Tutorials

Quick & easy way to bandage a cracked nail

Tutorial - Bandage a cracked nail

 

My nails have been growing out pretty nicely recently, so naturally this happened:

Tutorial - Bandage a cracked nail

I hate when a nail cracks like that – too far down to cut it off, but deep enough to catch on something. Since I first noticed it I’ve been living in fear of the moment it snags on something and takes half my nail off with it. Wearing a bandaid until it grows out didn’t seem like a workable solution, so I decided to make a bandage-type-thingy for it.

 

To start off with, you’re going to have to sacrifice a bag of tea. Doesn’t matter what kind, you just need a little square of the fabric. Cut it small enough to fit onto your nail without running over the edges, but big enough to cover the split.

Tutorial - Bandage a cracked nail

 

Apply a coat of clear nail polish to your nail. You can also use liquid bandage if you don’t have nail polish, but geez that stuff smells awful. While it’s still wet, put your fabric square over the split edge. Try to line it up with the edge of your nail as closely as possible. Once you have it placed, pat it down to make sure it’s secure. Use the bottom end of your tweezers or an orange stick to really press down the edge.

Tutorial - Bandage a cracked nail

 

Apply two more coats of clear polish (or liquid bandage, if that’s the route you’re going) and let it dry. That’s it, you’re done!

Tutorial - Bandage a cracked nail

 

The patch will be slightly visible but not incredibly obvious unless you’re looking for it. Mine has stayed intact through cleaning and woodworking, so it seems to be holding up pretty well. When you’re ready to take it off, it removes easily with regular nail polish remover.

 

What little tricks do you have for fixing damaged nails?

1 Comment

  1. Lexie

    July 20, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    I do this too, but I usually use nail glue to do it – I’ve never tried it with regular polish!

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