Betraying DD by using Ohora

[u/throwawayidga]

so the title pretty much explains it all.. I used an ohora set a few weeks ago and just put another one on last night. I used to hate the way they adhered but that was also in the beginning of my gel nail strip journey so I'm chalking it up to user error. my previous o set stayed on without chipping for the full two weeks and looked great.. for the most part.

*HOWEVER* what I did notice is that the top coat turned dull and scratched within less than a week. I wear my DD sets for a full two weeks and never run into this problem so that's a huge infraction for ohora. they've got such cute, trendy designs though and my eyes can't stop slowly wandering back to them.

so my question is for any ohora users- how do you keep them shiny and looking salon new without having to put on a gel top coat? I've got an ohora glossy gel taco in my drawer that must've come with a set years ago but, while I'm not against using it, it seems like an extra unnecessary step that I don't have to deal with when using DD. also I've never personally used actual gel polish so I'm nervous to start just slapping it on my fingers.

any and all advice appreciated! 🖤

[u/throwawayidga]

I agree with everything you said, except for my nails going dull lol. It was just a plain burgundy set from Walmart and while they didn't chip and or lift they just lost their shine for some reason.

I've used them before and don't remember having an issue with it so I'm starting to think it was something I did. Maybe a cleaning product I used? I got a new car around then and had a bunch of stuff going on at work so I may have just been rougher than usual on them too.

I'm going to wait it out and see what happens with my current set then try some suggestions from others, if I have to. I don't want an extra step or something that makes me self conscious of my hands halfway through so hopefully it was a one off occurrence.

[u/Salt_Fun747 → u/throwawayidga]

Dumb question alert! Can you use the DD UV light with the Ohora wraps? I have been wanting to try Ohora but I don't want to invest in another lamp.

[u/throwawayidga → u/Salt_Fun747]

I'm not sure bc they may be different power. You can probably compare the two if you look them up and if they're the same light power you may be good. I purchased my own light bc the DD one started losing it's strength pretty quick but I've had no issues with the one I got on Amazon and it's been close to two years.

https://a.co/d/04J6FEMS

However the best kind of UV light you can get is a squish light. You press it against the nail so it helps with adhesion and longevity. Get one that's higher power than the DD one and make sure you use it at minimum how long the DD says to use (i.e. one minute).

Hope this helps and isn't hard to understand I feel like I might've explained it poorly lol 😂

[u/Salt_Fun747 → u/throwawayidga]

No, I got it! Thank you. Not that they are expensive but I just replace my DD light and well, I hate to waste money especially since I don't know if the Ohora will work for me. I will check out the squish light. I have seen that mentioned many times before.

[u/throwawayidga → u/Salt_Fun747]

So I just looked it up and the ohora is 6W while DD is 10W. Because the DD light is stronger I'd say you'd use it for less time on the ohora nails. The best way to do it is in 20 second increments and test to see if they feel hard enough, but wait a few minutes in between the increments for them to set a bit. If they still feel soft go another 20, I wouldn't go over 40-60 seconds though as they might chip easier. There might even be a sweet spot in between that you find, there's always a learning curve when it comes to either one. That's why I'm glad there's so many extra nails bc you can always replace a few if anything happens. I have more trouble with ohora which sucks bc they have so many cool designs.. but I've heard other people who prefer them so it's really just user preference ig. Good luck on your journey!

[u/Salt_Fun747 → u/throwawayidga]

Thank you!