Depending on the health of your nails, you may experience split nails more often than not. If you constantly wear fake ones or you simply always have polish on them, you may be preventing your nails from gaining strength. If this is a frequent problem for you, there are a couple of ways that you can instantly repair the damage and keep it from happening again in the future.

First, remove any nail polish you’re wearing prior to treating the split nail. Then, clip your nail as close to the base as possible to remove the piece that has broken. This may eliminate the length you’ve worked hard to grow, but it’s necessary to effectively treat the issue.

Beautylish recommends applying a clear top coat onto the crack if you want to prevent it from becoming worse. However, simply applying a bandage on top of it can also keep it from being affected by other elements.

To prevent this issue from happening later down the line, the Mayo Clinic stresses the importance of good nail hygiene. This means using a moisturizer on your cuticles and the other skin around your nails daily. You should also make it a point to avoid using harsh chemicals on your nails frequently, such as glue and acetone.