Nail SOS: How do you fix a split nail?

Hi guys!

The greatest annoyance in the life of someone who loves long nails and nail-polish as much as me? But, especially with the kind of job I have, keeping long nails healthy and in one piece can be quite a challenge. Whenever my nails reach the right length and I'm loving the way they look, one of them splits and throws off the whole balance.

But, thankfully, there's a quick fix to save your precious nail. Keep in mind, this only works on nails with a crack/split in them. When they're completely broken off, go sit in corner and weep. Just like I would do.

What you're going to need:

- a tea bag

- nail glue (normally used for applying false nails)

- scissors

- rubbing alcohol

- cotton pads

- a buffing file

First, take a cotton pad and apply a bit of the rubbing alcohol to the pad. Rub it on your nail to completely dry it and to make sure there are no oils left on it. Cut the top bit of the tea bag off and throw out the tea.

Cut a small strip of the tea bag material to fit right against your cuticle. It doesn't matter if it's longer than your nail. See the picture below to see what I mean. Apply a bit of nail glue to your nail and make sure that you get it right on the crack/split. Put the piece of tea bag on your nail and make sure you smooth it out. If there's some air underneath the tea bag, put some clear wrap over it and press tightly to smooth out any bumps.

When your tea bag is all smoothed out, cut away the excess paper at the tip ofyour nail. Now take some more nail glue and apply it over your repaired nail. Make sure to smooth it out again.

When the glue has dried, your nail won't feel as smooth as it normally does, and neither will the tip. So just take your buffer file and file the tip of your nail to make it feel nice and smooth. Take the medium buffing part of your file and carefully buff it over the baseof your nail. Only do this when the glue is completely dry, to prevent the tea bag from moving around on your nail. We don't want that.

Now, you can apply your favorite ridge filling base coat and paint your nails your favorite color. No one will now that you broke your nail!

This quick fix will probably last you about four to five polish changes. That's if you use a non-acetone based polish remover. When you use an acetone based remover it will last three to four times. If you want to remove the tea bag and the glue, soak a cotton pad in acetone based remover and wrap it around your nails, followed by some tinfoil. Let the tinfoil/cotton pad package rest around your nail for about five minutes and the glue and tea bag should slide right off.