The 16 Best Nail Strengtheners for Healthier Nails, According to an Expert

Best Overall

Duri Rejuvacote Nail Growth System

$13 at Amazon View on Duri.com

Key Ingredients: Keratin | Size: 0.6 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If you're looking for a top-notch, multiuse nail strengthener treatment, you can end your search here. We reach for this product time and time again, whether to use it to repair nails after a gel manicure, as a base coat, or as a top coat. It’s even great for adding healthy-looking shine when our nails are bare and looking kind of blah. What makes this product so versatile? Two different proteins, plus added calcium and keratin, work together to stimulate growth. Furthermore, the formula is designed to seal in necessary moisture and fatty acids naturally produced by the nail plate to minimize dryness and peeling.

Best Overall, Runner-Up

Olive & June Nail Strengthener

View on Oliveandjune.com

Key Ingredients: Celery seed extract | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If your nails have breakage, peeling, white spots, or ridges, reach for Olive & June's popular nail strengthener (after you’ve spoken to your doctor and ruled out any potential health conditions, of course!). The company claims this strengthener can boost nail strength up to 77% thanks to nourishing ingredients like celery seed extract (a powerful antioxidant said to help reduce nail ridges and prevent moisture loss) and the brand’s signature flora extract. Commerce writer Caitlyn Martyn swears by this formula and has at least two bottles on hand at any given time. “I wear press-ons a lot, so when my nails need recovery, I try to apply one coat every day as an intensive treatment,” she explains. “In about a week, I usually notice my nails look much better.” She also notes that if you don’t need an intense treatment, you can also apply it instead of your usual base coat when polishing your nails to keep them strong and firm.

Best Drugstore

Orly Nail Defense Nail Strengthener

$9 at Amazon $13 at Ulta $10 at Sallybeauty.com

Key Ingredients: Horsetail extract | Size: 0.6 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Affordable and effective, the Orly Nail Defense Nail Strengthener contains horsetail oil to encourage nail growth and prevent peeling. The protein-packed treatment works as a base coat, but if you want to sport it solo, its extra-shiny finish looks like clear polish. It also features the brand's special grippy brush handle, making fast and precise swiping a breeze. Plus, it's most likely available at your local drugstore and on Amazon Prime, so you can start treating your nails within hours.

Best Splurge

Chanel Protective and Smoothing Nail Treatment

View on Ulta View on Chanel.com $32 at Saks Fifth Avenue

Key Ingredients: Camellia oil, cellulose | Size: 0.4 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

Chanel’s La Base Camélia serves as a nail treatment and a base coat all in one, effectively hardening and smoothing nails using camellia oil, a fatty acid-rich ingredient that helps nourish and prevent dryness. The addition of natural mineral pigments neutralizes the look of nail discoloration, coating your nails with a peachy-pink hue that lasts up to a week. Although it is one of the more expensive options on our list, it adds a subtle touch of luxury to your nail care routine and genuinely enhances the look of your nails while you wear it. The only con: The treatment requires two coats and takes a while to dry, so make sure you apply it when you have ample time.

Best for Chips and Peeling

Nails Inc. Nailkale Base Coat

View on Nailsinc.com

Key Ingredients: Pomegranate extract | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

The Nails Inc. Nailkale Base Coat is a Byrdie favorite. It provides five different benefits: hardening, strengthening, and moisturizing nails while also stimulating growth and preventing breakage and splitting. True to its name, the formula contains antioxidant-rich kale extract in addition to strengthening keratin and nourishing camellia oil to keep nails hydrated and smooth. While it has a minty green tint in the bottle, the base coat goes on clear and dries with a glass-like sheen.

Best for Natural Nails

OPI Natural Nail Strengthener

$12 at Amazon View on Ulta $12 at Target

Key Ingredients: Vitamins A and E | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

If you like to keep things simple, aren't sporting acrylics or lots of gels, and want something to make your natural nails look a heck of a lot better, then try the OPI Natural Nail Strengthener. We love that this formula contains vitamins E and A to nourish and strengthen nails. Along with protecting nails to ensure long, strong growth, it doubles as a silky base coat, preventing staining and discoloration and helping color polishes adhere better. Keep in mind, though, that it has a very strong scent. You may want to keep the windows open while you apply it to air the place out. 

Best Kit

Zoya Naked Manicure Starter Kit

$30 at Amazon View on Zoya.com

Key Ingredients: Sunflower oil | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

To create the look of truly healthy nails—no matter how beat up they might be—reach for this four-step system. Step one is a nutrient-packed base coat full of vitamins, proteins, and amino acids that keep nails both strong and flexible to ward off peeling and breakage. Follow that with a pink polish and White Tip Perfector for a DIY French mani look, and a shine-enhancing top coat to seal the deal. The result: a gorgeous manicure in place of nails that look like they've been through the wringer. 

Best Base Coat

Butter London Horse Power Nail Rescue Base Coat

$18 at Amazon $12 at Target $18 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, biotin | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If you like to have your nails polished at all times, then you're probably a fan of base coats—the handy barrier that prevents staining and prolongs wear. In that case, might we suggest one with benefits, like this formula that transforms nails from brittle to super strong? The formula has four key ingredients that deliver impressive results: horsetail extract and biotin to promote healthy growth, plus vitamin B and calcium to reduce brittleness. We also love how this product is fast-drying, making it an easy option if you're constantly reapplying.

Best Base Coat, Runner-Up

Dr.'s Remedy Hydration Clear Moisturizing Nail Treatment

$18 at Amazon View on Remedynails.com

Key Ingredients: Biotin | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

This effective formula, a favorite of Gerstein’s, leans on biotin, wheat protein, and pentavitin (a hydrating plant extract) to help keep nails long and strong. "I use this as a base coat, especially during the cold winter months, to help seal moisture into my nails," says Gerstein. It also smells amazing, which we credit to tea tree oil and lavender oil, which appear in the formula for their nourishing and aromatic properties.

Best for Nail Biters

Barielle No Bite Pro Growth

View on Barielle.com

Key Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil, vitamin E, horse chestnut seed extract | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Nail biting can cause weak, brittle nails—not to mention that it's not the most hygienic habit. While this product goes on invisible and odorless (so it can be used alone or over nail polish), it has a nasty, bitter taste that will discourage biting nails and cuticles. It's also infused with ingredients such as hydrating sunflower seed oil, vitamin E, and horse chestnut seed extract to boost growth and strengthen the nails, helping to transform them from bitten-down and brittle to long and strong, all in one step.

Best Tinted

Pear Nova Enhance Nail Strengthener

$14 at Pearnova.com

Key Ingredients: Aloe vera | Size: 0.34 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Think of this product as a moisturizer for your nails, addressing the dryness that can make nails brittle and prone to breakage. Start with clean nails and apply this strengthener two to three times weekly for two weeks. It can be used as a base coat or all on its own to add a sheer, subtle pink hue to your bare nails. We love that the nourishing formula includes soothing aloe vera, which is a great option for nail hydration. The only downside is that the brush is a little thin. We’d prefer if the bristles on the brush were denser, as the formula itself is somewhat thick and harder to deposit with such fine bristles.

Best 17-Free

Ella + Mila First Aid Kiss Nail Strengthener

$11 at Amazon $11 at Target $18 at Walmart

Key Ingredients: Vitamin E, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Ella + Mila likes to brag that its formulas, including this nail strengthener, are 17-free. But what does that mean? It’s essentially another word for nontoxic nail polish, indicating the formula is free from 17 of the potentially harmful ingredients that are commonly found in nail products. What it does contain is good-for-your-tips vitamin E, which is helpful for weak, thin, and splitting nails.

Best for the Entire Nail Area

CND RescueRXx

$21 at Amazon $21 at Ulta View on Beyondpolish.com

Key Ingredients: Sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, keratin | Size: 0.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

Think of this as a cuticle oil and nail strengthener hybrid. The formula contains jojoba and sweet almond oils, both of which impart tons of moisture—not only to the nail but to the surrounding skin, too. In addition to the benefits of hydrating cuticle oil, there's also protein-rich keratin in the mix to help bolster the strength of the nail. All you have to do is swipe it on and rub it into the nail and across the entire nail bed area. If you do so twice daily, the brand claims you might see improvements in one to four weeks. The only caveat: It's not a base coat which means adding an additional step to your nail care routine. 

Best With Keratin

Lights Lacquer Magic Strengthener

View on Lightslacquer.com $13 at Anthropologie

Key Ingredients: Keratin, calcium, safflower seed oil | Size: 0.43 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Nails need a little help in the growth department? Research shows that keratin can help treat brittle nails. With that in mind, we highly recommend this strengthener. The formula, which contains keratin (duh), calcium, wheat protein, soy protein, and safflower seed oil, is designed to strengthen nails and support nail growth. The proteins in the formula work to lay the foundation for longer, healthier nails in the future. Wear it on its own or as a base coat underneath your favorite polishes.

Best Color Polish

Londontown Perfecting Nail Veil

$20 at Amazon View on Ulta View on Londontownusa.com

Key Ingredients: AHAs, rapeseed oil, biotin, calcium, Vitamin E | Size: 0.4 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Everyone loves a nourishing base coat and a protective top coat, but what if you could eliminate both from your routine in favor of a color polish that does it all? Enter Nail Veil from Londontown. It comes in eight classic mani colors, from raspberry red to dusty rose, and is full of ingredients designed to strengthen your nails, including biotin, calcium, and vitamin E. In addition, the formula contains a cocktail of alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) like glycolic acid which help smooth ridges in your nails while also helping them absorb nourishing ingredients more efficiently. The brand gets bonus points for being toxin-free.

Best Nail Serum

ISDIN SI-NAILS Nail Strengthener

$35 at Amazon $35 at Dermstore View on Isdin.com

Key Ingredients: Capric triglyceride, Castor oil | Size: 0.08 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If your nails are brittle, broken, and peeling, it might be time to reach for this strengthening serum. Dispensed by a mess-free, one-click applicator pen, you simply brush the clear mixture over your bare nails and allow it to dry. Infused with hydrating ingredients including castor oil and capric triglyceride (a light emollient derived from ​​coconut oil and glycerin), it delivers deep hydration with daily use. You can expect visibly thicker, more resilient nails in around two weeks.