I’ve got nails that break easily. Sometimes, that doesn’t bother me – shorties4life! – but sometimes, you get that annoying deep break that’ll take four weeks to grow out and just is a pain in the behind.
You can, of course, pop over to your manicurist and get it fixed. Or you can use a method that’s all over the Internet and that won’t work. Or you can do this and fix your broken nail easily and quickly.
You need
- A tea bag (not a tea or coffee filter. A tea bag, because the material is thinner and more pliable)
- Tweezers and a rosewood stick/toothpick
- Nail glue (I use this one)
- A buffer file
- Scissors
- Your usual mani supplies: polish, base and top coat
How to
- Start with a clean nail. Are there any snags? File them down.
- Prepare your supplies: cut a few small patches from the tea bag that’ll cover the split.
- Apply a small amount of nail glue to the patch and place it with the help of your tweezers. Don’t use your fingers to manoeuvre the patch in place – you absolutely will glue your fingers together. Nail glue is strong, people. (Because of that, take care not to glue your tweezers together, and maybe not use your expensive ones.)
- Let it dry. When the patch and glue are completely dried down, take your nail buffer and start gently to smooth them down. You don’t want to buff away everything you just applied, but you want a thin layer that won’t look bumpy when you apply your polish later on. Also, the bumpier, the more likely to flake off. You want a thin layer that’s just robust enough to hold everything together.
- If you now doubt that your fix will hold up, repeat with another patch and glue. I’d advise to do that anyway if your split is long.
- Buff down again. The edges of the patch should be smooth.
- Apply your base coat, polish and topcoat (like so).
DONE!
Why does this work?
Your success rate depends on two factors: you need a thin, durable material (hence, tea bag, and not tissue) to patch up your split, AND: sorry to bust your bubble, but applying the patch over basecoat won’t be a long-term solution. It might work for two days, and then it’ll flake off. Your nail, though, needs some time to grow: it grows slightly less than a millimetre per week. Nail glue will work for you long-term and hold your split together until it grows out.
If you want to remove your mani both glue and patch should hold up, but if they don’t, just apply a tiny bit of glue. Buff that down again and you’re good to go for a fresh mani!
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