What It Does: First Aid Kiss is one of our best-selling strengthening treatments and a real fan favorite. How so? Because it’s jam packed with vitamin E which is like liquid gold for your nails. Vitamin E protects your nails against free radical damage, hydrates your cuticles and strengthens your nail beds. Yes, it really is that good.
Ideal For: Weak, thin, splitting or yellow-stained nails.
Why We Love It: Vitamin E is also believed to help brighten your nails and fade that annoying yellow tint which can be caused by dark nail colors. Result. But remember, if your nails are excessively yellow, this may be caused by something other than surface staining, so if you’re ever in doubt, see a doctor.
Over To You: Hundreds of five-star reviews prove that First Aid Kiss offers a big win for fabulous nails.
“My nails are FINALLY long, strong and healthy!” explains one reviewer, Beth. “I’ve never finished a bottle of nail polish in my life and I’m already ordering my third bottle… I love this stuff."
What It Does: Damage Control harnesses the powers of horsetail plant, a healing herb that’s rich in nutrients and packed with silica to promote better nail growth. The high mineral content of horsetail has also been said to help reduce white spots in your nails as an extra bonus.
Ideal For: Weak, brittle nails or those that simply won’t grow.
Why We Love It: For one thing, Damage Control offers results – and fast. We’ve found that applying it every three days for just two weeks makes our nails way stronger and healthier-looking. This makes it ideal for anyone hoping for great nails at full tilt, which, in all honesty, is so us. Patience? Not our strong point.
Over To You: Although Damage Control is relatively new to the ella+mila family, it’s already gained a cult following.
“For the first time in my adult life, my nails are healthy and strong,” reckons Aaron. “I have never used a nail product in my life that’s given me such wonderful results.”
What It Does: Strengthening your nails is just the tip of the iceberg for Firm Foundation. This little beauty also hardens your nails and provides the perfect foundation (c’mon, the clue was in the name) for your nail polish. And as you all know, a great base coat is the true hero in any long-lasting mani.
Ideal For: Soft, weak nails.
Why We Love It: Correct us if we’re wrong, but who doesn’t love a beauty product that works hard for its money? Well, this 2-in-1 strengthener and base coat does exactly that. More importantly, it works. We almost named it ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ but it was a bit of a mouthful.
Over To You: Clearly you folks love a multi-purpose product just as much as we do.
“This stuff is magic in a bottle,” says Cari. “Not only are my nails stronger but they look and feel soooo healthy!”
Each of those treatments will help your nails begin to grow stronger, but I know you want results fast! In addition to those tips we mentioned earlier, here are 3 extra things you can start doing to speed up their comeback.
1. Keep Your Nails Short
Long nails are way more likely to bend, snap or break so keep them on the shorter side to help them stay strong and hard.
2. Load Up On Hydration
This includes drinking plenty of fluids and regularly using moisturizer. If you’re constantly washing your hands, that can lead to dry cuticles and brittle, weak nails, so apply hand cream throughout the day and rub oil into your cuticles every night before bed. BTW, our Oil Me Up (cuticle oil) will take care of this real well.
3. Avoid Unnecessary Chemicals In Your Nail Products
There are so many harsh chemicals in regular nail products, it’s unreal. Ingredients like camphor, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene are a dime a dozen, but can cause all manner of nasty side-effects including dryness and irritation. Be kinder to your nails by sticking with ella+mila polishes which are free of the 17 unnecessary toxic or potentially harmful ingredients. To see a list of the ingredients to look out for, click here.
4. Avoid acetone in your nail polish remover as this will further dry out your skin and damage your nails. Instead, use soy or jojoba Nail Polish Remover that nourishes your nails instead of damaging them.