Doctor Reviews: Kerassentials

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Kerassentials is a blend of various oils that claims to treat toenail fungus, also known as onychomycosis. But does it really work? Let’s dive into the ingredients, examine their effectiveness, and see if there’s any scientific evidence to support these claims.

Ingredients of Kerassentials

Undecylenic acid

Undecylenic acid, derived from castor oil, is a fatty acid found in some over-the-counter skin medications. It’s known for relieving itching and irritation associated with skin issues and is commonly used against fungal skin infections.

Research suggests that undecylenic acid, also called undecenoic acid, is effective against fungal skin and nail infections. However, most treatments use a powdered form called zinc undecylenate, which is used in concentrations of 20% to 25%.

Kerassentials does not use zinc undecylenate and only includes a weak concentration of 5% undecylenic acid. When combined with the other oils in the mix, this concentration becomes even more diluted, making it too weak to effectively treat fungal nail infections.

Mineral, Almond, Flaxseed, Jojoba oil

Mineral oil, almond oil, flaxseed oil, and jojoba oil are often used in skincare products to keep skin and nails moisturized. While they work well as carrier oils, they don’t have any known medicinal benefits for fungal infections.

In fact, for fungal toenail infections, keeping the nail drenched in moisture might be a bad idea. Fungi thrive in warm, damp environments—like inside shoes or socks. So, applying moisturizing oil could potentially worsen the situation by trapping moisture inside the toenail.

Instead, you want to keep the nail dry. A dry environment helps slow down fungal growth and prevents the nail from softening and weakening, reducing the risk of further infection.

Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is known for its antimicrobial properties against various bacteria and fungi. This makes it a potential treatment for toenail fungal infections.

In one study, applying 100% pure tea tree oil twice daily improved nail appearance and symptoms in about 56% of patients after three months. However, only 18% saw complete resolution of their infections after six months. Another study using a lower concentration of 5% tea tree oil found no benefits.

So, tea tree oil can be somewhat effective at treating toenail fungus when used in its pure form. However, since Kerassentials mixes it with other oils, it’s likely to be ineffective in this product.

Aloe Vera Extract

Aloe vera is a popular herb known for its use in treating skin conditions, especially for inflammation and wound healing. It’s great for healing burns, but there’s little evidence to support its effectiveness in treating toenail fungal infections.

Canola Oil

Canola oil is essentially vegetable oil. Pouring vegetable oil on your toenail fungus won’t do anything. It lacks any medicinal properties to combat fungal infections.

DL-Alpha Tocopherol

DL-Alpha Tocopherol, also known as vitamin E, is an antioxidant often used in various skin conditions, though its overall benefits remain uncertain. For instance, studies have shown that topical vitamin E has no significant effects on scar healing or sunburn treatment. There’s also no evidence supporting its effectiveness against fungal infections when applied topically.

Walnut, Clove, Chia, and Manuka Oil

Walnut oil, clove oil, chia oil, and manuka oil have traditional uses in skincare, but there’s little scientific evidence to support their effectiveness against toenail fungal infections or any other topical uses.

Menthol and Camphor

Menthol and camphor provide a cooling sensation and can alleviate itching or irritation when applied topically. However, they don’t have any proven impact on nails or fungal infections.

Lemongrass and Lavender Oil

Lemongrass and lavender essential oils are often used for their pleasant scent and potential relaxation benefits when inhaled. However, they don’t have any known effects on nails or fungal infections.

Is Kerassentials effective?

Summarizing our ingredient analysis, let’s first eliminate oils like mineral, almond, flaxseed, canola, walnut, clove, jojoba, chia, and manuka. These oils lack any medicinal value beyond moisturizing or acting as carrier oils.

Next, we exclude ingredients like aloe vera extract, Vitamin E, menthol, camphor, lemongrass oil, and lavender oil. While these may have some skin benefits, they lack evidence for treating nail fungal infections.

We then identify undecylenic acid and tea tree oil as having potential to treat fungal infections if used properly.

However, upon further examination, we find that the doses and concentrations of these ingredients in Kerassentials are too low and impure to be effective. As a result, Kerassentials is mostly composed of inert and ineffective oils. Mixing numerous oils has diluted any potential benefits, rendering it ineffective for managing toenail fungus.

Why are fungal infections hard to treat?

Resolving toenail fungus may still take a significant amount of time, if it clears up at all. Even effective treatments for this condition have limited success due to various factors.

Fungal infections, especially those affecting toenails, are challenging to treat for several reasons. Firstly, the infection usually occurs beneath the hard surface of the nail, making it difficult for antifungal medications to reach it effectively. This protective barrier slows down the healing process.

Additionally, toenails grow slowly, only about 1-2 millimeters per month. So, even successful treatment takes time as healthy nail tissue gradually replaces the infected portion. This slow growth means treatment is prolonged, increasing the risk of incomplete treatments.

Incomplete treatments can lead to reinfection since fungal spores often persist in the nail bed and are hard to eliminate. This means that even with effective antifungal treatment, fungal nail infections tend to be chronic. Treatment requires persistence and may be further complicated by underlying health conditions. For instance, diabetic patients are more prone to fungal toenail infections due to a weakened immune system.

It’s important to understand that there’s no quick fix for toenail fungus. Topical medications may take up to a year to show results. Oral medications for treating fungal nail infections usually need to be taken for several weeks or months. While they are much more effective than topical treatments, they come with more side effects.

Overall rating

Rating Kerassentials by effectiveness for treating toenail fungus, I’m giving it a D. It’s mostly composed of useless carrier oils that won’t do much of anything for fungal infections.

Rating it by cost, I’m giving it a D. It can be easily replicated with much higher quality ingredients at a far cheaper cost.

Rating it for safety, I’m giving it an A. If used topically on a nail, it will likely be safe to use as most of it is made of inert oils.

Overall rating, I’m giving a D. I would not recommend it at all.

Top alternatives to Kerassentials

• Tea tree oil – topically
• Undecyclenic acid – topically

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