We’re also pretty addicted to gel manicures, but all of that filing and acetone does nothing to help in the quest for strong nails. With your ring finger taking centre stage on your wedding day, you’ll want your nails to be looking strong and healthy. If your big day isn’t good enough reason to get them in great condition, what will be? Whatever your nail complaint, we’ve rounded up a range of the best nail strengtheners on the market to help.
Top 10 best nail strengtheners in the UK
Just bear in mind that you need to be patient – most of them take weeks (or longer) before any results are visible. Whether your nails are thin, flaky, peeling or all of the above, here are the best nail strengtheners of the moment.
1. Decleor Paris Cica Botanic Balm
This miracle-working product makes a nice change from the usual nail strengthening polishes, targeting not just your nails but your skin and cuticles too. It’s a fab all-rounder and perfect for popping in your handbag. Enriched with eucalyptus, rosemary and geranium oils, this beautiful balm acts as a protective layer for your skin.
It also absorbs deep into the nail bed to enrich your nails and encourage growth. For its ability to moisturise your hands without leaving your skin greasy, this product gets top marks.
2. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
Want stronger, smoother nails? Level up with Advanced Hard as Nails® with Nylon from Sally Hansen! Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails is an extra-strength nail hardener that contains nylon and retinol to strengthen and smooth nails and prevent chipping, splitting and peeling.This advanced nail hardener helps protect and strengthen your nails while filling in ridges. Our Nylon formula fortifies fragile nails and helps prevent peeling, while natural Omega 3 and Soy help diminish the look of ridges.
3. Essie Treat Love Colour Nail Treatment
Essie’s 1st advanced one-step strengthening care and colour product that brightens immediately and delivers long term benefits to dry, brittle nails. Lab tested formula so you can experience stronger nails in just 1 week with 60% less peeling and 35% less breakage.
An all-in-one caring formula with collagen & camellia extract, now available in 14 perfecting sheer, shimmer and cream shades. TLC combines colour and care strengthening formula after which nails look instantly perfected just in 1 step. ‘Tinted Love’ is a restorative coral peach sheer shade with a shimmer finish. No base or top coat needed.
4. OPI Nail Envy for Soft & Thin Nails
OPI Nail Envy Soft & Thin (15ml) is a custom formulated natural nail strengthener. Nail Envy Sensitive & Peeling fortifies and strengthens weak, thin and damaged nails. Featuring proven Nail Envy technology, Nail Envy Soft & Thin is enriched with extra Calcium and a blend of Sea Minerals and is formulated especially for soft and thin nails. Designed to infuse strength, health and vitality into weak, thin and soft nails, this high-performance nail treatment is easy to apply and delivers long lasting results.
5. Rimmel London Nail Nurse
The nail nurse is a nail treatment which protects your nails from damage. It comes in a pretty jumbo glass bottle with a white cap. The applicator brush is of medium size and has a good density of bristles. It goes on smoothly on the nails and picks up a good amount of the product at once, which covers up my nail perfectly.
I like the overall packaging. It is also decently priced. The nail paint has a light creamy peach shade in the bottle and some micro shining particles too. But, on the nails, it is almost colourless and looks like a normal base coat. It can be used as a base coat or top coat both.
6. Mavala Scientifique K+ Nail Hardener
The tip of the nail is the most fragile, most unprotected part and breaks easily. This is therefore the part of the nail to be strengthened. By instantly penetrating and quickly hardening the nail Mavala Scientifique allows soft, flaking or splitting nails to become healthy and strong. Its formula hardens the nail plate so that the nail can restore its normal growth. Mavala Specialise in providing award winning treatments and top quality nail polish with over 150 shades to choose from so your not short for choice.
7. Nails Inc Nailkale Superfood Base Coat
Brimming with goodness to strengthen your nails, NAILS.INC’s Superfood Kale Base Coat is consistently ranked with the brand’s greatest sellers (for a very good reason). Five-a-day for your fingers, this powerful treatment works hard to help fortify keratin and encourage healthy growth while protecting from breakage, warding against splitting and granting deep, long-lasting nourishment.
A brilliant treatment when worn on its own, this brightens and instantly counteracts ridges (it acts like a filler to leave your nails gorgeously glossy), while protecting from staining when worn under darker nail colours. With aloe vera, lemon, ginseng, pomegranate and grape to deliver a smoothie of vitamins and minerals, this base is essential for helping your nails to achieve their strong, shiny potential.
8. CND Rescue Daily Keratin Treatment
Salvage your nails with this CND RescueRXx daily keratin treatment. Keratin proteins work with your natural nail to bond together and strengthen damaged nails, while jojoba oil adds moisture to aid in keeping your nails hydrated and healthier. Brush this powerful treatment onto your nails each day to enhance strength and reduce the appearance of damage. Ideal for daily use, this CND RescueRXx daily keratin treatment helps diminish white patches, splitting and peeling to revive and restore your weakened fingernails.
9. Duri Rejuvacote 1
The tag line for this product reads ‘from dying nails to nails to die for,’ and we couldn’t agree more. We reach for it time and time again, whether to use it as a rehab treatment post gels, as a base coat, or whenever our nails are bare and looking kind of blah. (To that point, it works as a solo treatment, as well as base and topcoat.) Two different proteins plus keratin plus calcium work together to stimulate growth, and the formula also effectively seals in the moisture and fatty acids naturally produced by your nail plate to minimize dryness and peeling.
10. Nailtiques Protein Formula 2
Flaky, splitting nails that desperately need a little TLC? Then this high-shine polish is sure to be the nail strengthener for you. Nailtiques’ award-winning Protein Formula 2 is highly regarded as a cult classic in the beauty world, winning numerous awards for its restorative and protective formula.
The two-step program begins with the application of Protein Formula 2 daily to bare nails and removing it at the end of the week with a non-acetone polish remover. Nailtiques advise that you use coloured polish only when your nails are stronger, at which point you should move to their Formula 1 nail strengthener. It’s more of a base coat really. Our thoughts? If your nails are really in a pickle, this is your best bet for getting them in pristine condition.
How to choose the best nail strengthener
Take special note of the following three factors when selecting a nail hardener.
1. Price: If your nails are constantly causing you problems, pain or embarrassment, spending a little extra on a nail strengthener will go a long way. However, there are plenty of inexpensive options for those seeking small improvements.
2. Results: When searching for a nail strengthener, it’s important to know that some products offer faster results than others. If you’re searching for a nail hardener that offers immediate results, the Barielle Clearly Noticeable can thicken your nails after just one coat. If you have time on your hands, however, you can seek a more long-term solution like Sports Research Biotin.
3. Lifestyle: Most importantly, consider your lifestyle when making your pick. Are you someone who can commit to painting their fingernails every other day? Or would you rather apply a nourishing cream like Hard As Hoof to your nails and cuticles after washing your hands?
Summary
Handshakes make the world go round, and everyone deserves to extend their hand with pride. Whether you’re looking to completely transform your nails or give them some extra love and care, we’re firm believers that there’s a solution for everyone. We hope you now have all the information you need to select the best nail strengtheners for your individual needs. We wish you the best of luck!