How To Repair A Split Toenail

Stocksy/ Raydene Salinas Hansen

Out of the many things my natural clumsiness ruins in my life, null pisses me off more breaking a smash. I swear every time my nails look long and perfect—like, could-make-it-on-the-'gram perfect—I end upward with a massive scrap or snag. Only since going back to the salon every fourth dimension I have a cleft is unrealistic (and waaaay out of my upkeep), I've perfected the next best affair: fixing my broken smash at home.

Ahead, I rounded up everything I've learned about fixing and smoothing cracked, jagged nails in the comfort of your home, including all the tips and tools from an ~actual~ skillful: Pattie Yankee, glory smash artist who works with Priyanka Chopra, Allison Williams, and Hailee Steinfeld. Keep reading for some ridiculously good nails.

How to Fix a Broken Boom With Glue

If your smash is only split, rather than completely broken off, endeavor Yankee's favorite quick-fix method: glue. Go along in mind this definitely isn't a permanent fix—yous'll nevertheless accept to book an appointment with your manicurist—only it should concur y'all over until you tin make it to the salon. Here's what y'all'll practice:

Step 1: Lightly vitrify the surface of the blast—the cardinal here is to be suuuper gentle, since too much pressure can actually crusade more damage.
Step 2: Apply two coats of a fast-drying nail glue (like Nail Bliss Castor-On Mucilage) to temporarily fuse the crack together until your side by side professional nail engagement. This volition too forbid it from catching and snagging.
Step three: When the gum is 100 pct dry, cover the expanse with a thin glaze of clear smash polish to aid hold the fissure in place (Deborah Lippmann's Hard Rock Nail Strengthening Top and Base Coat is always a good option, since it also helps strengthen your nails).

How to Fix a Cleaved Nail With a Fake Nail

Sadly, sometimes when your broken blast is beyond repair, your just solve is to fake it. "One of my favorite tricks for a broken nail is to apply a quick gear up of printing-on or gum-on nails to hold y'all over until your cleaved smash grows out," explains Yankee. She's a fan of the Dashing Diva Magic Printing-Ons, since they "have a pre-adhesive backing that holds up to 7 days," just y'all can use whatsoever of your favorite fake nail sets.

How to Fix a Cleaved Nail With Gel and a Silk Wrap

If your nail is fully cracked and hanging off your nail bed, you may demand to take more intense measures, says Yankee—like with the gel and silk method. Hither's what you lot'll do:

Step 1: After wiping the crack make clean with boom smoothen remover, gently buff the nail with a file. Your goal here is to brand the nail as smooth and make clean as possible (no backlog oil, shine, or snags).
Pace ii: Very gently, utilise boom glue to mend the crack. Once it'south totally dry, pigment a layer of articulate gel smooth over the smash.
Step 3: While your polish is still wet, smoothen a piece of silk (it should be pre-cut in the shape of your nail) over the area and expect for the gel to cure. The silk will kinda deed similar a bandaid and give your boom an extra layer once information technology dries downwardly.
Pace 4: Advisedly vitrify your nail once everything is dry and follow with a second coat of gel polish.

Courtesy Image

Dashing Diva Without A Trace Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Strips

How to Fix a Broken Nail With Gel Strips

Looking for something less complicated? Off-white. Endeavour a gel nail strip (similar Dashing Diva's Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Nail Strips) as an alternative to the silk-wrap method. The results will be pretty similar, says Yankee, simply they're a lot easier to apply. Make clean off whatsoever excess oil and smoothen from the broken nail, mend the fissure with nail glue, and then stick the gel strip on top as a tape-like alternative.

How to Prepare a Broken Boom With a Tea Pocketbook

This method is definitely the almost popular cleaved-boom hack on the cyberspace. The only catch? According to Yankee, this method requires a bit of maintenance "every few days by applying another glaze or two of glue over the tea purse to keep it strong." Only however, you can't beat an ultra-cheap DIY method. Hither'southward what yous'll do:

Step one: Cut the top off of a tea bag and make a square roughly the size of the fissure.
Step two: Shine a layer of boom glue over the crevice (a brush-on formula is easiest here), and while it'southward even so wet, place the tea bag square on height.
Stride 3: Once it'south dry, paint 1 more layer of boom mucilage and you lot're skillful to become.

How to Set up a Broken Nail With a Powder Fill

This hack is ane of the more "durable" at-abode fixes on the list—and it'south as well got Yankee'due south seal of approval. Here'southward what you'll practise:

Step ane: Later painting a layer of nail gum over the crack, sprinkle a little nail powder on top while it'southward however wet.
Step 2: Go along this process a few times (waiting for each coat to dry in betwixt) until you've created two or three layers on tiptop of the crack.
Pace 3: Set up everything in place past spritzing a glue-drying spray on top of the glue and pulverisation, and then buff it smoothen with a buffing cake.

How to Fix a Broken Boom By Trimming Information technology

Alright, you may non want to hear this, just there isn't a truly permanent gear up for a broken blast. "No affair how skilful the repair, a difficult and deep crack or pause volition always seem to sneak its fashion back through the repair," says Yankee. "If the break is in a convenient spot to let it to be cut downward, it might be easiest to just cut it and trim the remainder of your nails to match."

And of class, to avoid broken nails in the hereafter, Yankees advises all her clients to moisturize daily with cuticle oil and go on their hands protected from the elements. "Fingernails are constantly exposed to harsh paw soaps, chemicals and water," she says. "Keeping them moisturized and polished is the best solution to avoiding breakage."

Ruby Buddemeyer Cerise was the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covered beauty beyond print and digital.