It is everyone’s dream to have the coolest-shaped toenails matched with the perfect color and thickness. Maintaining the right shape for your toenails helps address dangerous recurring conditions such as ingrown toenails and breakage.
Key Factors to Consider When Cutting and Shaping Your Toenails
The shape of your toenails is affected by a number of factors, such as how you cut them, the type of tools you use on your nails, and the type of shoe you put on. Below are some primary factors to consider when cutting and shaping your toenails.
The length
How long and short you cut your toenails does not only determine their shape, but it plays a major role in determining their health and attraction. For best results, avoid cutting your nails too short, as this leads to ingrown nails and other forms of infection. Always ensure your nails are a little bit above your skin to avoid the dangers that come with short ingrown nails.
Moreover, allow your toenails time to breathe before disturbing them with the clippers. Toenails grow in a span of 6 to 8 weeks, after which they are ready for trimming.
What’s The Best Shape for Toenails?
Ensure To Cut the Toenails Straight Across: Cutting your toenails straight across is essential in ensuring you stay away from ingrown and painful toenails.
The best shape for your toenails is the straight-across shape. This shape helps avoid ingrown nails, which are very painful, and grooming grounds for bacteria. When trimming your toenails, avoid cutting them too short and instead ensure the corners lie loosely on the skin located at your nails’ sides.
Use the Right Tools
The truth is not all clippers and scissors are good to use in cutting your toenails which are naturally large and broader. For best results, ensure to use larger clippers that will attach firmly to your toenail, cutting it at once. Also, ensure to disinfect the clippers before and after every use to avoid the transfer of germs.
Also, use a trimming tool that you are most confident with, such as a nail scissor, a clipper, or a file. Whatever tool you opt for, ensure it’s clean and well-disinfected to avoid the transfer of germs. Moreover, use large tools that will attach to your nails properly and get rid of unwanted dirt promptly.
How to Take Care of Your Toenails
The toenails are a sensitive body part that requires the best care to keep them healthy and glowing. When not well-handled, toenails can become susceptible to dangerous infections and bacteria that could result in not-so-good results.
Keeping your toenails healthy and glowing is a lot of work, and it requires the best of your dedication. The following are some steps that you can incorporate to have the best toenails;
Keep Your Toenails Clean and Dry
Keeping your toenails clean and dry is a must-do initiative for them to remain free of infections and germs. Wet toenails are extremely dangerous as they act as a harboring ground for bacteria and other harmful infections. To avoid this misfortune, ensure to wash your feet daily using warm water and soap and dry them using a clean towel.
If you are fond of wearing socks, ensure to wear cotton socks that are well-cleaned and dry. Never wear a pair of socks twice. Instead, wash them after every use and dry them out in the sun to get rid of any hidden germs.
Wear Fitting and Comfortable Shoes
One secret to maintaining glowing and healthy toenails is to keep them safe by wearing comfortable shoes. Proper fitting shoes ensure that your toenails have adequate space to breathe and grow. In addition to wearing fitting shoes, ensure to be on the lookout for overgrown nails that need to be trimmed and do the trimming properly.
Keep Your Feet Well Moisturized
Like any other part of your body, the toenails need to be well moisturized to avoid the cracking caused by dryness. Moisturizing your feet regularly provides the needed nutrients to help grow the nails and keep your feet shining.
There are wide varieties of quality foot creams in the market today to choose from. When moisturizing your feet, be careful about the amount of cream you use in between your toenails. Using too much cream may lead to some leftovers that may cause the growth of fungus and other unwanted bacteria.
Avoid Sharing Nail Clippers and Other Trimming Tools
Most nail infections are transferable from one person to another and can be passed using different trimming tools. As such, it’s essential that you avoid sharing your trimming tools to minimize the transfer of the said germs and infections. If you should use a tool after storing it for some time, ensure to disinfect it first.
Common Toenail Problems to Watch Out For
Toenails are a delicate body part, and they are very susceptible to infections and other health problems. When not well taken care of, your toenails can become infected with a number of diseases, such as those discussed below;
Toenail Fungus
Toenail fungus is an abnormality that first manifests as a yellow or white spot under the tip of your toenail and proceeds to discolor and thicken your entire nail. This abnormality is caused by a fungal infection, and it’s known to spread from one toenail to the other.
Discoloration
The discoloration is another common occurrence with toenails. This condition may emanate from the different substances, such as dyes and nail polishes, that come into contact with your toenails. Though not something to worry about, discoloration is not a pleasing condition, and it will be best if you stay away from it.
You can avoid this menace by being careful when applying the polishes and getting rid of any spillage immediately after it happens.
Ingrown nails
Ingrown toenail condition is one of the most painful encounters you can ever experience. This condition occurs when a part of your nail, more so the corners or sides, grow into the flesh. An ingrown toenail is caused by certain problems, such as cutting your toenails too short, having extra-large toenails, and trimming your toenails in a curved or rounded manner.
Final Thoughts on the Best Shape for Your Toenails
It’s undoubtedly true that the best shape for your toenails is the straight-across shape.
The secret to having the best shaped, gloomed, and healthy toenails is to take good care of them by trimming them the right way, maintaining high levels of hygiene, and using the right tools to work on your toenails. Additionally, be on the lookout for any appearance that seems abnormal on your toenails and address it immediately to avoid regrettable consequences in the future. With these precautions, you are assured of healthy, well-shaped, and glowing toenails.
