Pedicure Nerves

[~bec~]

I have my first pedicure on tuesday, it is for an elderly lady. Im very concerned in regards to how to cut her toe nails as i DO NOT want to cuase her to have an ingrown toe nail.

Everyone i ask is giving me contradicting advice, so i thought i'd see what the nail geek site can say.

 

[toodles]

Hi Bek

We are taught at college that toe nails need to be cut or filed straight across. This, apparently, is the best shape to avoid ingrown toenails.
Jeni

 

[geeg]

The trick to avoid ingrowing toenails is:

When you reduce the length and cut the corners off, Always make sure you can see the points of the cutters peeking out the other side of the corner before you make the cut. In other words, never cut down towards the flesh so that you have to break or pull the bit you are cutting off. Doing this breaks the nail growing under the skin,off at a right angle and makes a spur that later grows into the skin as an ingrown toenail ... ouch.

I actually never file or cut absolutely straight across the nail as I think a gentle curve with soft corners (like a rounded square nail) looks the prettiest, is the healthiest and elderly people should not be left with sharp corners to their nails ... in fact I do not think it is a good idea for anyone to have these sharp corners on their toenails that I am seeing (especially when I see enhanced toes) it isn't even pretty.

 

[bimbogeri]

I've always cut my toenails the way you've described, Geeg, and felt slightly... wrong isn't the right word, but you know.. doing it because every women's mag that ever does a 'home pedicure' article always says 'cut straight across'.
Glad to know I haven't been quite so wrong afterall!
Lol x

 

[Little Angel]

Hi

I always do my toe nails slightly rounded as otherwise they do cut into my toes, and it bloody hurts!

Sq-oval is the shape i prefer and is the shaper that causes me the least problems.

 

[mgloverfam]

When I clip the toenail, I clip straight across, but use my file to file the corners into a rounded square. As Geeg said, this is prettiest.