Oh, crack!

This weekend I broke a nail.
No - That's an understatement.

This red line is a rough idea of where the break is.
Now just add gushing blood dangerously close to
the clean laundry and you'll understand my reaction.

I annihilated it.

I slammed it into the dryer while switching over the laundry so hard that it broke almost all the way across well below the nail plate and started bleeding EVERYWHERE!  I was yelling and swearing so badly, I'm pretty sure my husband thought I'd seriously hurt myself.

Normally when I break a nail, I just cut them all pretty short until the broken one grows out enough to not be noticeably shorter.  This, however, is not a normal break.  I can't imagine how painful it would be to walk around with a raw, bloody, exposed nail plate all day (you don't realize how much you use your thumb until you've injured it).

After cursing and bleeding some more, I cleaned everything up and started pondering how to combat this situation.  I'd had success with the super glue/tea bag method in the past, but surely this break was too heinous to be held together by such a simple solution, right?
Wrong!
It's WORKED and is still holding strong 4 days later.  It has survived dish washing, baby baths, showers, and laundry.
What's that?  You've never heard of this method before?
Oh, well let me fill you in.  It's quick and easy and holds up well.

First, gather your supplies.

If you're going to try this is HIGHLY recommend getting the glue with the brush in the cap.  It makes it so much easier to accomplish and provides a reduced chance of gluing your fingers together.
If you like drinking loose tea, you should have these in your cabinet regardless or your nail mending needs.  If not, you can cut apart a filled tea bag but as a huge fan of teas I kind of feel like that's a sad waste of your tea.
I also suggest not using your very best tweezers for this as it's possible you'll get some glue on them, so put the tweezerman away and grab your less expensive backups.

1. Start by cutting a piece of the tea bag slightly larger than the crack you're repairing.  I suggest trimming and shaping this before you apply it to your nail.  Set this aside.
2. Brush your glue over the crack in your nail and a little bit on the surrounding area.
3. While the glue is still wet, use the tweezers to place the tea bag over the crack and push down all the edges.  If you see any air bubbles, use your tweezers to press them out.
4. After the glue had set, brush another coat over the tea bag.  Make sure it is completely saturated.
5. The end!!!

You can also paint nail polish over this, but it will look kind of lumpy bumpy.  A smaller patch will last you 3-4 days.  This larger patch seems to have held up really well.  One of the edges that I didn't push down well enough is starting to show some wear, but otherwise it's been a lifesaver!  These do eventually come off on their own, but if you're desperate to get rid of it, try some acetone.

Good luck!