How to trim your toe nails correctly and how frequently should you do this?

I n our experience trimming our toenails is seen as a chore rather than a pleasure. To learn how to cut your toenails correctly and save yourself pain in the future follow these simple steps. Toenails grow from 1.5-1.8 mm per month, this is two or three times slower than our fingernails. The speed of growth depends on age, the season of the year, physical activity, blood flow, hormones, illnesses as well as other factors. It’s advisable to trim your nails according to how fast they grow but on average every four weeks for adults and every two weeks for children.

What do we use to trim our nails?

It doesn’t matter whether you choose to use scissors or nail clippers, what does matter is that they are sterilised and that you will use the correct technique. It is also very important that each member of the family has their own. If this is not possible then I suggest you wash them in warm water and dry them as soon as you use them.

 

Trimming your toenails correctly is very important as this will ensure you have healthy looking nails and prevent pain in the future. If we don’t trim them correctly it can lead to ingrown toenails. I suggest you soak your feet in warm water or trim them immediately after a shower or bath as this will mean the nails are softer and easier to trim. It is very important to trim them straight across! We should start at the edge and work towards the middle. Nails should not be too short or too long. To get a feeling for the right length we can simply press on the edge of the toe and we should not be able to feel the edge of the nail. It is also important not to leave any sharp edges as this can damage the nail bed and lead to infection, so it is important to smooth any sharp edges with a nail file.

 

Most people will suffer from an ingrown toenail once in their lifetime. The most frequent reason for this is trimming nails incorrectly. If you are someone prone to ingrown toenails then I really advise you to take care of how you trim your nails and use a nail file to smooth sharp edges.

 

If you should have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

 

We will be happy to arrange a free consultation to advise you how to proceed!

Picture of Tina Jordan
Tina Jordan

My experience shows that regardless of the complexity of the problem, in 98% of cases I can successfully help restore the health of your feet. All I need from you is dedication to the solution and perseverance.