Tea Bag Rescue - Split or Chipped Nails

Just the other day, I was shutting my sliding door a little too quickly when my finger slipped and the nail caught onto the side of the door.  My nail tore.  Although the tear wasn't that deep, it was large enough to snag onto clothes, catch onto my hair, scratch me, basically inconvenience me throughout the day.  I also realised that the tear was getting deeper as it kept snagging and tugging onto things.  Not fun.  Solution?  Tea bag to the rescue!!

It's a cheap fix and very easy to do.  I will say upfront that it probably won't be as long lasting as silk wraps (I'm not sure, I haven't had the need to try those with this!) but this definitely works - at least till the nail has grown out enough for you to file that annoying bit away.  

Here's what you'll need:

Here, I used a random tea bag from my kitchen, Orly Bonder base coat, and some random Japanese brand nail hardener I had bought when I was on holiday in Japan a while back.  An additional (but optional) 'ingredient' to this master mix of stuff would be nail glue.  I strongly suggest using nail glue if the tear is deep as nail glue strengthens the treatment tremendously.  I, however, really dislike the hassle of removing nail glue so I usually stick to the easy stuff pictured above.  The steps below do include the nail glue option for those interested in that though!

Steps:
  1. Make sure your nail is clean and free from dirt and grime.  Use nail polish remover to give it a swipe if need be.
  2. Empty the tea bag and dust off stray tea leaves.
  3. Use a pair of scissors to cut off a small square of the tea bag, ensuring that it is big enough to cover the tear in your nail (with a little bit extra at the side). [Some prefer to cut the tea bag to fit the entire nail.  This is your choice, although I don't think it's necessary.]
  4. Apply a coat of base coat on your entire nail. [If you are using nail glue, skip the base coat and apply the nail glue directly on your nail. Make sure you don't put too much nail glue.  It will dry to a bump and that won't be pretty.]
  5. Without waiting for the base coat [or nail glue] to dry, place the cut square of tea bag over the tear and tap it into place. [For those working with nail glue, please use tweezers.  Nail glue stuck to your skin? Not fun.]
  6. Once the tea bag is in place and the base coat [or nail glue] has dried, apply a coat of nail hardener.  Repeat this step if necessary to even out the slight bump from the tea bag square.
  7. Once the nail hardener is dry, you may proceed to apply your favourite nail polish! [Some filing may be necessary to even edges out if you used nail glue.]


As you can see, once the nail hardener has been applied over the tea bag square, the tea bag square is barely noticeable!  Do note that if you do wish to change your nail colour, the nail polish remover may also remove the tea bag square and you'll have to do steps 1-7 all over again.  In such situations, using nail glue may be more long-lasting.

I hope this helps!  I've managed to avoid tearing off the torn bit for about 2 weeks post-tear with the tea bag rescue.  I do absolutely loathe split/chipped nails :(

love
mich

p.s. remember to keep the remainder of the uncut tea bag for future use!!
p.p.s. don't waste the tea leaves!! 

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