How can I fix this fingernail?
February 3, 2015 11:26 AM Subscribe
One of my fingernails is split down the middle. This is way more annoying than you'd think. Is it possible to fix it or get it fixed?
When I was a teenager I had to have the fingernail on my right middle finger removed in order to remove a Thing that was growing there. The nail grew back in a few months but it grew in from the sides and met in the middle, the sides slightly overlapping. This creates a gap at the end of the nail as well as some bulges.
For the most part it's not an issue but it catches on things. I play guitar (sort of) and it often catches on the strings. If you've ever caught your split fingernail on a high E string while strumming Pinball Wizard you'll know it's second on the list of Excruciatingly Painful Buzzkills, right behind getting your junk caught in your zipper just as the sexytimes are about to start. It's not fun.
The best I can manage now is to cut the nail as short as possible so there's not as much there to catch on things. I'm also learning to fingerpick on the guitar and I'd like to grow my nails a bit to do this. As it stands now, fingerpicking with my middle nail would be impossible. Even picking with my flesh puts the nail dangerously close to the strings.
Once the nail is more than maybe 1/64 of an inch long (beyond where it meets the skin) the gap forms.
Is there a way to fix this once and for all? Some sort of coating I could apply? A way to sculpt the end so that it eventually grows normally? It's been this way for about 25 years. I have attempted to cut and file it but it always stays the same.
What about artificial nails? would that work? Are they permanent? Is it going to feel weird? I'm sensitive about such things. I have a crown on one of my teeth and I hate it.
I know nothing at all about fingernails, manicures, and the like. I am a reformed nail-biter who cuts his nails when they need it. That's all I know.
I'm probably not doing a great job of explaining the exact problem, but in short my nail grows in a way that is very annoying. It grows in from the sides, the two halves meet and overlap, forming a little gap (think nail taco) that catches on things. I've just cut it really short so a picture probably won't really explain what the issue is.
When I was a teenager I had to have the fingernail on my right middle finger removed in order to remove a Thing that was growing there. The nail grew back in a few months but it grew in from the sides and met in the middle, the sides slightly overlapping. This creates a gap at the end of the nail as well as some bulges.
For the most part it's not an issue but it catches on things. I play guitar (sort of) and it often catches on the strings. If you've ever caught your split fingernail on a high E string while strumming Pinball Wizard you'll know it's second on the list of Excruciatingly Painful Buzzkills, right behind getting your junk caught in your zipper just as the sexytimes are about to start. It's not fun.
The best I can manage now is to cut the nail as short as possible so there's not as much there to catch on things. I'm also learning to fingerpick on the guitar and I'd like to grow my nails a bit to do this. As it stands now, fingerpicking with my middle nail would be impossible. Even picking with my flesh puts the nail dangerously close to the strings.
Once the nail is more than maybe 1/64 of an inch long (beyond where it meets the skin) the gap forms.
Is there a way to fix this once and for all? Some sort of coating I could apply? A way to sculpt the end so that it eventually grows normally? It's been this way for about 25 years. I have attempted to cut and file it but it always stays the same.
What about artificial nails? would that work? Are they permanent? Is it going to feel weird? I'm sensitive about such things. I have a crown on one of my teeth and I hate it.
I know nothing at all about fingernails, manicures, and the like. I am a reformed nail-biter who cuts his nails when they need it. That's all I know.
I'm probably not doing a great job of explaining the exact problem, but in short my nail grows in a way that is very annoying. It grows in from the sides, the two halves meet and overlap, forming a little gap (think nail taco) that catches on things. I've just cut it really short so a picture probably won't really explain what the issue is.
If this is mainly an issue because of wanting to fingerpick, have you tried finger picks?
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 11:36 AM on February 3, 2015
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 11:36 AM on February 3, 2015
Response by poster: Wow, I missed those previous questions. I guess my problem isn't as unique as I thought it was.
Yes, I use fingerpicks for playing the banjo but I don't like them when playing guitar and don't want to use them.
It's annoying for other things and I would like to get it fixed anyway, though I think fingerpicking is the only thing it's really keeping me from doing.
posted by bondcliff at 11:38 AM on February 3, 2015
Yes, I use fingerpicks for playing the banjo but I don't like them when playing guitar and don't want to use them.
It's annoying for other things and I would like to get it fixed anyway, though I think fingerpicking is the only thing it's really keeping me from doing.
posted by bondcliff at 11:38 AM on February 3, 2015
I have something like this on one of my toes. Its split all the way down, about 10% in or so from the side.
I went to a doctor a few years ago and his best idea was to simply try removing the 10% splinter. Which he did (very painful for a while after), but now I have like a 2% splinter that catches on stuff (like socks!) just as much. I guess I could try another round but it was not a fun experience.
He didn't have any other good ideas at the time, although maybe your case would be different somehow.
posted by thefoxgod at 11:42 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I went to a doctor a few years ago and his best idea was to simply try removing the 10% splinter. Which he did (very painful for a while after), but now I have like a 2% splinter that catches on stuff (like socks!) just as much. I guess I could try another round but it was not a fun experience.
He didn't have any other good ideas at the time, although maybe your case would be different somehow.
posted by thefoxgod at 11:42 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
You could coat it with a UV-cured gel polish, which would smooth the crack over nicely (if I understand the problem correctly). This image (source) shows a nail repair done with gel polish, and you can see how it's quite thick - basically, for your nail, you'd build up a couple coats to create to a smooth surface on your nail.
The downside is that you'd either need to pay to get it done (at a salon), or learn how to do it yourself (fairly easy, the polish would be around $8 and the light to cure it would be $20+). It would need to be done frequently, and the finish (very shiny) might be noticeable.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:19 PM on February 3, 2015
The downside is that you'd either need to pay to get it done (at a salon), or learn how to do it yourself (fairly easy, the polish would be around $8 and the light to cure it would be $20+). It would need to be done frequently, and the finish (very shiny) might be noticeable.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:19 PM on February 3, 2015
Whenever I have a nail problem (crack, tear, chip), I just put superglue (cyanoacrylate) on it, wait for it to dry, and file it smooth. Cheap, easy, fast, works great.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yup. Superglue. Apply then file.
posted by saradarlin at 12:45 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by saradarlin at 12:45 PM on February 3, 2015
This site (and others) says it is not good to use superglue (methyl cyanocrylate). You should use nail glue (ethyl cyanocrylate).
This site gives tips on nail repair for guitarists.
posted by H21 at 12:58 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
This site gives tips on nail repair for guitarists.
posted by H21 at 12:58 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
You can also buy an at-home acrylic nails kit. It's a solvent and a powder. Dip the little brush in the solvent, then dip it into the powder and the acrylic powder melts into a gel. Pat the gel onto your nail and let dry. When it's dried and hardened, you can file it down if there are rough edges.
posted by quince at 1:05 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by quince at 1:05 PM on February 3, 2015
Response by poster: Just to be clear: It's not the crack running down the nail that is the problem, but the gap formed at the end of the nail where the crack terminates. Applying polish or superglue or something to strengthen the nail won't really solve that issue. Once the nail grows beyond where it meets the skin the gap forms. It's like the two halves are a whole nail (with a crack down the middle) until they grow beyond my finger and then the nail splits into two nails.
Imagine a heart shape. The "v" between the two heart halves starts where the nail leaves the skin. It's not really a matter of strength but shape.
posted by bondcliff at 1:05 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Imagine a heart shape. The "v" between the two heart halves starts where the nail leaves the skin. It's not really a matter of strength but shape.
posted by bondcliff at 1:05 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yup, I understood your problem - it's mine too. Since I don't play guitar, my solution is to keep that nail trimmed to have nearly-zero white (no free edge).
Glue-on nails? Sorry I don't have a better solution, but it's really a fundamental damage to our body structures - there is missing nailbed that should be producing cells that join those two halves; without adequate thickness the nail splits at the first stress it encounters. :(
posted by IAmBroom at 1:16 PM on February 3, 2015
Glue-on nails? Sorry I don't have a better solution, but it's really a fundamental damage to our body structures - there is missing nailbed that should be producing cells that join those two halves; without adequate thickness the nail splits at the first stress it encounters. :(
posted by IAmBroom at 1:16 PM on February 3, 2015
Gel polish would work on a heart shaped nail - it wouldn't just cover the existing nail, it can basically create new nail in an oval shape that fills in the gap. Example - she's created a totally new corner for the nail. The post says it only lasts a few days, though. Maybe an acrylic coat would last better, I don't know.
posted by insectosaurus at 1:27 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by insectosaurus at 1:27 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
You could try the teabag method of nail patching. Worked for me when I broke a nail in a similar fashion. It's like a lightweight cast for the nail, and neatly undetectable under polish.
video tutorial here
posted by Syllables at 2:07 PM on February 3, 2015
video tutorial here
posted by Syllables at 2:07 PM on February 3, 2015
I read nail blogs obsessively, and some of these sites suggest that if you can keep the edge of the nail together where it cracks, it will seal itself shut somehow, and then become forever whole. I think the idea is that if you can keep the two edges where the crack forms together longer, the nail bed underneath will have a chance to heal, no matter how long ago the damage was done.
I have no idea if this is true or not. Most of the blogs recommend either the teabag method of patching or nail silks. Personally, I find nail silk stronger than teabags, and they seem to last longer. I like these silks with this glue. I apply the silks, then generously brush the glue over. Then file the glue down until it's smooth, then cover with polish (clear will look fine).
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015
I have no idea if this is true or not. Most of the blogs recommend either the teabag method of patching or nail silks. Personally, I find nail silk stronger than teabags, and they seem to last longer. I like these silks with this glue. I apply the silks, then generously brush the glue over. Then file the glue down until it's smooth, then cover with polish (clear will look fine).
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by beagle at 11:33 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]