Oils are the quiet half of a nail routine. Nails and cuticles like being soft, and a drop of oil takes ten seconds. L'Occitane Strengthening Shea Nail and Cuticle Oil is infused with 30 percent shea oil plus apricot and almond oil to soften cuticles. OPI Nature Strong Nail and Cuticle Oil is a small 8 mL bottle that fits in a bag. CHANEL L'Huile Camélia is billed as a hydrating and fortifying nail oil, and DIOR Crème Abricot is a strengthening nail care cream. Londontown Nourishing Cuticle Oil and Essie On A Roll Apricot Cuticle Oil are both simple daily oils, and the Essie one has a rollerball. CND SolarOil is a nail and cuticle conditioner, and Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream is rich but absorbs into a silky finish, with grape polyphenols and fair trade shea butter.

Pairing tip: oil goes on right after you wash your hands or take off polish, while nails are still soft. Press it into the cuticle and the nail edge, then rub the rest into your hands. Keep a bottle by the sink and one by the bed.

What I would skip: acetone-heavy removal every few days. If your nails keep peeling, give them a polish break and let a strengthener and oil do the work.

Hands and nails share a skin barrier, so a good hand cream is part of nail care. CYKLAR Vanilla Verve is a fast-absorbing cream with urea, ectoin and squalane, and it smells like warm vanilla and musk. Nécessaire The Hand Cream has ceramides, peptides and niacinamide, and the brand says it helps with dryness and brittle cuticles. Moroccanoil Hand Cream in Fragrance Originale is an amber and woods scent with argan oil and hyaluronic acid, and the brand says it nourishes hands, nails and cuticles. L'Occitane Shea Butter Intensive Hand Balm is 25 percent shea, made for dry hands and formulated for the whole family, ages three and up. Glossier Hand Cream in You is a pod you can click shut and toss in a bag. Salt and Stone Santal and Vetiver has niacinamide and seaweed extract in a woody, earthy scent. The Vanilla + Almond Milk and Cherry + Whipped hydrating creams are small, sweet and not greasy or sticky, per the brand.

Try this: keep one full size at home and one small tube in your bag, and use it every time you wash your hands. Consistency beats the fancy jar.

What I would skip: a very strong perfume on cracked skin. If your hands sting, pick the plainer balm.

Brittle nails respond to habits more than any single bottle. File gently, keep nails a manageable length, wear gloves for water work, and oil the cuticles daily. Choose a strengthener you like wearing, then add one oil and one hand cream so you actually use them. If your nails change shape or color, thicken, or hurt, the dermatologists at the AAD say to see a doctor, so do not keep guessing with polish. Otherwise give it a few weeks, since nails grow slowly, and let the routine be boring on purpose. Boring is how nails get stronger.