Best for: Peeling, weak nails

Cuticle oils and creams do so much more than make your raggedy, ravaged cuticles look as nice as your manicure. Your cuticles protect the growth matrix of your nails. Translation: Healthy, moisturized cuticles equal longer, stronger nails.

Try:
CND SolarOil, $8.50, made with jojoba oil and vitamin E that deeply conditions cuticles and keeps them in tip-top condition. Use every day for best results.

Dior Créme Abricot Fortifying Cream for Nails, $27. This luxe balm has been around since 1963, and has become a cult classic. Apply it at night, and wake up to gorgeous, soft, healthy cuticles.

Best for: Nail biters

One of the trickiest questions to answer is how to make your nails grow when you're an obsessive nail biter. I used to bite my nails, and most of the time I wouldn't even notice I was doing it. Nothing makes you pay attention like a sour, disgusting taste in your mouth. There are many foul-tasting deterrents that can help you quit nail-biting like, well, a bad habit.

To stop nail-biting and make your nails grow, Far also recommends regular manicures. "It is a lot less tempting to bite your nails when they are perfectly polished. Nobody wants to ruin a fresh manicure!" (My advice: book one a few weeks in advance so you have a goal to reach.)

Try:
Mavala Stop, $16.50, a sour concoction that you definitely don't want in your mouth.

Best for: All nails, but especially those that are weak and peeling

Base coats with protective ingredients like keratin and biotin not only elongate the life of your manicure, they also help keep your nails from splitting and peeling -- resulting in longer, healthier nails.

Try:
Nails Inc. NailKale Superfood Base Coat, $15, a nourishing, polish-prolonging base that contains hydrating botanical extracts and nail-strengthening keratin.

Deborah Lippmann Hard Rock Hydrating Hardener, $20, can be used as both a base and a top coat. It was designed to help repair and strengthen nails that have been ravaged by gel nail polish. It contains biotin and a blend of seed oils and leaf extracts.

Best for: Nails that just won't grow

"Nails take an average of 10 to 18 months to grow out. Biotin (aka vitamin B7) helps them grow a little bit faster," says Downie. Biotin can also help strengthen your nails, but keep in mind that it's working on the nails growing, not the nails you can see (because those are technically dead cells), so be patient with results.

Try:
Hum Nutrition Killer Nails, $20, a vegan, gluten-free supplement that you take once a day with food.

Best for: Nails that grow superslow; weak nails

According to "The Ohio Journal of Science," studies have shown that the less cysteine (an amino acid that occurs in keratin and other proteins) in your diet, the slower your nails will grow. Adding a supplement with this amino acid can help your nails grow more quickly.

Adding more vitamin B can strengthen your nails; vitamin C helps prevent pesky hangnails; vitamin E can improve blood circulation, helping nails grow faster. Both Downie and Far agree that a healthy, balanced diet is one of the best ways to keep your nails healthy. You can also take a supplement.

Try:
Phyto Phytophanére Hair and Nails Dietary Supplement, $30, which makes nails stronger (and hair shinier) with a powerhouse blend of vitamins A, B, C and E, plus omegas 3 and 6.

Nutrafol, $88, is the nutraceutical Downie recommends to all her clients. "My hair has grown over two inches in the past eight months since I have been on it. My nails are growing faster as well ... they are nice and hard and somehow appear a bit healthier," she says.