Nailtiques Nail Protein Formula 2 Plus, 0.25 oz by Nailtiques

After wearing acrylic nails for over 35 years, my natural nails were completely shot. This product worked unbelievably well to strengthen, rebuild, and stop my nails from splitting. The secret to these amazing results is consistency. You must use it daily. At the end of each week, remove the layers and start the daily process over again. My nails looked fabulous before I even finished the first bottle. Because the quality and results are so incredible, I continue to use it as a base coat today. Regarding the price: yes, it is a little pricey for a small bottle. However, the premium quality and the fact that it actually delivers on its promises make it well worth the investment. It is far cheaper than salon repairs! I highly recommend it.

Update May 31 2025: This is still the best nail strengthener I've ever found. It doesn't just coat the nails with a strong layer of polish, it actually improves the nails themselves. My weak, brittle, dry nails are SO much stronger after using this for the past several months, even without the polish on. They're thicker, too, which is amazing. I am so impressed!! I gotta say, though, I recently tried Nailtiques Formula 2 - the one without the "Plus" - and wasn't as happy with the results as I am with the Plus version. I just wish I could get this in the .5 oz size as well. Previous review: I have had extremely dry skin my entire life, and dry nails and cuticles along with it. The impact of this on my nails has been no surprise: dry, brittle, peeling nails that split and break if you so much at look at them funny. After years of trying many other (much cheaper) options to strengthen my brittle, peeling nails, I finally gave in and ordered my first bottle of this about 4 months ago. I followed the instructions and started with 2 coats, adding 1-2 more coats every other day or two (or three). I noticed a huge difference right away and have continued to be very, very impressed with how much stronger my nails are. I've had very little problem with breaking or tearing despite the fact that winter in Maine usually leaves my nails, and hands in general, in complete tatters. I'm also terrible about remembering to moisturize my hands and never think to moisturize my cuticles, and yet I've had *maybe* 1 nail tear since I started using this stuff. Literally nothing else that I've tried has helped me nearly this much. There are a few drawbacks, however. For one, once the bottle has been opened, the polish in the bottle starts to thicken really, really quickly, until it's difficult to apply a thin enough layer that it will dry within a reasonable amount of time. I've been playing with a nail polish thinner that seems to help, but I feel like it also reduces the amount of time before the polish starts to chip off of the tips of my nails. Maybe the thickening problem is worse because of the smaller (0.25 oz) bottle size, but it makes me hesitant to buy the full size, especially with how expensive this stuff is. (Plus, I can't find this formula in the 0.5 oz size anyway.) The second thing is that the brush is too small - narrow - and requires multiple passes to completely cover the nail. This sometimes results in visible raised lines in between "stripes" of polish. Hopefully the brushes in the full sized bottles are better in this regard. The brush is also too short, making it difficult to access the last ⅓ of polish in the bottle. When I reach that point I always end up having to play around with tipping and inverting the bottle in order to pick up enough polish for each nail (with the lid securely screwed on of course). Despite all of that, I'm still very impressed with how much longer and stronger my nails have been with this polish. I've gone through two and a half of the 0.25 oz bottles since I started using it and plan to buy more when this one runs out.

I love this product; it is quite expensive given its small size, but it does the trick. I love doing my own nails at home and I wanna grow my nails. I use this as a regular topper but one way I do love using this is as a base coat and a top coat over a regular polish and it works amazingly like that it makes my nails stronger.

I have used everything for very, very brittle, cracking, splitting nails with zero success. I asked AI what the best products were and for my situation this is the product they recommended. It has worked. I don’t know what is different about it, but I haven’t had a single nail split, peel, or break off. My hands are in water every day, so I’ve been reapplying every other day. I bought the clear this time, but will try a color next time. This product works!

It’s not a miracle but it does seem to help reduce breakage and strength between polishes.

I'm 52 and my nails have splitting, related to hormones I assume but frustrating nevertheless. So, I used ChatGPT to find out what I could do. It recommended a thick hand cream as well as cuticle oil after washing hands (which I try to do once a day) and then Nailtiques or OPI Nail Envy every other day, stripping it off once a week. So, for the last 4-5 weeks, I have been appling Nailtiques every other day for 3 applications and then removing with nail polish remover and repeating. My nails have stopped splitting and are growing long! This is as long as I like them to get so I'll cut them half way and let them grow again. I honestly was not expecting much and am surprised (and quite happy) with the results! On the days that I apply, I moisturize my hands, rubbing the cuticle oil, and then paint with Nailtiques right after. It dries super fast and hard but not thick. And it just looks like I have clear polish on. It's the same price as Nail Envy per ounce, just comes in a bottle half the size. I'd say a bottle would last 2 months max. I'm going to try Nail Envy next to compare and to not have to buy a bottle so soon. I'll try to remember to update this review if Nailtiques works better then Nail Envy.

It really does work. Found it thru a friends recommendation and her referral was from a beautician

I had a severe nail-biting habit as a kid. I managed to stop in high school, but years of abuse left my nails weak and prone to peeling, and common drugstore strengtheners did nothing (or even seemed to make the problem worse). My aunt owned a beauty salon at the time, and she suggested I try this stuff, which was a salon exclusive back then. Twenty years later, this is still the best nail strengthener I've found (and I'm so thrilled I can order it on Amazon instead of buying it at a salon now). I relapse every few years when an especially stressful time will leave me gnawing at sad little stubs that used to be fingernails; this happened most recently in January, and I went back to Nailtiques. Boom. Now it's April and my nails are strong, and so long that I keep hitting the wrong keys when I type. Nailtiques typically recommends sticking with Formula 2 for the most part, and only going to 2 Plus for severe issues that Formula 2 can't tackle on its own. My aunt steered me straight toward 2 Plus back in the day, so I went directly to 2 Plus this time, too. I used it daily, removing the built-up layers every 3-4 days, for two weeks. Then I switched to Formula 2 for about a week. I also applied coconut oil (which my nails and cuticles love) at least once a day. This was enough to stop the breaking and peeling and get my nails back on track. 2 Plus isn't perfect. It can dry out your cuticles and the area around your nails pretty terribly, even if you apply it carefully. Also, you're not supposed to apply it to broken skin, which is tricky if you have nails that are broken or bitten very short. On sore, chewed nails, this stuff can burn like the sting of a thousand fire ants. In addition, if you use this for a long time and get your nails TOO strong, they're likely to break. Nails need some flexibility. Do a course of this when you need it, then go back to your regular nail care routine. This stuff is like magic on my nails. I adore it.