Best Nail Strengthener Polish

The best nail strengthener polish gives you flawless, healthier nails. At ORLY, we have a wide range of polishes from the best peel-off nail polish to the best vegan nail polish.

But, what is the healthiest manicure for your nails? The answer is easy. It’s the manicure that uses a nail strengthener as a basecoat.

Not all nail polish can be used as strengtheners though. You need to use a polish that was specially designed to strengthen and repair nails.

Continue reading for a breakdown of our best nail strengthener polishes. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to choose the best nail strengthener polish for you.

What This Article Covers:

The Best Strengthener Polishes for Your Nail (Our Review)

ORLY Nail Defense

ORLY Nail Defense was created by us to strengthen nails against breakage, peeling, and splitting. It contains calcium, wheat protein, and an antioxidant. These ingredients work to repair, fortify and strengthen your nails.

If your nails are weak and prone to breakage, this is the perfect nail polish to fix them. Simply apply it every other day and watch the results. Once your nails are stronger, you can switch to applying it every 3 or 4 days.

When using it to strengthen your nails, you should avoid applying regular or gel nail polish. Yes, gel nail polish too. For those who have never tried it, you might be thinking that gel polish strengthens nails. The truth is, gel polish can be harsh when used too often.

But once your nails are healthier, you can use Nail Defense as a basecoat or topcoat. This will ensure continued protection and nail strength.

This is the best nail polish for strength and growth. It will allow you to grow beautiful, long nails. It has a smooth application and dries quickly, with a shiny finish. Applying 2 coats is recommended as 1 coat will peel after a day or two.

A 2-coat application should last between 5 and 7 days before peeling.

Remember to allow the polish to dry between applications. This will prevent the polish from becoming lumpy on your nails.

This is likely our best nail strengthener polish and is perfect for anyone whose nails are weak and prone to breakage.

ORLY Tough Cookie

We all know how pretty and convenient gel nail polish is. But it can leave you with brittle nails that break off easily. Tough Cookie will heal damaged nails from gel polish.

We used a special formula when designing our ORLY Tough Cookie nail polish. Created with African Okoume Extract, this polish slows the breakdown of keratin.

This formula is perfect for those with dry and brittle nails. It can be rather painful to have nails that snap off. With this polish, your nails will be stronger than ever before.

Tough Cookie is best used on its own if your nails are damaged. Apply one coat every second day and remove everything after a week. Check your nails to see whether you need to continue the treatment.

Once your nails are healthy, you can use the polish as a basecoat to protect against future damage.

Shake well before use and apply 2 coats for the best results.

If your nails are dry and brittle, then we can’t recommend this nail strengthener polish enough.

ORLY Nail Armor

Nail Armor from us is the best basecoat for weak and ridged nails.

Do you have ridges on your nails preventing you from having that perfect manicure? Nail Armor smooths out the ridges while also strengthening your nails. It’s perfect for those with nail damage due to acrylic nails.

This is not breathable nail polish. The polish is creamy and should be applied twice for the best results. Allow it to dry between each coat as this allows a smooth second application. After the second coat, apply your color and topcoat to complete your manicure.

It will give you a flawless, longer-lasting manicure while strengthening your nails. With regular applications, those ridges might disappear too.

You can also wear this basecoat on its own, as a polish. Be sure to shake it well before each use.

If you’re in need of breathable nail polish, then you might want to look at our other options. But, if you need to fix ridged nails, then this one is perfect for you.

How to Choose the Best Polish to Strengthen Nails

There are a few things to consider when choosing the best nail strengthener polish for you. If you’re still having a tough time deciding, then this guide should help you pick the right one.

Check the Damage

What kind of damage are you dealing with? This will determine which kind of nail strengthener you should choose.

If your nails are prone to splitting, then our ORLY Nail Defense is the right product for you.

For dry and brittle nails that are prone to breakage, our ORLY Tough Cookie is the way to go.

If you’re tired of dealing with ridges, then ORLY Nail Armor will be the right pick.

Check the Product

Each kind of nail strengthener is different. The formulas are specifically designed to treat certain conditions. Some products also have hints of color in them, while others don’t.

For example, our ORLY Nail Armor takes on a slight pale white color after 2-3 coats. This means that it can look like a manicure all on its own.

Check the Size

While all of our prices are standard, we offer bigger and smaller sizes in our nail strengthener polishes. Our larger sizes come in at $12, while the smaller size comes in at $5.

Do you just need a quick fix for your nails? Or do you need a longer-term treatment? Do you want to use your nail strengthener polish as a base coat after your treatment?

All of this will determine what size to go for.

If you just need a quick fix, you can go for our smaller, $5 option.

But, if you need a longer-term treatment and a base coat, then you should go for our larger options. If you frequently have problems with weak or damaged nails, then your best solution is to use one of our nail strengthener polishes as a base coat after treatment.

How often should I apply a nail strengthener?

You should apply two coats for the first application. Be sure to allow the first coat to dry before applying the second. This will allow the second application to be smooth.

After that, you apply one coat every second day. Use nail polish remover to remove everything after a week and check your nails. If your nails seem healthier, you can repeat the process but with a reapplication every 3 or 4 days.

Once your nails are back to full strength, you can wear the strengthener as a basecoat under your polish. You don’t have to, but it will ensure that your nails stay strong and healthy.

Final note

A nail strengthener polish is your best bet if you have weak, damaged, or brittle nails. It’s ideal to add it to your nail routine if you often use harsh products.

If your nails are very damaged, you should use the strengthener on its own for a few weeks. Once your nails are healthy again, you can wear it as a basecoat under your regular polish.

You should note that nail strengtheners can’t be used as antifungal nail polish. If you’re wondering if you can treat toenail fungus with nail polish on, the answer is yes. But you need specialized nail polish for that.

Remember, if you get an allergic reaction to the nail polish, it’s best to remove it immediately. This will prevent further allergy symptoms.

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