Please check out the detailed process and finished photos in this article.
Disadvantages of ohora nail polish
There are advantages and disadvantages.
Design is subtle
I will say out loud that “it depends on your taste”, but personally, I find the designs of ohora nails to be very subtle. To be honest, there are very few cute designs! I mean, there aren’t any!
It really depends on your taste (I said it twice because it’s important), but I think they could do something about the designs…. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re Korean cosmetics, or because they’re different from Japanese trends.
Initial investment is required.
I mentioned earlier in the benefits that it is cheap, but you need a UV lamp to do ohora nails. At the official store, a set of two nail polishes of your choice plus a gel lamp is sold for 3,000 yen, plus 500 yen for shipping (in Kanagawa Prefecture. The shipping fee is 500 yen (for Kanagawa Prefecture; free shipping for purchases over 6,000 yen).
If you don’t have a UV lamp, you’ll need to make an initial investment of 3,500 yen. It’s less than the cost of one nail salon, so it’s not expensive…
An active manicurist tries out ohora nails.
Now that you know more about ohora nail polish, here’s a manicurist who bought some and tried them out for herself!
I bought ohora nail polish.
The ohora nail polish I bought this time is “N Nudist”. As I mentioned earlier, the design is really subtle (*this is a matter of personal preference. As I said before, the design is subtle (*a matter of personal preference, so I’ll say it a third time), so I chose a simple one.
*The same design may already be sold out, out of stock, or no longer available.
This costs 1,330 yen + 500 yen for shipping = 1,830 yen. I’m still not sure if it’s expensive or cheap.
From order to arrival
From the time I ordered the ohora nail polish (paid by credit card) to the time it arrived, the schedule was as follows
- Order date and time: Monday, August 17, 2020, 1:44 p.m.
- Order confirmation email: Tuesday, August 18, 12:38 p.m.
- Shipping completion email: Wednesday, August 19, 15:11
- Arrival: Saturday, August 22, 7:00 p.m. at the delivery box when I got home.
By the way, the order was shipped from Seoul, Korea by DHL, and I was able to check the delivery status in English.
The contents of the ohora nail polish are
ohora nails, arrived in a cardboard box like this one. It’s mosaicked, but it has the address and barcode written on it.
When I opened it, I saw the ohora nail polish I ordered and
the instructions.
There were Japanese versions as well as English and Korean.
The box of ohora nail polish has instructions written in Korean.
Now let’s open the ohora nail polish. Inside is a black plastic box.
Open it to reveal ohora nails.
Various sizes of ohora nails, smaller files and wood sticks were also included in the package.
What you need to wear ohora nail polish
- ohora nail
- file (You can use the one that comes with the ohora nail polish.)
- Pre-Primer
- tweezers
- UV lamp
- Sponge Buffer
How to apply ohora nail polish
Now, let’s start applying it. Let’s start from the state where the gel has been removed. First, use the pre-primer to remove the oil from the nail.
Choose the size that fits your nails. This is very important! Make sure to look at your nails from one end to the other. Choose a size that is smaller than your nails.
Once you’ve found the right size, peel off the transparent sticker and place it on.
Peel the main unit off the backing using tweezers (*The use of tweezers is not mentioned in the ohora official website, but it is recommended to use tweezers because it is thought that touching the sticky part and getting oil or moisture from your fingers will make it hold up poorly).
Start from the edge of the nail and attach it little by little. Be careful!
Rub it with your fingers to make it stick.
The back of the nail looks like this. Use a file to scrape off the excess.
It’s easier to scrape off the file if you move it diagonally 45 degrees downward.
After adjusting the length, cure with a UV lamp for 60 seconds.
Finally, use a sponge buffer to smooth out the rough edges of the nails. (*This is also not officially announced by ohora, but I recommend doing it to improve the texture and hold the product.)
Here’s the finished photo with all five ohora nails in place.
It took me about 20 minutes to do this. I’m right-handed, so I was able to complete the left hand in about 20 minutes, but I think it will take a little longer to do the right hand with the left hand.
*If you are using ohora nails with parts on the thumb, you will need to apply a special “claw protection gel” to the thumb.
Comparison of ohora nail polish and gel nail polish
I thought it would be difficult to compare with gel nails if I only wore ohora nails, so I did the following.
- Left hand: ohora nail polish
- Right hand: gel nails in a similar shade to ohora nails
Here’s how they compare.
When you look at it this way, it doesn’t look like there’s any difference at all! In fact, ohora feels almost the same as gel, and when cured under UV light, it has the same hardness as gel.
However, if you look at the details, you can see some gaps in the cuticle area and some gaps in the hair.
If you don’t have the right size, there may be gaps on the sides.
This is unfortunate because it’s not the perfect size for your nails.
On the other hand, gels follow the cuticle nicely.
Try to live with ohora nail polish.
Now, the other thing I’m wondering about is how long it will last. I’m going to try living with ohora nail polish on my left hand and gel nail polish on my right hand. By the way, in order to make my gel nails last longer, I pay attention to the following points in my daily life.
- Avoid using the tips of my nails as much as possible.
- I wash my hair with my fingers.
- Wear rubber gloves when washing dishes.
I change my nails about every three weeks to a month, and my gel nails never come off (on rare occasions, the base of the middle finger on my right hand comes off a little, but the rest of my fingers never come off).
*In rare cases, the base of the middle finger on my right hand floats a little, but the rest of my fingers do not float at all.
Based on the above assumptions, we will observe the progress of each of the OHORA and gel nails after they are applied.
The first night after I put it on.
It’s been about 8 hours since I put it on. After washing the dishes and taking a bath…. Of course, no change in ohora or gel.
Three days since I put it on.
Three days later, no significant change.
Five days after application.
There is no peeling or lifting, but the edges are starting to bother me a lot.
The photo below shows the gel nails on the 5th day, and you can see that the edges (tips of the nails) are covered with gel (the index finger is covered with clear gel, although it’s hard to tell because of the lame color).
However, ohora nails only puts it on top, so it does not cover the tip.
I think you can see the thumb most clearly.
As with gel nails, they tend to lift off from the tip of the nail, so I’m worried about this with ohora, which doesn’t cover the tip.
It didn’t bother me much right after I put it on, but after 5 days, I’m starting to worry about this feeling of lifting from the tip.
First week after application (day 7)
No major changes since the third day, but the edge of my thumb is starting to look much more suspicious…
If you zoom in, you can see that it looks like it’s floating off my nail. It’s not actually floating, but I have a feeling that it will start peeling off from here.
My index finger also has a mysterious crack. It’s not starting to crack, but it seems to be scratched ohora.
There is no change in the gel. I’ve been doing a lot of washing without rubber gloves, and it’s holding up as well as I expected.
Ten days since I put it on.
No significant change since day 7.
It’s been 11 days since I put it on.
I finally chipped my left index finger, which had been mysteriously cracked…
However, the other fingers are still holding up, so I’ll still keep an eye on the progress (this chip is tricky and disturbing if left unattended, so I’ll scrape it off a bit).
Two weeks after putting it on (day 14)
No change on the ohora side, except that the chip on the index finger has widened a bit.
As for the gel nails, I caught my middle finger with the peeler and cracked my own nail… (just a little bit, but I had to reinforce it with nail glue because it would keep catching).
19 days since I put it on.
The chip on my left index finger has spread. My thumb is also starting to crack a lot… I think I’m getting close to the limit.
Three weeks (21 days) since I put it on.
It’s been three weeks since day 19 with no change in ohora or gel nails.
The gel nails lasted as long as you’d expect them to, and ohora lasted for three weeks except for her index finger, which lasted this long after she said she was worried about the edges on the fifth day.
I’d like to finish the verification here.
How to remove ohora nail polish
Officials claim that you can put a wood stick between your own nails and ohora nail polish to remove it, but you should definitely not do this.
Since it is very tightly adhered, forcing it off will damage your own nails. So I scraped off a little of the surface.
Soak a cotton ball in gel remover, wrap it with aluminum foil, and leave it for 10 minutes.
Then it will melt like this, and you can scrape it off with a wood stick and a file.
When removing ohora, do not force it off, always use a gel remover!
My impressions of ohora nail polish when I tried it on
I’m going to write about my personal impressions of wearing ohora nail polish.
How to install
Putting it on was very easy as long as I chose the right size. Even if you are clumsy as hell! I think even if you’re very clumsy, you’ll be able to put it on properly to some extent.
How does it feel?
It’s almost the same as gel. Even if you have thin nails and want to make them thicker with gel, the hardness of ohora is not so bad.
The official ohora product says that you don’t need to use a UV lamp to harden it, but it is definitely better to use a lamp. If you don’t harden it, it will peel off.
I’m a manicurist and I’m used to using gels, but the gap between the cuticle and the side of the nail is something I’ve noticed before. I can say that the hardness and gloss are at the level of gel, but this is a difficult point for ready-made products.
How long will it last?
This time, I tried ohora with my left hand, which holds up better than my right, and although my index finger chipped off after 11 days, the rest of my fingers lasted for 3 weeks without any problems. At first, I thought “it will probably come off in a week or so anyway,” but I didn’t expect it to last this long.
I use my fingers a lot at work and also do housework, but if they lasted this long, I think it’s a great achievement.
How easy is it to remove?
As with gel nails, you will need to use a gel remover to remove them.
However, I have the impression that it comes off more easily than gel. It only took me about 20 minutes to remove the nails from my left hand, including the 10 minutes I had to leave them on.
Summary
So, I’ve introduced all the benefits of ohora nails, how to apply them, how they actually hold up, and how to take them off. To sum it all up
- Much cheaper than gel nails.
- Measuring the size is tricky
- Gel nails have better cuticle lines.
- The designs are subtle, but it depends on your personal preference.
- Gloss, thickness, and longevity are on par with gel nails.
- You need a remover to take them off, but they are easy to remove.
That’s about it. Personally, I was surprised by the quality of the nail polish, and wondered if we’ve come to a time when it’s this close to gel nails. I was surprised at the quality.
If you’re interested in ohora nails, it’s definitely worth a try! I hope this is helpful.
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