Saturday 10 September 2011

How to fix a broken nail

Isn't it just annoying when one of your long nails breaks? The perfect manicure is now ruined... Or can we save our nail? SOS, please rescue!
Today I'll show you a very useful tutorial that will save your nails from the scisors! No, you don't have to cut them all anymore because here's the solution.


You need an empty tea bag. Using nail scisors, cut a small piece to fit the crack on the nail. Apply a thick coat of base coat and while it's still wet, apply the piece you've just cut. Then, apply any nail polish you like. That's it! This worked just fine for me and it's a great solution to keep your nail long for a few more days.

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112 comments:

jazzqueen64 said...

Wow, great tip, i'm deffo gonna give this a go!

Angi Ghita said...

Interesant. E bine de tinut minte. Thx.

NailsLikeLace said...

I tried this but it didn't work. I used nail glue instead and two layers of tea bag but it just ripped and did no good.

Good that it works for you, though! :)

Alice @ NailsbyAlice said...

thank you for sharing! It wuold be useful If I broke my nails!

SLaurin said...

I usually use nail glue instead of base coat...

Thi said...

^ Me too! I actually have the proper mending material. No idea what it's called, but this is a great alternative~!! ^-^

Thanks for sharing! X

Kejal Shah said...

Wow!!! This is amazing..it doesnt even show. Awesome! Cant wait for a nail to crack! <3

Billi said...

wow <3
useful tip

thanks for sharing dear

Psyche said...

OMG! This always happen to me. I'm definitely going to try this next time, before what I'm doing is putting layers of clear coat just to harden the crack because I don't want to cut my other nails. haha Thanks for sharing.

Leelo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leelo said...

Thank you! I will try this when I break nail next time :)

j said...

I've been doing this since I first came to know about it.A nifty trick.

Jenn said...

I'm glad you tried it and it's working for you! It has saved my nails so many times, hince why I HAD to share :)

Enigma said...

It does work wonderfully, try ripping the teabag square next time. It makes the edges more blend-able and stronger too :)

Liz said...

I've heard of this technique before, but I didn't think the polish would hide the texture of the tea bag. Glad to see that it really does work :)

Laura said...

Thanks for posting this, I was just wondering how to make a teabag patch! This is so useful. :)

Anonymous said...

Very interesting!

PreciousPearlMakeup said...

great tip!! thanks for sharing :)

Akuma Kanji said...

;) Great substitute for glass fibre. As a gel nails technician that's what I use to fix nail cracks but it's way more expensive than a teabag :P Thank you for sharing! :)

Rekha said...

wow thats a wonderful tip.. thanks for sharing :)

Alexa1202 said...

Am folosit si eu tehnica asta, dar foloseam lipici de unghii pentru a fix bucatica din plicul de ceai si apoi pileam putin ca sa inlatur excesul. Tine mai mult, poti sa iti stergi si unghiile si sa le refaci :)

Erika said...

I have used this method for a long time, now. I like to use brush on nail glue under then over my patch, let it dry then buff it all down smooth. This gives me a hard, nearly invisible (under base coat and polish) patch that will last through many polish changes. Unless I soak off glitter... lol

:D

Jane said...

Thank you for this. I've seen a tutorial like this on youtube, but this one is much simpler.

Sichaye said...

This is so useful! I'm sure I'm going to try this!

Rose said...

I often broke my nails :-( I'll try this the next time :-)

Unknown said...

Very useful tip. Thanx for sharing!!!

bambakibeauty said...

Nice idea. I´ll trying in a future. Thanks!!

Mad@ said...

In the same way I fixed my nails too. But it doesn't last more than 1 week, max two :( if you are really careful. Anyway It's great even for 1 week :D

lizahole said...

What a cool tip! Thanks for sharing... hopefully my nails will be strong for me and I won't have to test it out though!

Anonymous said...

didn't hear about it before thanks <3

Sadi said...

wowww this is amazing.
Thankss for sharing

Pauline - omgnoodles said...

Ah, why did I not remember this method last week! Now I have nubs! I will for sure use this next time! Thanks for sharing pictures! :D

Unknown said...

great one ! facing this problem always,now got the solution to solve it,i can have pretty nails now..

Leptirich said...

Can't believe! I desperately need this!!!! Thanks!

Unknown said...

What a clever idea! Thanks so much for sharing, will definitely try this!

MissAdelinne said...

I will surely try this! Thanks!
www.missadelinne.com

Missadelinne's Fanpage

Anonymous said...

I will definitely be trying this, i used to always just put nail glue or super glue on the crack, but it would always wash off since i wash my hands so much at work. i hope this works better!

Anonymous said...

OMG! This would have saved so many nails! Thanks for this tip! I will use it going forward.

Trista said...

I think I'd rather drink the tea than patch my nail.

TiednTangled said...

Sally Hanson has a nail mending kit that is made up of the same type of fibrous material that the tea bag is made from. Good thing about the tea bag is that it is probably cheaper than buying the repair kit lol.

outlaw said...

Perm papers also work very well. I keep a pack around here just for this.

Heidi Smith said...

Even better if you can fink the silk teabags! I do this all the time.

Patricia Graf said...

I can not wait to share this with all my friends.

Tru Leigh said...

They used to sell broken nail kits, but I haven't seen them for years.

You can also use rice paper, if you have any.

DweltUpon said...

It worked! Thanks!

Maritza Robinson said...

Yay I can finally fix my nails when I need to, instead of cutting all my nails because I don't like having one short nail so I cut them all and have to wait until they grow again. Thanks for sharing

The Accidental Housewife said...

Wish I had known this years ago! I broke a nail the night before my wedding (should NOT have gone bowling) and had nubs on my big day :(

Amy said...

Coffee filter works too!

Christie said...

My nails always split so they never get very long. Think this would help if I just did it to all of them? They're very thin, flimsy, and brittle. Thanks!

Maria said...

@Christie: I really don't know, but you could try.

Cova said...

THANK YOU!!!

Unknown said...

Great Tip!

Cyndy said...

I did this 30+ years ago when we didn't have access to so much stuff... can go to sally's beauty and buy the thinner, I guess it's silk, paper... but this works in a pinch.

Mrs. Calhoun said...

I just tried this, but I can see the seam of the bag on my nail. Any suggestions? I thought about just cutting the bag big enough to cover my whole nail...

Noemi Trevino said...

Do you have another alternative remedy.

KimisKanvas said...

Thank you for reminding me of this. My grandmother used to use this method all the time in the seventies and eighties. Must be an old remedy and as we know they are USUALLY the best !

Anonymous said...

I read a similar fixing method but with one-ply of tissue or toilet paper and nail glue, but this sounds much sturdier!

Earendil said...

I just get silk strips from Sally's and acrylic gel or nail glue. Mainly cause I don't like wasting my tea and it seems to hold a bit better than the tea bags did for me.

RDiaz1210 said...

Doing this to the whole nail if you have weak nails or nails that peel or split is also a great thing!

Unknown said...

When my mom breaks a nail, she uses a piece of used dryer sheet. Personally, when I break a nail, I just trim them all. I grew up playing musical instruments and was never allowed to have long nails so I have always kept them short.

Delphi Michaels said...

I tried this tonight and it worked fantastically. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

This worked better than I expected! My nail was split almost half away across until I got home to fix it and now it's pretty solid. I wouldn't want to try and open a can of soda or anything, but it's much better than the alternative of super short painful nail!

dahousedragon75 said...

A small piece of tp and nail glue works great too.

Patricia said...

This has never worked for me. It ends up coming off within days. I use silk wraps and gel resin. It holds solid and stays in place for weeks (if you use non-acetone polish remover).

New2Nails said...

If you bought it online, can you post the link?

Maria said...

@New2Nails: I didn't buy it online, sorry.

Unknown said...

Does your nail smell like the tea that was inside the bag?

Maria said...

@d'vyne confections: It doesn't.

Unknown said...

Awesome...thank you!

naisybee said...

If you use nail glue and buff a little bit afterwards, it lasts MUCH longer!

Unknown said...

I pinned this post a long time ago and now sadly (but gratefully!!) get to try it! Fingers crossed that it works for me because my thumb nail is cracked :(

Unknown said...

i used to do this 20 or so years ago with a used dryer sheet. you do need nail glue, since polish alone isn't strong enough to hold it on. and you need to buff it down after it dries in order to not see the seams, but it would work for up to 2 or 3 weeks, long enough to grow out the break to a reasonable cutting length. i've never tried tea bags, though...

Unknown said...

wonderful idea I have a thumb nail right now that I'm going to try this on :o) Thank You!!

Unknown said...

Cool idea, will try!

HillaryPotter said...

I have been doing this for the past 5 months any time I get a split in my nail works like a charm my nails are always long now and I get compliments on them all the time. Thank you for sharing this with the world I have never been so happy with my nails as I am now. However here is a tip apply the base coat on top of it before you put nail polish on it just the base coat and the nail polish on top of it isn't enough to keep it strong. Also Glitter nail polish is another thing I would consider it keeps the nail thicker and therefor stronger.

Debra Manente - "The Career Specialist" said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

You can buy fiberglass mesh at most beauty supply stores and use with nail glue. Its what I used when I did nails and is great. May need to lightly buff before polish.

Unknown said...

You can buy fiberglass mesh at most beauty supply stores and use with nail glue. Its what I used when I did nails and is great. May need to lightly buff before polish.

Astrid De Roeck said...

Thanks for the tip! I'm certainly going to use it!

Lacquer Lane {The Blog} said...

This is such a great quick fix.....i had to do this on my thumb 3 weeks ago and its still holding well.

vivynz said...

amazing!!I will try!!

Hera Caine said...

This is what we used when I was in cosmetology school... It works :)

Emmie said...

Really love this tip, where did you read it at? What an awesome solution, but does it really firm up that area? As it gets weaker when broken? Just curious :)

Maria said...

@Emmie: It's a short term solution. But it gives you more weeks if you repeat the procedure several times.

Unknown said...

Hello, i also have a blog on using super glue to repair a fingernail for a temporary fix....I also have many other unusual beauty tips you can do at home, so please go check out my beauty blog at http://one-stopbeauty.com and also if you will, leave a comment because I do like to get other people's feedback/opinions

Thank you
Sheri

Unknown said...

Awww that's a very nice tip. I' love to use that to my nail designs and I hope it will work. Thanks!

Bidisha Banerjee said...

Lovely tutorial. Would really be a great help.

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Unknown said...

I love tutorials/pictorials! On another note, my nails are forever breaking & while I've never tried this method, I have been contemplating filing my nails down & adding fake tips myself using acrylic powder etc. Problem is, I have used it before, but I really don't know how to use it lol.

Anonymous said...

da asa este foarte interesanta postarea,si de stiut pe viitor
multumim

Divya Asha said...

Thanks for sharing

Janet D. said...

Wow, great tip! Thanks for sharing xx

gemma said...

Great tip, very useful!! Thanks for sharing
xx

Rabia Akhter said...

Thank you for sharing:D
very hlepful tip :D

Cristina said...

Interesting! Thanks for this amazing tips!

Unknown said...

Shared this to my friend who finds it annoying when she have broken nails ♥

Unknown said...

Thank You for useful information. My wife like this post :)

Paula Maria said...

It's a great tip, thanks :D

Unknown said...

what a great post...I am so gona use this trick, because my nails are breaking all the time and I always have to cut them all because one nail...

Unknown said...

Thank you. Great tip!

Unknown said...

Thank you for the tutorial. Will be trying this out.

no name said...

Very interesting tip!! thanks

Elenusqui said...

Good idea!!!

Unknown said...

Grazie. Ottimo suggerimento

Unknown said...

Thanks! Good idea :)

Tea Bandić said...

Very useful, thanks for the tip! :)

Alicia Ruiz said...

ive never heard of this method before!

Nikolina said...

Wow, I'd never think of this by myself! Clever!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing :D

Cristina said...

Super idea, thanks for the tip!

Leanne said...

I know I found this tip long after it was posted but here's how to make that "patch" stronger and permanent. Tear a coffee filter (the edges won't show after polished) and use with the super glue. Use metal tweezers to push any air bubbles out. After the glue has fully dried, apply a thin second layer. After it's dried, use a pink fine nail sander to smooth it all down, and file the coffee filter even to the side of the nail. I've done this for decades (I'm in my 50's), unless you're brutal on your nails it WILL grow out with the nail.

Anonymous said...

I went to Sallys beauty they have a repair kit paint glue (provided) then dip in powder and buff great for those side crakes in nails.

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