Why That Nail Pen Isn’t Curing Your Fungal Nail Infection
By Dianne, the PottyPurplePod | Registered Podiatrist in Warrington
You’ve seen the ads:
💧 Essential oils.
🍋 Lemon juice.
🖊️ “Nail repair pens” promising results in just two weeks.
Sounds impressive, right?
Shame it’s mostly just marketing noise dressed up as science.
Let’s break down what’s really going on and why that miracle pen might smell great but won’t get rid of your fungal nail infection.
Why Nail Pens Don’t Penetrate the Nail Plate
Many nail pens claim to “penetrate the nail” and reach the infection underneath.
The problem?
The nail plate is made of tightly packed keratin which is non-living, dense, and naturally water-resistant. It’s more like a protective shield than a sponge.
For a product to be effective, it needs:
- A proven penetration system
- Clinical evidence that it reaches the nail bed
- Confirmation that it clears the fungal infection itself
Lemon juice and tea tree oil, while lovely smelling, haven’t been shown to do that, especially not from a felt-tip pen.
That One Study Everyone Quotes…
You might’ve seen this study used to sell essential oil nail pens:
“Study to Evaluate Effectiveness and Safety of a Nail Oil Composed of Vitamin E and Essential Oils in Mild to Moderate Distal Onychomycosis”
Published in Skin Appendage Disord 2020;6:14–18
What the ads don’t mention:
- Only 17 patients were studied
- No inclusion or exclusion criteria
- The study wasn’t blinded; participants knew they were being treated, which opens the door to the placebo effect
- There was no control group to compare results
- No clinical mycology (i.e., no lab confirmation that the fungus was gone)
Using percentages like “78% cured” is misleading when you only study 17 people and don’t have a proper control.
Why Fungal Nail Infections Are So Hard to Treat
Fungal infections aren’t surface-level. They live beneath the nail plate, at the skin/nail interface—hard to reach and resistant to surface treatments.
Even pharmaceutical antifungals struggle to get through.
That’s why, in clinic, I use techniques like fenestration (tiny holes in the nail) to help real medication reach the infection site.
Watch the Breakdown
Should You Use Lemon Juice or Vicks for Fungal Nails?
If lemon juice or Vicks VapoRub could truly cure fungal nail infections, we’d all be using them professionally. But we’re not, because they don’t.
At best, they have a mild bleaching effect that may make the nail look clearer.
At worst, they delay people from getting proper treatment that actually works.
What Does Work?
Looking to get that fungal nail fixed by a registered podiatrist in Warrington?
You’ve found one! I’m Dianne, the PottyPurplePod, with over 30 years’ experience doing exactly that.
Whether it’s your first visit or a follow-up, treatment starts at that appointment.
No fluff. No vague promises. Just the right tools, applied the right way.
👣 Let’s treat it properly. Book here