Reviewed by Evan Lewis, PhD. Last updated 10 August 2026.
If you're standing in the foot care aisle googling "does Kerasal work," here's the honest answer: Kerasal and IodinePure are trying to solve the same problem two different ways, and which one fits you depends on what you want your routine to do. We make IodinePure, so weigh this comparison accordingly. We'll keep it factual.
Key takeaways
- Kerasal Fungal Nail Renewal is a nail-softening and appearance product with no antifungal active listed on its label. Its ingredients, urea, propylene glycol and lactic acid, soften and smooth the damaged nail you already have.
- IodinePure EZ Clear Nails is built around elemental iodine, a mineral with a long published research record, delivered by a soak that reaches under and around the nail plus a twice-daily spray.
- Both demand months of consistency, because the visible fix is always the same: new nail growing in to replace the old. Toenails grow about 1.62mm a month (Yaemsiri, JEADV 2010), which is roughly half the 3mm figure people quote. That number is the fingernail rate.
- Some people use both: one for the look of the existing nail, one as the daily routine for the nail bed and surrounding skin.
What is Kerasal, and what does it do?
It is a nail conditioner rather than a fungus product. Kerasal Fungal Nail Renewal is the best-known drugstore option in this category, and credit where due: it's easy to find, easy to brush on, and its before-and-after photos show real improvement in how damaged nails look.
Here's the part most people miss, and you can check the box yourself: the ingredients are propylene glycol, urea, and lactic acid. Urea softens and thins the thickened nail. Lactic acid helps smooth and hydrate it. That's why Kerasal's own packaging talks about improving the appearance of fungal-damaged nails rather than fighting fungus: there is no antifungal ingredient in the bottle. It resurfaces the damaged nail you already have.
That's a legitimate job. A softer, smoother, less yellow-looking nail is a real cosmetic win. But it explains the pattern behind searches like "does Kerasal work": shoppers expect one thing and buy a nail conditioner. The same gap turns up in the patch version of the idea, which is what we went through in our look at what fungal nail renewal patches actually do.
What is the EZ Clear Nails kit?
A two-ingredient routine built around a soak. The EZ Clear Nails Kit takes the opposite approach to a brush-on: elemental iodine, the mineral used on skin in clinical settings since the 1800s, stabilized in pure water.
Researchers have published on iodine applied to onychomycosis-affected nails in three papers, and they are small enough to describe exactly: a single self-treated case letter in CMAJ, a single-patient case report from 2015, and a 13-patient chart review in which 8 of 13 (62%) were culture-negative at 24 weeks. We break all three down here. Those conclusions belong to the authors and to the preparations they tested.
The delivery is the part no brush-on product can copy: the kit is built around a 5 to 7 minute soak that submerges the toe, carrying the solution under the nail edge and around the nail folds, where the problem actually lives and where nothing painted on top of the nail reaches. That reach limit is the same for the professional brush-ons, which is the point we came back to when we compared Footlogix Nail Tincture, the tincture a lot of clinics sell. Between soaks, a twice-daily spray keeps coverage constant. It's the routine over 200 foot care clinics across North America send home with their patients.
How do they compare, side by side?
On ingredients, on how each one is applied, and on where it can physically reach.
| Kerasal Fungal Nail Renewal | IodinePure EZ Clear Nails | |
|---|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Propylene glycol, urea, lactic acid | Elemental iodine and pure water |
| What it's built to do | Soften, smooth, and improve the look of the damaged nail | Daily iodine routine covering the nail, the nail edges, and the surrounding skin |
| How it's applied | Brushed on top of the nail daily | Soak 3 to 4 times a week plus spray twice daily |
| Reaches under the nail | No, brush application sits on the nail plate | Yes, the soak submerges the whole toe |
| Timeline | Appearance changes reported in weeks; full nail turnover still takes months | 90-day cycles; clearer new growth typically visible at 60 to 90 days |
| Regulatory status | Cosmetic appearance product | Listed with Health Canada as a cosmetic |
| Guarantee | Varies by retailer | 90-day money back guarantee |
So which one should you use?
It depends which job you are hiring for. Our honest take:
Pick Kerasal if your goal is quick cosmetic improvement of the nail surface, you want something from the drugstore tonight, and you're comfortable that it conditions the nail rather than acting on the fungus itself.
Pick IodinePure if you want your daily routine built around a mineral with a long published research record, delivered under and around the nail rather than just on top, with a structured 90-day protocol and a guarantee that caps the risk.
Using both is not crazy. Some people brush a cosmetic softener on the nail plate while running the iodine soak-and-spray routine for the nail bed and surrounding skin. If your nails are thick, the smartest first step either way is professional thinning by a foot care nurse or podiatrist, which gives anything you apply less material to work through.
EZ Clear Nails 90-Day Starter Kit
The two-ingredient iodine routine, built around the soak.
✓ Two ingredients: iodine and pure water, no sting, no staining
✓ Soak reaches under and around the nail where brushes can't
✓ The routine 200+ foot care clinics across North America send home
✓ 90-day money back guarantee
Common questions
Does Kerasal work for toenail fungus?
Kerasal Fungal Nail Renewal improves the appearance of fungal-damaged nails by softening and smoothing the nail with urea and lactic acid. It contains no antifungal ingredient; what it does is condition the damaged nail you already have. Many users see cosmetic improvement in the existing nail's look within weeks.
Why does Kerasal say it takes months for full results?
Because the full fix for any nail product is new growth. Toenails grow about 1.62mm a month, not the 3mm figure that gets quoted everywhere, which is the fingernail rate. A great toenail is 20 to 25mm from base to tip, so a fully replaced nail takes 12 to 18 months no matter what you apply. Anything that promises a transformed nail in days is selling something nails can't do.
Is iodine better than Kerasal?
They do different jobs. Kerasal is a nail softener and smoother. IodinePure is a daily iodine routine that covers the nail, the nail edges and the surrounding skin, and the soak delivery reaches under the nail where brush-on products don't. If you want a routine rather than a resurfacing product, that's the iodine argument in one sentence.
Can I use Kerasal and IodinePure together?
Yes. They don't conflict: one conditions the nail plate, the other is a soak-and-spray routine for the nail and surrounding skin. Apply at different times of day, and keep your foot care professional in the loop.
The bottom line
Kerasal makes damaged nails look better by softening them. IodinePure is a two-ingredient mineral routine, delivered by soak to the places a brush cannot reach, on a 90-day schedule clinics actually hand to patients. Know which job you're hiring for, and pick accordingly. If you are still weighing it up, see how every option ranks by evidence. Comparing other shelf names? We've also covered Emuaid for nail fungus, Nonyx nail gel, and the podiatrist-dispensed Tolcylen.
Evan Lewis, PhD, specializes in natural and nutritional therapies for the prevention and management of chronic diseases and their complications. His research spans chronic disease, diabetes complications, clinical nutrition, and nerve health, including the development of topical iodine approaches for foot care and wound health. IodinePure products are listed with Health Canada as cosmetics. Kerasal is a trademark of its respective owner; ingredient information is from publicly available product labeling.
