7 Best Nail Strengtheners for Tips That Can’t Catch a Break

Keeping your nails and cuticles healthy with the best nail strengtheners is critical, especially if you can’t resist getting a fresh set every few weeks. Daily wear and tear—plus the damage from gel or acrylic removal—can leave your nails weak and brittle. In the same way you’d protect your hair from heat styling, show your nails some TLC between salon visits to keep them smooth, shiny, and resilient. We’ve rounded up the best nail strengtheners out there: clear ones, tinted options, base coats, cuticle treatments, and more. Then, we sourced tips from experts—like board-certified dermatologists and nail artists—on why nail care matters. Scroll on and thank us for those tough nails (and longer-lasting manis!) later.

Our Top Nail Strengtheners

Best Overall: ePhD Nail Bond Treatment

Epres

ePhD Nail Bond Treatment

Why it’s worth it: The ePhD Nail Bond Treatment is a kit staple for Los Angeles-based manicurist Alex Jachno. It repairs broken bonds in the nail and acts as a protective layer underneath base coat and polish. “Think of it as the most beneficial pre-base coat step,” she says. She likes that it penetrates down to the nail bed to hydrate, support growth, and help your manicures last longer: “I’ve never used a better treatment, and I use it on all of my clients,” she says.

Best for Discoloration Chanel Le Base Camelia

Why it’s worth it: Another (ultra-luxurious) conditioning pick from Jachno, Chanel’s Le Base Camélia smooths and protects nails while leaving behind a sheer, even, milky base that looks chic alone or layers nicely under polish. You’ll notice your nails feel harder and smoother almost immediately after applying it, but the real payoff comes after a few weeks of regular use—think visibly healthier, more even-looking tips. The secret? Camellia oil and cellulose, which help fill in ridges and keep your nails from drying out (which can cause them to break more easily).

Best for Nail Growth: CND RescueRXx

Why it’s worth it: When your nails are constantly splitting, it’s time for a hard reset. Apply CND’s Rescue RXx to bare nails and avoid polish for a week or two after for the best results. This deeply conditioning, oil- and keratin-based treatment can help repair cracking and splitting nails with white spots caused by wear and tear, like picking, buffing, and scraping. Take it from New York City-based nail artist Miss Pop, who calls RescueRXx “one of the best strengtheners out there.”

Best for Breakage: Essie Hard to Resist Advanced Nail Strengthener

Essie

Hard to Resist Advanced Nail Strengthener

Why it’s worth it: Essie is a mainstay in the manicure game, so it’s no surprise the brand is also serious about promoting healthy nail growth. The Allure Best of Beauty Award-winning Hard to Resist Advanced Nail Strengthener uses MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), a compound rich in sulfur, to boost keratin production in the nails, which helps build overall strength. Just prep your nail beds with a quick clean and apply the product. If you’re struggling with yellowish nails, you might be better off with Neutralize & Brighten, a purple-tinted formula to neutralize discoloration, but this is our recommendation when you’ve just come off a long streak of acrylic or gel manis or when you simply haven’t been prioritizing nail care.

Best Base Coat: Nail Essentials by ASP Artificial in a Flash

ASP

Nail Essentials by ASP Artificial in a Flash

Why it’s worth it: If your nails are weak and brittle, but you still need your mani to shine, nail expert Juli Russel says the Nail Essentials by ASP Artificial in a Flash Super Hard Base Coat is a good place to start. “It hardens your natural nails and adds reinforcement to help prevent breaks,” she says—even under a fresh coat of polish. The formula taps hydrolyzed keratin, a protein that penetrates the nail, to strengthen and smooth. Longer tips (and therefore, sleeker manicures) are just around the corner.

Best Tinted: Butter London Jelly Preserve Strengthening Treatment

Butter London

Jelly Preserve Strengthening Treatment

Why it’s worth it: We’re sure you know (and love) the K-beauty jelly nail trend—now, it comes with a tip-strengthening twist. Butter London’s Jelly Preserve Strengthening Treatment has a sheer, tinted finish that comes in several colors and is infused with nail-loving ingredients like hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, tea tree oil, and olive oil. Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, is a fan: “It contains argan oil, which has emollient and occlusive properties,” she says, adding that it’s free of potentially harmful ingredients like formaldehyde, toluene, and formaldehyde resin.

If you want a see-through treatment, skip this one—it only comes in colors. Instead, try Butter London’s clear Base Coat Nail Polish Horsepower. Regardless of your chosen base, Dr. King recommends using the brand’s Hardwear Shine UV Topcoat after to shield your nails from UV damage.

Most Versatile: Margaret Dabbs London Nail Strengthening Treatment

Margaret Dabbs

London Nail Strengthening Treatment

Why it’s worth it: Plenty of nail strengtheners promise results, but don’t do much beyond adding shine. Margaret Dabbs London’s Nail Strengthening Treatment is the real deal (it is a 2025 Best of Beauty Award winner, after all). With just one coat, it helps fortify weak, bendy nails, thanks to a nutrient-packed formula featuring celery seed extract and vitamins B5, E, and F. The soft, barely-there pink tint is an added bonus—layer on a second coat, and it looks polished enough to wear solo (pun intended). You can also use it as a strengthening base coat under any nail polish. It’s everything we want in a nail strengthener in one power-packed formula.

Best for Nail Ridges: DefenAge 360-Rejuvenation Nail Root Serum

DefenAge

360-Rejuvenation Nail Root Serum

Why it’s worth it: DefenAge’s 360-Rejuvenation Nail Root Serum earned a coveted Best of Beauty Breakthrough Award for its data-backed nail growth and strengthening results. “It is unique in that it focuses beyond the nail [itself], at the root where the new nail is generated,” manicurist Julie Kandalec previously told Allure. “Ridges have long been a common complaint of my clients, and it is really impressive that this product can get rid of them.” The formula boosts keratin production, delivers antioxidants, and goes on effortlessly with a brush applicator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do nail strengtheners do?

“Nail strengtheners help to prevent brittle and damaged nails and help the nail bed to stay healthy—if nutrients are incorporated in the formulation,” says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. “The strengthening part usually uses proteins and polymer resins to nourish and form a seal.” As you use them, you should notice that your nails don’t bend, break, or split as easily.

But how do nails become weakened and brittle in the first place? Manicures and the process of removing gels and acrylics can be particularly damaging—especially if you’re removing them at home by ripping them off or picking at your nails. “Nails are composed of cells called keratinocytes that look like tiles on a roof if you examine them under a microscope,” Dana Stern, MD, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist, previously told Allure. “By peeling off a gel manicure, you are not only removing the gel but also the top layers of these delicate cells. This can result in white patches and textural irregularities throughout the nails.”

Aside from gels and acrylics, other factors can weaken nails, such as “a fungal infection (onychomycosis), contact dermatitis (from nail polish), psoriasis of the nails, nutritional deficiency (iron, biotin, etc.), and eczema,” David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City. Not sure which one could be your culprit? Consult your dermatologist to get to the root of the issue.

How should I choose a nail strengthener?

Dr. Kim explains that to choose the right nail strengthener, it’s important to consider the underlying cause. If it’s picking at gels, first and foremost, try to stop doing that—and reach for something more restorative. “Moisturizing with your favorite cuticle oil or cream will help damaged cells stick together, thus improving the appearance of the surface of the nail,” Dr. Stern says.

When shopping for nail strengthening treatments, read the ingredient list for vitamin-rich minerals and rehabilitators, like hydrolyzed keratin protein. Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Connecticut, previously explained that applying this protein (which is naturally found in nails and hair) helps create a protective barrier that only improves with time.

Meet the experts

• Alex Jachno is a Los Angeles-based nail artist
• David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City at Idriss Dermatology and founder of Lightsaver
• Dana Stern, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City
• Juli Russel is a nail expert
• Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Connecticut
• Miss Pop, a New York City-based nail artist
• Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City
• Ginger King, a cosmetic chemist

How we test and review products

When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that’s included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.

For our list of the best nail strengtheners, we considered each product’s performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.

Our staff and testers

A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.

After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the “best” for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.

Your home manicure game is due for an upgrade: