A while back I confessed that I stopped using nail strengtheners after reading on the Beauty Brains that strengthener contains chemicals that can actually be counter-productive to having strong, healthy nails. The people over at Nail Tek read my article and contacted me about a new product they developed. The offending chemical in normal strengthener is formaldehyde, which according to the Beauty Brains, combines with keratin protein in nails and can actually cause them to be more brittle and, therefore, more prone to breakage.

Nail Tek created a big 3 free strengthener and replaced formaldehyde with naturally occurring aldehyde extracted from citrus. The normal Nail Tek line, for people who use strengtheners, is already the most popular treatment on the market. So, I decided, why not, I’ll give Citra a whirl. Nail Tek tiers their products to specially target whatever nail issues one is encountering. The Citra line is divided into three products. Nail Tek Citra I is for protecting nails that are already strong and healthy. Nail Tek Citra II is for peeling, soft, or thin nails. It’s supposed to seal the peeling layers and reinforce the nail. And finally, Nail Tek Citra III is for dry brittle nails. This formula is supposed to help condition nails and replenish moisture which helps nails resist stress. Most girls use Nail Tek products as their base coat or under another base coat.

My nails are already strong so I’ll be using Nail Tek Citra I on my right hand, which is more prone to breaks than my left hand, for the next two months. My left hand will act as the control group, I’ll continue using my regular regime for result comparison. My Mother, who has chronic soft peeling nails will be using Nail Tek Citra II. I’ll have to call her everyday to remind her though. This experiment was supposed to start last month and when I called my Mother for results today, she said, “Huh, what? What product?” D’oh.

I know many of you use the normal Nail Tek line religiously, but have any of you tried Citra? I’d be interested to know your observations.

I decided to take them up on their 4 easy tips. I already used a crap ton of hand creams and the like, so no change needed there. After years of being duped by Knox’s Gelatin Nail Strengthener, I already knew that gelatin was ineffective on nails. I wanted to try using less remover but that was, and still is, an impossibility. So the only tip left was to get rid of my strengthener. I started to use a sticky base coat instead.

The results were not immediate. In fact, I’d say it took about a year for my nails to be noticeably stronger. Whereas last year I had to have short nails because my nails were constantly breaking and *horribly* peeling, I now have really long healthy nails – so strong, that I haven’t had a serious break in months (now that I’ve said that, watch one break tomorrow.) I do get occasional peels, but nothing that can’t be easily taken care of with a buffer.

Of course, I’m not saying that my progress was due solely to my abandonment of strengthener. Especially because some people swear by their strengtheners, I’m not discrediting them completely. I suppose what I’m suggesting is… if you haven’t had luck with strengtheners, try giving them up indefinitely and see what kind of results you get. I’m a firm believer that when it comes to nails, different things work for different people – so skipping the strengtheners, which can be hella-expensive anyway, might be worth a shot.

I decided to take them up on their 4 easy tips. I already used a crap ton of hand creams and the like, so no change needed there. After years of being duped by Knox’s Gelatin Nail Strengthener, I already knew that gelatin was ineffective on nails. I wanted to try using less remover but that was, and still is, an impossibility. So the only tip left was to get rid of my strengthener. I started to use a sticky base coat instead.

The results were not immediate. In fact, I’d say it took about a year for my nails to be noticeably stronger. Whereas last year I had to have short nails because my nails were constantly breaking and *horribly* peeling, I now have really long healthy nails – so strong, that I haven’t had a serious break in months (now that I’ve said that, watch one break tomorrow.) I do get occasional peels, but nothing that can’t be easily taken care of with a buffer.

Of course, I’m not saying that my progress was due solely to my abandonment of strengthener. Especially because some people swear by their strengtheners, I’m not discrediting them completely. I suppose what I’m suggesting is… if you haven’t had luck with strengtheners, try giving them up indefinitely and see what kind of results you get. I’m a firm believer that when it comes to nails, different things work for different people – so skipping the strengtheners, which can be hella-expensive anyway, might be worth a shot.