3 Ways To Repair A Broken Natural Nail At Home
Broken nail tip, with moisturized cuticle on grey marble background
Updated 2024.08.05. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
If you have broken a nail, don’t sweat it. You’ve now earned your manicurist stripes. It happens to us all at some point and if you have tips on your nails, it’s just part of the maintenance game.
There really are ways to repair a broken nail that are more than just filing all your nails back to square one - though that’s an option mentioned in this article.
Broken nails can be repaired, and below you will find three ways starting with the most temporary way to repair a broken nail down to the most permanent. Only one of the nail repair options includes nail glue.
A broken nail tip on ring finger, nail painted with Lisbon Wants Moor OPI on grey marble background
1 - Apply A Nail Bandage
If you are wondering how to fix a broken nail without removing polish, this option is for you.
Nail bandages are bandages made especially for this function and they act as a hold. The bandage is backed with medical grade adhesive and resists cleaving and prevents further ripping.
They will stay on your nail for up to four days and they are very handy especially when dealing with breaks on the go.
Nail bandages come in sheets of different sized bandages and you simply wash your hands, dry your nail, and then lay the bandage over the break.
2 - Lay A Silk Nail Wrap
If your natural nail broke really far down, this is a great option. Silk wraps allow you to preserve the remaining nail while the tear grows out.
Silk wraps sound elegant and complex, but they are easy to apply and the process is painless.
You can cut a section to fit the whole nail or just the area you are covering if you want to conserve your resources.
Silk wraps usually do not come with the glue you need to fix them to the nail, so make sure you either have nail glue in your stock, or buy your brush-on glue when you get your wraps.
3 - Cut It Back & File
This is the most permanent fix.
In our post, How To Fix A Broken Nail, we mention the simple and effective method of just cutting and filing the nail back. You can then file all your nails back to match, or not, it’s your choice.
Cutting your nail at the break is a solid way to repair the nail without worrying about it re-breaking or the tear deepening at an inconvenient time.
Now, for a few tips on how to prevent breaking your nails.
Yes it happens. The good news is that nails grow back. You may not be able to stop them forever, but you can minimize them.
A broken nail that has been oiled and just filed down on grey marble background
A few ways to prevent breaking a nail:
Avoid painting your nails too frequently
Painting your nails every other day? We get it - we love new colors too, but the truth is, nail polish remover dries out the nail and dry, brittle nails break.
Stretching your new manicures out to at least every 3-4 days or longer will reduce their exposure to drying agents like acetone.
Don’t use the tip of your nail as a screwdriver
Or for opening a cat food can. Use a screwdriver! You can get tools for these tasks at the nearest everything store but you probably have one in your utility cabinet, so just use it.
Be careful when opening or closing drawers
Be careful to not slam the tips of your fingers into cabinets and drawers when doing chores or putting things in their places. When doing physical work, you may bang your nails into things, which causes them to bend and most of the time this is fine.
Though, in drier months or regions, as your nails bend, tiny fractures form, which can lead to breaks when you least expect them. Prevent these incidents by avoiding jamming your nails into hard surfaces. Move lightly when you do physical labor.
Moisturize your hands, cuticles, and nails
Using your favorite lotion, moisturize your entire nail bed.
A few great hand & nail moisturizers are:
Allow the lotion time to soak in between manicures, and rub it underneath your natural tips if you have them.
The more moisturized your nails are, the less brittle they are and the less likely they will be to snap off at an inconvenient time.
Broken nail tip, with moisturized cuticle on grey marble background with text overlay 3 Ways To Repair A Broken Natural Nail At Home
So, how long does it take for a broken nail to grow back?
Depending on the location of your break and the length of your nail, this varies.
But in general, after a nail break, you can see regrowth in as little as a week, then about 1 month to get a white tip back to a length acceptable for a French Manicure, and up to 2 months, to get back to your prior length, if your nails had significant tips.
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