Best Ways To Get Rid Of Split Nails

Growing your nails so that they are long and beautiful can be a difficult process, not to mention a time-consuming one. So if you look down at your nails one day after you have been working hard, only to find that one of them has begun to split, it can be very frustrating. Unfortunately, many people might believe that they have to completely start over when their nail splits, and either clip it off where the split has occurred, or allow it to catch and rip on something else.

Thankfully, there some solutions you can follow. There are a couple of methods that you can employ to help repair the split nail and stop it from spreading any further. There are also a number of suggestions you can follow to improve the overall health of your nails and get rid of the potential for future splitting. Read on to find out how!

1. The Tea Bag Method.

Tea is useful for many things beyond just drinking a delicious mug of it. Not only does it have health benefits, but the bag that tea comes in can actually help you to repair your split nail.

To prepare for this process, you will need to grab the following items: a tea bag (or more, depending on how many nails are split), scissors, nail glue, nail polish remover, clear nail polish, a cuticle stick, and a nail file.

First, make sure that your nail is clean of any nail polish. Then, take your tea bag and cut the top off, emptying out its contents. Cut out a rectangle that is about the size of the split in your nail. If in doubt, make it a little bigger than you think might be necessary. Apply some nail glue to the split, and then lay the tea bag rectangle on the nail glue, using your cuticle stick to smooth it out. If the split is severe, you may want to consider covering your nail completely with a tea bag.

Once it’s dry, you can use your nail file to file down any edges of the tea bag and smooth out your nail. Afterwards, apply a coat of clear nail polish (a base coat) to your nail. This helps to seal the tea bag to your nail so that it doesn’t come off right away. You can also choose to paint your nail in another colour to match the rest of your nails.

2. On the Go Repair.

If your nail splits while you are shopping, working, or otherwise unable to take the time to perform the Tea Bag Method, try using some clear nail polish (always carry some in your purse) to help your nails. Applying a clear coat of nail polish on the split will help to prevent your nail from splitting any further.

You will have to be careful with your nail until you get home and have time to really get rid of the split, but this will do the trick when you are on the go and don’t have much time.

3. Prevent Splits.

Of course, prevention is always the best way to get rid of split nails. You should always try and follow these steps even if you want to keep your nails shorter, but if you are growing your nails long these are pretty much essential to ensure that you maintain healthy nails and minimize the potential for splitting.

4. Hydrate Your Nails.

You should always make sure that you a drinking enough water for your general health. But, drinking a sufficient amount of water also helps your skin to avoid drying out, also benefitting your nails.

However, to maintain healthy nails you should also directly hydrate your nails by applying a moisturizer to them at least once a day. You should moisturize even more if the air in your environment is dry (particularly during the winter months).

5. Limit Acetone.

The most popular method of removing nail polish is acetone. Unfortunately, acetone is very drying to the skin and nail, and can actually cause significant damage and increase the chances that your nails will split. As such, you should limit nail polish removal to one or twice a month.

There are also acetone-free removers on the market that are much less drying to your nails. If you are able to, replace your acetone polish remover with one without any acetone.

6. Biotin Supplements.

There are countless vitamins on the market that boast any number of health benefits. There are also many supplements that claim they will help your hair and nails grow. These often contain a few different vitamins and this can change from brand to brand, but one of the most common vitamins is biotin.

One of the main claims of biotin relates to the benefits of nail growth and strengthening. It is also in many prenatal vitamins, so it is entirely possible that this is why pregnant women often have beautiful nails. Try taking one biotin supplement a day to help your nails grow.

7. Nails Are Not Tools.

Despite the fact that many women use their nails to open containers and perform other tasks on a daily basis, nails are not meant to be tools. You should never use your nails to pry open cans or other hard to open objects as this causes unnecessary stress on your nails. It weakens the nail and increases the chance that it will split or break in some other way.

Use other objects to perform the same tasks and save your nails the trouble.

8. Don’t Soak.

Soaking your nails often and for long periods of time in water with soap or dish detergent can soften and weaken the nails. Softer nails are much more prone to splitting and breakages. Limit the amount of time that your nails spend in water, and when you are doing household chores like dishes, remember to wear some rubber gloves (ideally with a cotton lining if possible) to protect them as much as you can. Additionally, you should always dry your nails as soon as you can after they have been in the water.

If you really want to get rid of split nails, the key is to get used to taking care of your nails before anything happens that damages them and to be prepared to take immediate action if they do split on occasion. Taking care of your nails may mean that you have to be more careful during a number of activities, but isn’t a small inconvenience better than facing split nails all the time?