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Rebecca is a contributing writer for where she specializes in all things nails. She has worked in beauty editorial for seven years.
While there are certainly bigger problems in the world than a broken nail, there’s no denying that suddenly chipping, cracking, splitting, or fully breaking your nail is nothing short of a disappointment—especially if you’ve been trying to grow them out.
Super Simple Hacks To Fix Broken Nails
Unfortunately, no matter how much you try to avoid breaking a nail—from religiously applying strengthening serum and learning how to correctly remove gel polish to avoid excessive exposure to hot water, which might soften nails and lead to more cracks and snags—it’s unavoidable at least every once in a while.
Thankfully, a broken nail doesn’t need to ruin your manicure automatically. After all, there seems to be one surefire way to fix a damaged digit. According to nail experts Sarah Gibson Tuttle, Lauren Dunne, and Molly Romah, the best way to rehab a broken nail—if the goal is to salvage length—is to get crafty with a tea bag.
The thin, porous material of a tea bag makes it a perfect patch for your broken nail. It adheres nicely to your nails and helps to seamlessly patch the broken part back together. The tea bag material is permeable, which helps it quickly adhere to your nails using only clear polish. A coffee filter can also be used in a pinch, however, the paper is often thicker than tea bags and may not blend quite as well.
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Whether you’ve cracked, chipped, or fully broken your nail, the first thing you’ll want to do is file the edges. “Moving in one single direction, file the nail back to the original shape so that it matches the other nails (just a little shorter), ” Gibson Tuttle says. “If it's a major break, clip 90 percent and file the remaining 10 percent.”
The reason filing is such a must—apart from the fact that most folks like smooth edges—is because doing so will help limit how far a crack can lead through the nail, which helps to avoid getting unnecessarily close to the quick. (Ouch, no thank you.)
Now, if your nails are quite short, filing might be all it takes to repair your nail. However, if you have long almond-, oval-, stiletto-, or coffin-shaped nails and you’ve cracked one edge, you’ll want to file the jagged edge (as opposed to clipping).
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Before placing the tea bag over the top of your cracked nail, Romah says you’ll also want to wipe your nail with alcohol and buff it out so that it’s completely smooth. This will not only help the cloth adhere better but the polish, too.
Once your nail is filed, Dunne says to cut a small piece of tea bag (make sure it's clean and no tea particles are attached) to lay over the entire crack—and, yes, it’s totally fine if it takes up the surface of the nail.
Now that your nail is buffed and filed to perfection, it’s time to put your nail back together. “Apply a layer of clear polish and use a toothpick or tweezers to apply the tea bag to the nail while the clear polish is still wet, ” Dunne instructs. Once dry, buff out any rough patches before moving on to the next step.
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Romah notes that you can also do this with gel polish if you want a longer-lasting fix. If that’s the case, instead of regular clear polish, opt for a gel base coat and be sure to cure it with a gel lamp between coats.
Many old-fashioned nail hacks recommend gluing broken nails back together but Dunne says you should steer clear of doing so. “We recommend avoiding nail glue as it contains chemicals that can be very irritating to the nail bed, ” she explains.
After marveling at how well a tea bag mends a broken nail, you’ll want to make it look just as polished as your other nails, so pick your favorite hue and paint accordingly.
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Apply your top coat, let it dry (or cure if you went the gel route), and congratulate yourself on your DIY fixing skills.
And a little pro tip: If you’re pressed for time after repairing a broken nail, or you simply don’t have your polish color with you, nail stickers are a great way to camouflage any irregularities on your nail.
Most nail breaks are not serious and do not require medical assistance, especially if it is just the tip of your nail. If your nail breaks down into your nail bed, however, it can be quite painful. If this happens, watch for signs of infection, including redness, swelling, and pain, and see your doctor if this does occur.
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If you caught your nail on something and ripped it off, unfortunately, it won't reattach—but it will eventually grow back. If it has separated from the nail bed completely, it will take around six months to grow back out. You likely do not need medical attention for this unless you have increasing pain and/or swelling as this could indicate an infection.
You may notice your nail bed turning black or purple after an injury, especially if you smashed your finger or caught your nail on something and it ripped. If it is just a small bruised spot, it will go away as it heals and does not require medical attention. If it is a larger area and causes painful throbbing, you may have a subungual hematoma and your doctor may need to place a small hole and drain it to relieve the pressure and allow it to heal.
Takes every opportunity to use high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Well now you've done it. You broke a nail. You don't want to cut it off because then you'll have one stumpy nail . Let me show you a quick way to fix a broken nail.
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Here's the scenario: You're about to embark on a weekend filled with glamorous activities including going to the theatre, attending an art gallery opening, followed by drinks with a one eyed Count, and shopping for solid gold polo ponies.
Now what??Your manicurist is having her elbows liposuctioned and her assistant is doing a week long "cleanse" that's left her incapacitated and confined to one specific room in her house.
Fixing a broken natural nail (this isn't for acrylic nails) can be done in a few minutes if you have the supplies on hand. The technique is a like a silk wrap, but done with the woven fabric of a tea bag which is remarkably strong.
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(if you're bendy enough you can use this same technique to fix a cracked toenail.I recommend using super glue for a broken nail instead of "nail glue" because there's no need to buy something special.
Cut your tea bag to the size of the nail bed that's broken. In my case it's the teeny, tiny pinkie nail.
Apply a small drop of Super Glue to your nail. You probably only have regular squeeze out super glue at home. Order a bottle of brush on super glue for future breaks. It's easier and more precise to apply.
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It's a bit messy but that's O.K. It's all getting covered up. Also, if your break is a bit further up on the nail than mine, you can cut your tea bag slightly larger so you can wrap the tea bag onto the underside of the nail as well, creating a stronger mend. My break was right down to the quick so this technique couldn't be used.
Using a buffing stone if you have one, buff the nail smooth once your glue is dry. Do this gently, you don't want to tear through the tea bag.
Once it's dry, apply another coat to the mended nail, plus the rest of your nails. You'll therefore end up with 2 coats of base on the mended nail. This will help make it smoother for your nail polish application.
Trying To Save My Broken Nail With Superglue (i Don't Have Any Nail Glue) And A Piece Of A Teabag. It Started Tearing Right Where The Free Edge Of The Nail Starts,
Apply whatever nail polish you think will be The Count's favourite. If he is the much sought after one-eyed Count, you can probably get away with only putting nail polish on one hand. Resume your super glamorous activities as planned. Phew. Disaster and embarrassment averted.
Nails take a month to grow 3-4 mm. If you took 2 sticks of dry spaghetti and stacked them they would be around 4mm wide.
If you don't happen to have crazy glue or nail glue around there are 2 other ways you can fix the nail.
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They're not exactly, but basically the same thing so don't worry if you only have super glue. Nail glue is better for acrylic nails but not necessary for natural nails.
TIP: This above technique with nail polish will work even better if you use gel polish and cure it under a UV light.
It’s a bit messy but that’s O.K. It’s all getting
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