Oh God, this has happened to me more often than I care to remember. My nails will be behaving themselves really well, all growing beautifully in anticipation of an Evint/night on the tear/day of looking at my fingers on the keyboard in work. Next thing you know, I'll either break the tip nearly clean off of one by misjudging how far my hand is from the door that's swinging back at me, or notice the beginnings of a tear or split.
And these things always seems to happen mere seconds after I've admired their progress, which is pure cruel altogether.
So for anyone who's like me and loathes the thoughts of having to file the other nails down to matching stumps after they did all that growing, here's how to make the best of that awful situation.
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- Cut a strip of tea bag paper (yes, seriously) to size - you need it large enough to cover the break and wrap back under the tip of your nail. Perforate it a couple of times using a needle or the top of a safety pin or whatever you have handy. This will help to stop air bubbles from forming.
- Apply a small amount of Super Glue or nail glue directly to the break. Or, if you're like me and using either of those means you'll just end up sticking all your fingertips together, apply a clear top coat all over the entire nail.
- Saturate the strip of tea bag paper with your mending liquid of choice. Then apply the strip to the break and tuck the end of it under your nail tip.
- Allow to dry before applying a base coat to help blend the repaired tip with the rest of the nail. If possible, allow to dry overnight before lashing on the nail varnish to avoid your it going all bubbly. And if you choose an opaque colour, it'll pretty much completely disguise where you carried out your emergency nail repair.
One small caveat: it's not a good idea to be using Super Glue on your nails willy nilly as it can weaken the surface of the nail plate. However, applied judiciously and with care, it can be a total life saver when you really, really need a perfect ten!
