I Tried 6 Things After I Took My Gel Off. 5 Made It Worse. 1 Fixed It.
Paper thin. See-through. Bending backwards. Here is what $187 and four months taught me.
By Jess MarlowUpdated September 2026
Going back to the salon. $85 and the same nails.
Week one I caved. The nails were bending backwards when I dried my hair. So I booked a fill. $85 with tip. Three weeks of looking fine. Then the gel came off and took another layer with it. Thinner than before. My tech asked if it was my first time. I had been coming for 16 years. That is when I did the math. $200 a month. $2,400 a year. For nails that were getting worse under the cover. Total so far: $85.
Biotin gummies. $34 and an upset stomach.
Two bottles. Two a day for two months. The internet swore by them. My nails did not notice. My stomach did. It turns out biotin helps if you are low on biotin. I was not. Most people are not. The gummies stuck to my teeth and did nothing else. I gave the second bottle to my sister. Her nails did not notice either. Total so far: $119.
A hardener polish. $18 and a nail that snapped in half.
This one looked like it was working. The nails felt hard for the first time in months. Then I opened a can of soda. The thumb nail snapped clean across, below the white line. It hurt for a week. A hardener is paint. It makes a thin nail stiff. Stiff and thin means it snaps instead of bends. I threw the bottle out and cut every nail down to the skin. Total so far: $137.
Cuticle oil, ten times a day. $22 and greasy keys.
The forums said oil, oil, oil. So I oiled. Every hour. My keyboard was slick. My phone was slick. My nails looked shiny for about ten minutes, until I washed my hands. Then they were the same dry, peeling nails with nothing on them. Oil on top of a nail does not get into a nail. I know that now. I did not know it for six weeks. Total so far: $159.
Press-ons for the wedding. $28 and two hours of glue.
My cousin's wedding was in three weeks. I was not showing up with stubs. So, press-ons. They looked great in the photos. They lasted 48 hours. One lifted at the edge during the speeches. When I peeled them off, the glue took the top layer of two nails with it. Back to square one, minus another layer. Everything I did to cover the problem made the problem worse. Total so far: $187.
A brush pen that feeds the nail. It worked.
Nailz. A click pen with a brush. Keratin, plant stem cell extract and three oils, painted into the nail plate. Ten seconds, twice a day. I did not believe it. Two weeks in, the peeling stopped. Week four, they stopped bending when I typed. Week eight, I filed them for the first time in a year. They are not long yet. They are mine. That was the whole point. It came with 90 days to change my mind. I did not need them.
| Nailz pen | The salon | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ✓Keratin and plant stem cell extract in a brush pen | ✕Gel over a nail that is getting thinner |
| What it costs | ✓About $16 a pen with the 3-pack | ✕$85 every three weeks |
| When it comes off | ✓Nothing comes off. The nail grows in stronger | ✕Takes a layer of nail with it |
| Time | ✓10 seconds, twice a day | ✕Two hours in a chair |
| The deal | ✓Buy 2, get 1 free. 90 days money back | ✕Another fill next month |
You made it to #6. You are not going back.
So here is the best deal we can give you.
"After having gel nails for so long my nails were weak and brittle. Nothing worked until I found this."
"My nails were so weak after so many years of acrylics. Four weeks of use and it has made a huge difference."
"I am trying not to use fake nails for a while to get my natural nails healthy again. This is helping."
"Something that actually does what it says. My nails were wrecked from gel."
"They are not long yet, but they have stopped peeling. Two weeks in."
"I ordered more within a week. I could see it happening."
My nails are paper thin right now. Will this even work on them?
Can I keep wearing gel while I use it?
Is this just cuticle oil in a pen?
How is it different from a hardener?
What if I forget a day?
Am I signing up for a subscription?
Your own nails can look better than the fake ones did.
Use it for 90 days. If your nails are not stronger, you get every dollar back.
YES, BUY 2 GET 1 FREE →90-day money back