Manucurist Damaged Nails Routine: a two-week course, day by day

What it is

A bottle of base on the edge of the sink, an oil in the bedside drawer, a mask forgotten from one week to the next. Nail treatments often pile up with no order and no schedule. The Manucurist Damaged Nails Routine brings them together in a single kit and gives them a programme: a 2-week course, with a guide that says what to do each day.

The kit contains three treatments. The S.O.S. Base is a concentrated repairing treatment polish. The Green Oil is a nourishing treatment for nails and cuticles. The S.O.S. Mask is a regenerating overnight treatment. The fourth element is the care guide, detailed day by day over the two weeks of the course.

The routine is for anyone with damaged nails who prefers to follow a plan rather than apply a treatment at random. It also exists in a variant called the Starter Routine.

Manucurist, the brand that makes it, specialises in nail polishes and treatments. Among other things it offers care routines like this one, a Green polish range presented as bio-based and an Active range with a make-up effect.

Why it exists

A damaged nail needs several actions: repair, nourish, regenerate. Manucurist gives each of these roles to a separate product and spreads them over time. The base works during the day and stays on the nail. The oil is applied several times a day, as a massage. The mask takes over at night, once a week.

The guide ties the three together. Instead of wondering each evening whether to apply the oil, put on more base or use the mask, you follow the step of the day. For the brand, it is this regularity over two weeks that makes the course work.

Manucurist also presents this routine as suited to sensitive nails, with gentle formulas. According to the brand, these treatments offer clinically proven efficacy.

What matters

A base with three active ingredients. The S.O.S. Base combines hexanal, vitamin C and AHAs. It is presented as a concentrated repairing treatment polish: it goes on like an ordinary base coat, but its job is to treat the nail. Its formula is 71% ingredients of natural origin.

An oil that is almost entirely of natural origin. The Green Oil combines 6 botanical oils, including sweet almond, passion fruit and baobab. It reaches 99% ingredients of natural origin, the highest share of the three treatments in the kit. It looks after both nails and cuticles, so you don’t need another bottle for the skin around the nail.

An overnight mask with panthenol. The S.O.S. Mask is built around panthenol and is 80.5% ingredients of natural origin. It contains fragrance, which is worth knowing if you avoid scented products. It goes on in the evening and comes off the next morning in one of two ways: you either peel it off in one piece or wash it off with soapy water.

One calculation method. All three natural-origin percentages are calculated according to the ISO 16128 standard. They therefore rest on the same method, so you can compare the three treatments with one another.

A schedule written in advance. The guide sets out the course day by day. It is what turns three products into a routine: you open the guide, do what it says for that day, and move on.

A short course that can be repeated. The routine lasts 2 weeks. Manucurist then recommends a break, and says a monthly renewal is possible. For anyone who wants to keep their nails in good condition over time, the course can therefore be repeated every month.

Day to day

Everything starts on bare nails. The course is done without coloured polish, for the two weeks it lasts.

The S.O.S. Base is applied every 2 days, without removing it between applications. You therefore don’t need nail polish remover every other day: the base builds up over the course.

The Green Oil is the most frequent step: twice a day, massaged into the nails and cuticles. It is the part of the routine that demands the most regularity, and the one where the guide helps most to avoid forgetting.

The S.O.S. Mask only comes out once a week. You put it on in the evening, leave it on overnight and take it off the next morning, either by peeling it off or with soapy water.

After the two weeks, Manucurist recommends a break. The course can then start again once a month.

Technical specifications

Feature	Value
Course length	2 weeks
Kit contents	S.O.S. Base, Green Oil, S.O.S. Mask, care guide
Guide	2-week course, detailed day by day
Active ingredients of the S.O.S. Base	hexanal, vitamin C, AHAs
Composition of the Green Oil	6 botanical oils, including sweet almond, passion fruit and baobab
Active ingredient of the S.O.S. Mask	panthenol
Fragrance in the S.O.S. Mask	yes
Ingredients of natural origin, S.O.S. Base	71%
Ingredients of natural origin, Green Oil	99%
Ingredients of natural origin, S.O.S. Mask	80.5%
Standard for calculating natural origin	ISO 16128
Conditions of use	on bare nails, for 2 weeks
Frequency, S.O.S. Base	every 2 days, without removing
Frequency, Green Oil	twice a day, as a massage
Frequency, S.O.S. Mask	once a week
Removing the mask	the next morning, peeled off or with soapy water
Renewal	break recommended after 2 weeks, monthly renewal possible
Variant	Starter Routine

What the brand says

Manucurist states that these treatments offer clinically proven efficacy. It backs this claim with panel results, product by product.

For the S.O.S. Base, the brand cites an external user evaluation carried out with 20 volunteers over 21 days. According to Manucurist, 100% of participants found their nails harder.

For the Green Oil, the brand refers to a panel of 20 people over 2 weeks. According to the brand, 100% of participants found their nails nourished.

For the S.O.S. Mask, Manucurist mentions a panel of 20 people over 14 days. According to the brand, 80% of participants noticed more hydrated nails.

The brand also presents the routine as suited to sensitive nails, with gentle formulas. Finally, Manucurist describes its polishes as “Clean”.