BROKEN NAIL EMERGENCIES

When you tear a nail, tape it with plaster to preserve it until you can fix it.


The first thing to do with a broken nail is to secure it to prevent further damage until you can get home or to nail salon. If the nail is torn but not completely broken off, try wrapping the fingertip with tape or plaster-first up and over the tip and the around the nail. Make sure you keep a bit of slack inside so the nail is not bent. Bend-Aids especially for fingertips work best. If you use tape, first protect the nail surface with a bit of tissue so the tape will not stick to the nail. An added benefit of covering the fingertip is that you will naturally avoid using that finger, thus minimizing further damage.

Once you get home, use a small pair of scissors to gently cut away the tape. Now you can assess the damage. Do not pick at the nail. If it is just a slight tear on the side, you may get by simply with using extra coats of a nail strengthener containing nylon fibres. It may also be a good idea to shorten the nail slightly so it will less likely to bang into things, which would cause more damage.

If the nail is completely off, or torn more than one-quarter of the width of the nail, you need to take more serious measures. Keep an emergency nail repair kit on hand that contains both powdered and liquid acrylic, as well as a circular nail buffer.

1. Clean the nail with soap, then rinse it with water and allow it to dry completely.
2. Apply the acrylic, according to directions, in a thick coat that covers the entire nail. Let this dry completely, then very carefully buff the nail down to a smooth surface that forms a 'cap' over the broken nail. Keep the nail as short as possible; the longer the nail, the more likely you will bang and break it.
3. Apply a second coat and buff it down again. Some kits come with a thin silk or nylon sheet to be placed between the coats for added strength. Take your time to create a realistic cap over the nail.
4. Once dried, make sure you apply a coat of hardener with nylon fibres daily. When the natural nail has grown long enough, remove the cap by soaking it in polish remover and prying it off very carefully. Pry it a bit, then soak, then repeat as often as needed to get it off with the least damage.
5. This is not a perfect method, but it works well. Keep in mind that if you constantly remove the polish, you will weaken the cap with the polish remover and probably need to start the process all over again.
6. As the nail grows, the base may look a bit odd as the base of the cap becomes exposed. You may need to remove the polish and touch up the cap a bit on the edges; it is best just to leave it with the cap until it has grown enough to expose the natural nail.
7. Basically, if a nail breaks, accept that it will never be as good as new until it grows back naturally. Of course, the easier approach is to accept the loss and trim the other nails down a bit so it does not look so awkward until it grows back.