Chloe Kim Reveals the Tea Behind Why She Wears Toenail Extensions as an Olympic Snowboarder

 Chloe Kim Reveals the Tea Behind Why She Wears Toenail Extensions as an Olympic Snowboarder

Chloe Kim Reveals the Tea Behind Why She Wears Toenail Extensions as an Olympic Snowboarder

Chloe Kim shared a secret beneath her layers.

The pro snowboarder, 25, opened up about her self-care practices when speaking with Women's Health as she gears up to compete in the 2026 Winter Games next month, which will mark her third Olympic Games.

While many of her wellness rituals involve healthy habits like smoothie consumption and massage therapy to relieve her muscles as a top-tier athlete representing Team USA, she was sure to make mention of her beauty secrets from her head to — quite literally — her toe.

"I will get a mani-pedi once a month—but the tea is, I have a hard time with my toenails, because I always lose those," Kim told the outlet in a feature published on Thursday, Jan. 9, revealing, "I'm missing two toenails right now."

Who can blame the flipping fein of an athlete, who's known for her groundbreaking halfpipe tricks like her signature back-to-back 1080s, high rotations like the cab 1260 and powerful aerials like the Method Air and Frontside 1080s. (Simply put, she flips as high as 30 feet off the ground).

Despite bundling up in snow gear, snow boots and equipment, Kim still makes pedicures a priority, which is why she turns to Gel-X toe nail extensions to replace her missing nails. However, they aren't always that reliable.

Chloe Kim at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty

"They come out all the time," she told the outlet. "One time, I was on a plane and my big toenail came out, and I didn't know what to do with it! I just threw it in the seat."

Chloe Kim competes during the women's snowboard halfpipe finals in March 2025.

David Ramos/Getty

The 2026 Winter Games will mark Kim's third Olympics. She also has the chance to make history as the first person to "three-peat" in the women's snowboard halfpipe if she wins gold in the event next month.

In November, Kim spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about the major feat and whether she feels the pressure to make history.

Chloe Kim attends Gold Gala 2024.

Tommaso Boddi/Getty

"I don't really feel that type of pressure," the snowboarding phenom told PEOPLE of the possible milestone she has the chance to accomplish.

The pressure that Kim says she feels, however, is a feeling that will influence her performance in the event, which will have her riding from one wall to the other, launching herself many feet into the air while ripping a series of acrobatic maneuvers before landing.

"I think the pressure I feel is wanting to do the best that I can and see what happens from there — but I just really want to enjoy this journey more than anything I think," she said, before sharing how her run in Cortina will differ from years past.

"At each Olympics I always go into it with a new set of goals," she said, sharing, "And I think this time I just really want to enjoy the experience and have a good time."

On Jan. 8, Kim tearfully announced that she sustained an injury while practicing less than one month away from the start of the Winter Games. She said she dislocated her shoulder after a "silly fall," and was trying to stay "optimistic" about the situation.

Ultimately, Kim tore the labrum in her shoulder, the lining of the socket that holds the shoulder together. In another update a few days later, the professional snowboarder shared on Instagram that she's "good to go" for the Olympics.

"There are two ways to do it, and the way I did it is less severe than the other, so I'm really happy about that," she said. "Obviously, I'm really disappointed that I can't snowboard until right before the Olympics, which is going to be hard."

She added, "I haven't gotten nearly the amount of reps that I would have liked, but that's OK."

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