Onsen Professional Nail Buffer, Ultimate Shine

Made my nails really shiny
This is a great way to have nice looking nails if you do not wear nail polish. I followed the instructions and my nails look bright and shiny. I also highly recommend the nail files as they are gentle yet effective on natural nails.

Works Great!
This product is awesome!!It works, and gives your nails an unbelievable hard-coat-super-shine!! Not sure the science of how this works… but it is witchcraft!!! I love it!! Works fantastic on natural nails, and acrylic nails. The shine NEVER fades or leaves, and doesn’t really scratch. You don’t have to re-do the filing process ever! I get my acrylic nails done professionally by my friend. I bring this bad jackson, instead of a doing a gel top coat. This is WAY better than a gel top coat.I gave an overall 5-stars, but I do have a couple of gripes…1. It seems pretty flimsy… so I am really unsure how long the file will last.2. It is $$PRICEY$$ for this tiny, flimsy thing!!! I mean way to expensive!!!If the file lasts and lasts… then it would be worth the price. I will just have to see how long it lasts!!UPDATE- JUNE 30 2020:I will stick with my original statement that it works, and makes your nails WAY shiny!!!! However, as you can see from my pics the shining side is completely flaking and falling apart. Keep in mind, it’s flaking after literally 3 uses. Wow!!! I love how good it works, but would NOT purchase again!!! It’s literally worthless now, because the shining side of the block is completely peeled off. It’s way to expensive as well. No, just no!!UPDATE- JULY 2 2020:I contacted the company personally from their website (not through Amazon, since my return window had closed), and told them about how the buffing block was falling apart. I also sent in the pictures. They immediately offered me two options. 1. Get a full refund (even though the return window on Amazon had closed), and keep the original buffing block I paid for OR 2. Have a new buffing block sent to me free of charge, and still keep the original buffing block I paid for. I chose another buffing block. The customer service was awesome!! I bought this on 5/4/20 and could return it back through Amazon up until 6/3/20. Even being past the return date, they STILL helped me!! I appreciate that, and definitely will change my mind and order from them again.

Worth it!
Leaves nails looking beautiful.

Decent block, nothing amazing; don’t use too often or nails will be thinned and damaged
First, note that any buffing block like this, no matter the brand, is damaging to the nails. You’re essentially filing off the nail’s top layer of keratin with a fine sandpaper, then buffing it to a shine. So it certainly shouldn’t be done often, especially if you have naturally thin or brittle nails to begin with. So use sparingly and/or only on very thick and healthy natural nails!That being said, I bought this because after keeping my nails painted with regular polish practically 24/7 for over a year, they started peeling in sheets from the tips, no matter what products, brands, and techniques I tried. I knew I wanted to take a step back from polish and allow the peeling tips to grow out, but still find a way to keep my natural nails looking shiny and smooth without polish.So, I decided to try this buffer once to give my natural nails a “fresh start.” It’s expensive for a single buffing block and I didn’t find that it really performed any better than a cheaper block from a beauty supply store. It gave me a nice smooth feeling and a shine, but nothing super glossy or glass-like. I did go easier with the sanding steps to protect my already-thin nails. The more you sand off, the more shine you’ll likely get (but the more damaging). The initial shine only lasted about 4 days for me before I felt like it was starting to dull and needed to be polished again with the smooth side of the block. Bit disappointing considering they advertise 10 days of shine. I did get 10 days out of using it for a pedicure, though, since socks act like protection. My photos show a before and after on both hands.I do like that they sell replacement pads, but so far the block has held up fine for me after doing a manicure and pedicure. Obviously don’t dig the tips of your nails into the buffer and it won’t become scratched up like some reviews show. You should just be gently gliding it over the surface of the nail, not digging the tips of your nails into it.Since I only plan to use this infrequently, I justified paying $13. But if you’re someone whose thick nails can stand up to more frequent buffing without taking on too much damage, I’d say go with a cheaper block from a beauty supply store and get the same result. Also, don’t fall for the “Japanese” marketing – as far as I can tell, Onsen is an American brand owned by an American man who visited Japan once and now names his products things like “onsen” and “pagoda” for the foreign appeal.