Nail Reset System

Nails and cuticles usually feel more hydrated and flexible within the first month, and the surface starts to feel smoother. Colour takes longer. Most people see a difference at around four to six weeks, and it shows up in the new growth near the cuticle rather than across the whole nail.

That's because a clearer nail has to grow in. Fingernails grow around 3mm a month, so a full one takes four to six months from root to tip, and toenails take around twelve. You trim the discoloured part away as it moves up.

It's made for fingernails or toenails that look discoloured, cloudy, dull or thicker than usual. That's usually gel, dark polish, long stretches of polish wear, or the early stages of a fungal concern.

If the discolouration is coming from something going on inside the body, a surface routine won't reach it. The next few questions should help you work out which one you're looking at.

Most people can't tell by looking, and plenty guess wrong. Staining from dark polish tends to sit fairly evenly across the surface, and it's worst on whichever nails carried the most colour. A fungal concern usually starts at one edge or the tip of a single nail and spreads slowly, and it brings thickening or crumbling at the free edge along with the colour change.

Either way, this system does the same thing, because it works on the surface of the nail rather than on a diagnosis. If the nail is thickening, lifting or sore, get it looked at properly.

Most people who end up here have, and the ingredients in those products are usually fine. What lets them down is the surface they go onto.

A nail plate is dense, tightly packed keratin, built to keep things out. On a hard, sealed nail, most of what you apply washes off before it gets in. This system prepares that surface first with 20% urea and lactic acid, then puts the oils onto a nail that can hold them.

Probably not. The Nail Reset Oil is a concentrated blend that includes tea tree, oregano, clove and manuka, and essential oils at that concentration can irritate sensitive skin.

If you know you react to them, we'd suggest skipping this one. Email us and we'll point you at something gentler in the range.

If you're not sure, patch test on your inner forearm and leave it 24 hours before you go near your nails. Keep the oil on the nail and off the surrounding skin, and stop if you get redness, stinging or itching.

Yes, they work as a system. The serum gently exfoliates the surface and prepares compacted keratin, so the Nail Reset Oil that follows can properly sink in. The oil is a concentrated blend of tea tree, oregano, clove and neem, essential oils known for their natural anti-fungal properties. Used together, you get the full benefit.

Yes. Toenails are where most discolouration turns up, and the routine is exactly the same.

What changes is the wait. Toenails grow at roughly half the rate of fingernails, so a full one takes around twelve months to grow out. You still use the system daily for four to six weeks.

No. Both steps need to reach the nail itself, so this works on bare, clean nails.

If four to six weeks of bare nails isn't realistic, you can use one of our water-based polishes to conceal discolouration. These come off with a Remover Serum instead of acetone so won't set back your progress.

Pause nail polish, remover and hand sanitiser for the four to six weeks. Wear gloves for washing up and cleaning, skip long soaks, and leave the discoloured layer alone rather than filing or buffing it off. Buffing thins the nail and usually makes things worse.

Most discoloured or thickened nails are a cosmetic concern, and a consistent routine is the right response. A smaller number need more than nail care. It's worth knowing which one you're dealing with rather than waiting to find out.

Book in with your podiatrist or GP as well if:

• The nail is painful, or the skin around it is red, swollen or weeping
• The nail is lifting away from the nail bed
• The discolouration is dark brown or black, or shows up as a single stripe running up the nail
• You have diabetes, poor circulation, or a weakened immune system
• Nothing has changed after eight to ten weeks of consistent daily use

None of that means this system won't help you. It means the cause may sit deeper than the nail surface, and a podiatrist can tell you in one appointment what months of guessing can't.

This works on the nail you have and the nail growing in behind it. If nails are coming in already affected at the matrix, which is the root where new nail forms, nothing you put on the surface will change that.

Things that sit at the matrix include some medications, thyroid and circulation concerns, psoriasis, and old trauma to the nail. Age slows nail growth as well, which stretches every timeline on this page. If you've been consistent for eight to ten weeks and nothing has shifted, that's worth getting looked at.

Stop using it and email us. It's uncommon, and we'd rather hear about it early.

Usually it's one of two things. The essential oils in the Nail Reset Oil can irritate skin that's sensitive to them, which tends to show up as redness or stinging around the cuticle rather than on the nail. Or a nail that was already well hydrated gets tipped soft by the extra moisture, which makes it bend, tear and peel more easily. Tell us what you're seeing and we'll sort it out.

The daily system does the reset, and keeping it is a lighter job. Most people move to a cuticle oil daily and hold onto the habits that limited the damage in the first place, so gloves for cleaning and a break from acetone.

If there's still discoloured length to grow out, and on a toenail there usually will be, you can run the system again.

Yes. Every Kester Black product is vegan and cruelty-free.