Hyponychium growing beyond the nail bed?

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heatherp

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Hi guys,
Wonder if I can pick your brains a little please.

Had a friend visit the other night, she has been going to a friend of mine for years now for gel nails and my friend has recently taken on shellac and been trying to convert her. Anyhow she had shellac the last couple of times she has been and her nails have broken, she wears her nails extreemly long which when she had gels were fine but I don't think shellac is strong enough for her.

When I had a look at her nails, she has "skin" under the nails free edge which she said hurt if her nails are trimmed down.

I take it this is the hyponychium? If so is there anything that can be done to shrink it back so her nails can be trimmed and shaped without pain, her nails need to be taken down so she can get them a little stronger, Ive given her some solar oil and told her to use it at least twice a day. Anything else I should recommend?
 
Hi guys,
Wonder if I can pick your brains a little please.

Had a friend visit the other night, she has been going to a friend of mine for years now for gel nails and my friend has recently taken on shellac and been trying to convert her. Anyhow she had shellac the last couple of times she has been and her nails have broken, she wears her nails extreemly long which when she had gels were fine but I don't think shellac is strong enough for her.

When I had a look at her nails, she has "skin" under the nails free edge which she said hurt if her nails are trimmed down.

I take it this is the hyponychium? If so is there anything that can be done to shrink it back so her nails can be trimmed and shaped without pain, her nails need to be taken down so she can get them a little stronger, Ive given her some solar oil and told her to use it at least twice a day. Anything else I should recommend?

Yes, this is the hyponychium. To take the length down without hurting your client you will need to firstly use nails clippers to take off the majority of the length - check continously that you are not cutting near the hyponychium though. Then simply use a file to achieve your shape. This will not hurt your client providing it is a fine grit suitable for natural nails and that you do not file the hyponychium. This commonly happens when clients have quite long natural nail overlays.

Hope that helps :)
 
I once cut this with tip cutters. Still haunts me to this day! Paper towel turned bright red and I nearly died!
 
This is a form of nail psoriasis and is quite nasty and untreatable. You have to be so cautious. I have several clients with the condition, toenails mainly, and I'm very, very careful when clipping their toenails. Apparently the hyponychium is full of nerve endings so even the slightest nip can cause pain. And boy do they bleed!
 
I have this on most of my fingers and toes and yes, I do have long nail beds, and yes, it does really really hurt if the clippers go anywhere near them! I have a client with this on his toes and I position the clippers, half squeeze, ask him if it feels ok, then squeeze properly.

I didn't realise it was a form of nail psoriasis.
 
This is a form of nail psoriasis and is quite nasty and untreatable.

It's one of the side-effects of wearing artificial nails: usually it is prone to grow when there is a little 'step' of material under the free edge due to imperfect from-fitting.

The way out is to fit the form edge to edge - tightly so that the material isn't pushed down out to form the 'step' - and do short extentions. If there is no 'step' the condition will pas over with a time.
File the 'step' down with an e-file if you must.
 
This is a form of nail psoriasis and is quite nasty and untreatable.

Let me re-phrase this. It should be left untreated by nail professionals. It is treatable by medical professionals. :wink2:
 
I have this on some of my fingers, I have never worn enhancements so can safely say that in my case it has nothing to do with any incorrectly fitting forms, steps of product etc.
It is simply because I wear my nails long, there is less pressure on that part of my fingertips so without that constant movement of, pressure on the skin etc. the nail and the nail bed stay "stuck together" a bit further up than previously.
I suppose it's like someone who may have bitten their nails far down for years, when they eventually do stop for a prolonged period the nail and the nail bed, where they were previously not attached will start to knit together as the nail grows.
I probably haven't explained this very well, hope it makes sense. x

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 
You're absolutely correct, Loubilicous. It's frequently seen in both those who wear their nails long and those who wear enhancements.
 
i read somehwere, i'm not sure how true, but that if you keep the nails trimmed shorter tahat the hyponychium will recede. Kindof like when you keep a puppy's nails short their "quick" will recede. I actually cut this off a woman once when i first started. she is still nice to me but even after 6 years refuses to let me do her nails hahaha. if you have to trim you can trim with the clients hands upside down or facing you with thier palm. makes it a little easier to see where you are cutting.
 
I too have this, didn't realise until I cut my nails right down, and boy did it hurt for days later. Now I try to trim more regular to stop it from happening. It's not so bad and has got a lot better too :lol:
 
if you have to trim you can trim with the clients hands upside down or facing you with thier palm. makes it a little easier to see where you are cutting.

That's an old nail school tip of the trade and a good one. It's to ensure that you don't accidentally nip the hyponychium.
 
ive had this problem with my own nails. for years i have worn long nail enhancements and seen the hyponychium grow under the nail almost reaching the free edge. I find it really difficult to file my natural nails short. Well recently i started just overlaying my nails as i introduced shellac and wanted to try it out on myself. i just put a thin layer of acrylic over my nails then shellac. ive been doing this for a few months now as well as using solar oil regularly.
today i soaked them off and for the first time in years was able to file my nails right down, the over grown hyponychium seemed to be disappeared. i know people will post saying its not possible, but it has gone. dont know if it was the overlays and less pressure/stress on my nails or the fact that id been looking after them a bit more. just thought id let you know.

needless to say i now have long, oval shaped enhancements back on!
 
It should be left untreated by nail professionals. It is treatable by medical professionals. :wink2:

Why, if the problem is purely 'mechanical' - the hyponychium grows because it has a nice cosy space to grow into :lol: ... to fix the problem you just have to get rid of that 'step', try and fit the form edge to edge, and file and clean underneath the free edge.


I developed a little of this myself when I just started wearing gels but I don't have it any more when I avoid 'steps'.


Come to think of it, you can also apply a thin layer of gel or acrylic onto the bottom of the natural free edge - - I believe it may stop the skin from growing over.
 
This is a form of nail psoriasis and is quite nasty and untreatable. You have to be so cautious. I have several clients with the condition, toenails mainly, and I'm very, very careful when clipping their toenails. Apparently the hyponychium is full of nerve endings so even the slightest nip can cause pain. And boy do they bleed!

I disagree. This isn't a form of psoriasis (although someone with it may have psoriasis in addition). Some people have this naturally and it usually associated with oval nails. (there is a well known hand model who has this and it just 'one of those things'. Her nails are almost always kept short and it doesn't go away.)

Some people who have worn enhancements for a long time may develop it as a sort of support for the free edge or, more commonly, where the nails have been pinched and pressure has been put on the centre of the free edge over time.

It is living skin, can be softened with regular application of nail oil but cannot be removed
 

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