Nail Polish... er....Enamel!

Okay, so I am not ashamed to admit that I LOVE NAIL POLISH! To me, my nails are a canvas through which I can express my style, without going overboard. Lately, I've been experimenting with different designs and brands, my latest being a matte topcoat.

Now, you might think to yourself  "Alright! Cool! Get on witcha nail art!"

But unfortunately, it's not that easy. See, I'm Muslim. As a Muslim, I pray 5 times a day. In order to pray, my body has to be purified by doing a simple cleansing with water, called wudu (pr. woodhoo). In order for the wudu to be valid, all of the surfaces that are washed (hands, face, arms and feet) must be touched by the water.

Now, what does this have to do with nail art, specifically nail polish, you ask? Nail polish is water-proof. And because it's waterproof, I can't have it on my nails when I wash them for prayer, because it prevents water from soaking into my nails.

So, to enjoy my love of nail polish, I have to do one of two things.

1) Only wear it during Aunt Flo's visit. Now this might seem strange that I would only wear it during that time right? I mean, what's the difference? Well, the difference between any other time and Aunt Flo's visit, is that a Muslim (male or female) cannot pray if blood is flowing from their body (ie: a serious injury that gushes blood, or a woman's cycle). So since during that time of the month, I can't pray, then I can wear nail polish and not have to worry about it. 

2) I could wear my nail polish, and then remove it whenever I have to make wudu, and then put it back on after completing it. Yes, that would involve pulling out the nail polish remover whenever I needed to make wudu, which could be up to 5 times a day. Also, that uses a lot of nail polish if done over an extended period of time.

Now, option 2 to me is excessive, though I do know of some Muslim women who do this. So I usually go with option 1. 

BUT NOT ANYMORE!!!!

For those of you who by this point have no idea where I'm going with this, or why I'm so excited, let me introduce you to a nail polish that has been designed to be BREATHABLE!

Brought to you by the brand INGLOT, this nail polish, called O2M, is designed to allow oxygen and water vapors to pass through the layers of the nail polish.Originally intended to provide oxygen and water to nails to keep them healthy, this nail polish has made it's stamp on the women of Muslim communities worldwide!

This nail enamel was invented by a Polish chemist and entrepreneur named Wojciech Inglot, who wanted to make a healthier alternative to regular nail polish. Unfortunately, Inglot died February 23, 2013 (this year) at the age of 57. 

With this nail enamel, no more worrying about having to remove it before performing wudu! The water passes through the enamel and to the nail via water vapors.

Don't trust it? Here is the opinion by world known and popular Muslim speaker Suhaib Webb:
***Suhaib Webb on Inglot BREATHABLE nail enamel*** 

The above link also provides an experiment that is simple to perform for anyone who would like to replicate it.

Here is a video from my good friend MsItoshi on Youtube, doing the same experiment:
***MsItoShi's Inglot nail enamel review***

My overall thoughts?

I think this nail polish is the real deal for a number of reasons. Though there is still doubt among a large scale of people, I personally am convinced that this nail polish is permissible to wear while performing wudu.

First, the nail polish is very VERY thin. One of my friends let me try hers, and I applied one coat in the evening, and the next day, it was already chipping away. Good thing they sell a topcoat made using the same O2M technology. 

Second, it reacts to water without damaging it. Last night, I applied a second coat, and I made the amateur mistake of shaking the bottle (BIG NO NO!). This, in turn caused air bubbles to come through the nail polish as it was drying. Today, I applied water to it, and was actually able to rub most of the air bubbles out without removing any of the actual polish! Also, when I was rubbing the air bubbles out, there was a small residue left on my finger, almost like it was powder?

One last thought. This inglot is a whopping $14 per bottle! I'm not quite sure if I can stomach spending that much  yet, but we will see.

Anyhoo, that is my love of nail polish/nail enamel review. Let me know what you think! Also, let me know if you have bought the inglot O2M nail enamel. Do you like it? Hate it? Do you trust it?

Take care!