Cold weather makes your skin dry and crack your nails and skin. With loss of moisture, your nails become dull and dry, get brittle, and lose their shine and luster. Luckily, there are a lot of product which can give you a stronger and harder nails. Among different type of nail-strengthening products, choose the best for you.

A nail hardener is a clear polish which you can apply to your flimsy and soft nails to make them hard and prevent them from tearing. It reinstates keratin to your fingernails and increase their durability and toughness. Most nail hardeners look likea pure nail polish and are applied in the fingernails just like the other nail polish.

Nail hardeners, also called as nail strengtheners, used to achieve stronger, better-looking, and healthier nails. There are people who face difficulty in growing their nail; applying nail strengthener can help them to grow their nails. Nail hardeners don’t help in nail growth, but they can protect your nails from breaking and make them strong.

If you have soft, pliable, and weak nails, nail hardener can be beneficial for you. If you easily bent the tips of your fingernail, or easily scratch the nail beds, a nail strengthener can be really important for you.

Some nailed down facts

Fingernails are composed of coats of keratin, a shielding protein which is contrived by the body. As we grow older, our growth rate of nails slows down. Scientifically, a fingernail takes around 160 days to regrow completely.

Nail growth and dry cuticles issues

When your body doesn’t accumulate required amount of nutrients to create healthy keratin, your nails becomes brittle and dry that results in breakage and crack. If you like to have strong and healthy nails, consume nutrients and vitamins, such as vitamin B-12, biotin, and iron which is very important for nails.

Nail hardener and nail hydrators are the two basic types of nail health products available on the market. A nail hardener is a product used to apply on fingernails to make them healthier, stronger, and more resistant to breakage. Technically, you will find two types of nail hardeners:

• Cross-linking hardener: It works by reacting with the protein in your fingernails. The protein present in weak nails is like an old stepladder and the structure feels fragile and loose. These types of products use ingredients, such as calcium and formaldehyde.
• Reinforcing hardener: It works on your nails through the ingredients coated with your nails. It creates a layer on top of your nails to strengthen their natural and smooth building. These types of hardener use ingredients, such as sulfhydryl and nylon protein.

Nail hardeners make your fingernails less prone to breaking and splitting and make it feel harder. On the other hand, nail hydrators work by using elements that nourish the fingernail to retain it flexible.

How to use

A thin layer of nail strengthener should be directly applied onto dry, clean, and natural nails. It shouldn’t be applied as a top coat over your artificial nails or normal nail lacquers. It’s also recommended to avoid acetone-based nail polish removers when you use nail hardeners because it makes your nails dehydrated and brittle.