If you have been staring at an affected toenail for months, or maybe years, wanting to see change overnight makes complete sense. Nobody enjoys hiding their feet on the beach or feeling self-conscious in sandals. Here is the honest version of what a fungal nail journey with FunghiClear® actually looks like, based on real numbers from our recent 12-week clinical study with 192 participants across the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Taiwan and Scandinavia.
Week 0: the starting point
This is where the routine begins. During the first visit, a footcare professional cleans the nail, trims and files it if it has thickened, and takes a baseline assessment. In the study, there was a range of participants in the mild, moderate and severe categories of fungal toenail. Most participants had visible discolouration and some thickening, but no active inflammation. .
From here, the routine at home starts: spraying the affected nail and surrounding skin twice a day, right after washing and drying the feet.
Week 6: the quiet middle
This is the point where patience and persistence matters most. Toenails grow at a snail's pace, roughly 1 to 1.5 millimetres a month, which is why full regrowth of a healthy nail can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months. A lot happens beneath the surface before it shows on top. At the six-week mark, participants returned for another check-up, hygiene care and, if needed, a fresh bottle to keep the routine going.
At this stage, many people notice some improvements, however others may take longer to begin to see improvements. However, most people noticed something different from a dramatic change in the nail itself: how easy the routine had become. Across the study, the quick-drying spray and the upside-down bottle made it simple to keep up with twice-daily application, even for people with mobility challenges reaching their toenails.
Week 12: the visible shift
This is where the numbers start to speak for themselves.
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67% of participants had a measurably improved nail (an improved OSI score), and another 18% saw their condition hold steady rather than worsen
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Among those who improved, the average nail improved by 44%
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On the five-stage rating scale, nails moved up almost a full stage on average (0.96 stages, also a 44% improvement)
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74% of participants said their nail looked better or much better compared to week 0, and their footcare professional agreed in 73% of cases
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The routine itself was rated highly for convenience: 4.4 out of 5 for the spray bottle, and 4.5 out of 5 for both ease of twice-daily use and overall experience
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On the safety side, 99.5% of participants reported no pain or discomfort at all, and no serious adverse events occurred
Curious about the full picture behind these numbers? You can read the complete clinical evaluation study here.
What comes after week 12
Fungal nails are a slow-growing story. Clinical guidelines generally recommend continuing topical treatment for up to 48 weeks to give a nail the time it needs to fully regrow healthy, and to help prevent the fungus from coming back. Twelve weeks is a meaningful opening chapter in a much longer story of steady regrowth.
So if you are somewhere in week 2 or week 8 right now wondering if anything is happening, the study suggests the answer is often yes, quietly, one spray at a time.
Fungal toenail infections are notorious for re-infection. After full treatment when a new healthy nail has regrown, which can take up to 12 months, it is important to continue spraying FunghiClear a few times per week to maintain a fungus-free environment and prevent reinfection.
Ready to start your own timeline? You can find FunghiClear® here.