I realize that it is probably not the most practical situation to be an athlete with long nails, however, this is not a point in which I am willing to concede. Unfortunately, sometimes the unthinkable happens, and I *gasp* break a nail. I usually clip it off and start again, but this time, the break was well down my nail bed and I was reluctant to snip it. A mother of one of my teammates advised me to make a tea bag/super glue bandage for my nail, which ended up working surprisingly well. 

To carry out this "nail surgery," you will need scissors, a small portion of an empty, unused, tea bag, tweezers, base coat, top coat, polish, and superglue. 

Step One: examine the nail break and cut a strip of the tea bag to cover it and bind it back together. 

*This is what my break looks like. 

*this magical bandage may begin to sparkle in your palm from its power. 

Step Two: very carefully apply the superglue to either side of the tea bag bandage, and even more carefully apply the glue covered side to your nail, using the smooth edge of the tweezers to smooth it out. 

*This is what your new nail should look like. It should have sort of a paper mâché feel to it. 

Step Three: apply your base coat to all nails, adding a second and possibly third coat to the affected nail until you can barely tell the tea bag is there. 

*I used Seche Vite base coat. 

Step Four: apply your polish and top coat as normal. I used Essie's Mesmerized. 

*Which hand had a broken nail??

*When you're done, you shouldn't even be able to tell there's anything there, but your nail will be stable enough to grow out as normal. 

If you want to change polish before its grown out, you will have to repeat the whole process as the polish remover will eat away the bandage. 

The only downfall to this solution is that there's no way to drink the tea from the bag you use. ): Still, a small price to pay for a fixed nail. 

Enjoy!

Laura