My First (and probably Last) Time with Gel Nail Polish

I'm not a 'nail person' because I don't do my hands that much. Even sometimes I pick my cuticles. Eww. I know. But I've read a lot about gel polish because of the staying power, so I decided to give it a try.

First of all, if you don't know what the **** gel polish is, read about gel polish in Wiki

Second, you can't apply it at home, at least in Indonesia. In USA, there are some DIY gel polish, like OPI available in Sephora or Sally Hansen

Third, you can't remove it at home. So I have to go back to nail salon to remove it.

OK. One at a time.
This is the result of Artistry(?) gel polish I had on Her Glam Nail Salon in Rasuna Epicentrum.

glittery gel nail polish

First the aesthetician soak my nails in water and probably salt, remove the cuticles and shape my nails. Then she paint a coat of basecoat. Then put my nails under UV light. Then she applied 3 coats of colors, finished with topcoat. Please note that every layer she painted, she put me under the UV light. So I was exposed to UV rays :)

The process was fast because the UV light made the polish dry very very fast (under 20 seconds, I guess).

The aesthetician said it would last 14 days. Yes. Amazing, huh?!

Then I went there at day-5 to remove it. The aestheticians were like 'what happen? Why you wanna remove it after 5 days while it still looks good?" and I answered, simply, "I need to do salat"

As muslim I believe we shouldn't wear nail polish for praying because the water can't penetrate the nails because of the polish. I won't debate on that, some people still wear polish while the're praying, it's their choice, but I rather not.

And FYI, Inglot understands that need and created halal-polish, called
O2M Breathable Nail Enamel
yeah probably Inglot didn't create them for muslims, but to maintain nail health because of the coating would weak your nails..

Then the removal process began. It wasn't simple at all. She put remover on my nails, wrapped it with aluminium foil for 10 minutes, then SCRAPPED the polish using cuticle remover (I know, it was horrible), put acetone once she's done and left my nails slightly dull :(

I didn't time the process, but I think it took almost one hour I guess, or at least 40 minutes. So probably it would be my first and last experience with gel polish, because:

• It costs IDR 250K to apply and IDR 40K to remove 
• It takes time to remove and I can't do it at home
• I just hate salon atmosphere, where the costumers chatted and the aesthetician gossips with each other, like we weren't there. 

So, if you don't need to salat and want superstaying power of nail polish, go ahead with gel.