How to cut your toenails properly so they don't become ingrown

An ingrown toenail usually starts not with shoes or "bad genes" but with one careless trim. In Tashkent this shows most in autumn: after a summer in sandals, feet move into closed shoes and any sharp corner starts pressing into the skin. Here is how to cut your toenails so they grow straight.

Why a toenail starts to grow in

It is most often the edge of the big toenail. When a corner is cut too deep or rounded off, the skin at the side of the nail folds over that spot within a few days. As the nail grows back, it runs into that skin. Add pressure from a narrow shoe and the sharp edge pushes into the skin, which is when it starts to hurt. Tight socks, long walks and a habit of picking at the corners all raise the risk.

How to cut, step by step

• Soften the nail first. Trim after a shower or a 5–10 minute warm foot bath, then dry your feet well, including between the toes.
• Use the right tool. Straight scissors are fine for thin nails; thicker ones need clippers. Wipe them with antiseptic before you start.
• Cut straight across. Use several small cuts rather than one snap so the nail doesn't split. The edge should be an almost straight line, with no notches at the sides.
• Leave some length. The free edge should sit roughly level with the tip of the toe. A nail that is too short is as risky as one that is too long.
• Smooth with a file. Don't cut out a sharp corner; just run a soft file over it in one direction.

Common mistakes

• A rounded shape, like on fingernails. It doesn't suit toenails: rounded corners are exactly the ones that grow in.
• Digging out the corner. With the tip of the scissors, tweezers or anything sharp. This leaves a tiny wound, and the new edge grows back with a snag.
• Cutting right down. It may seem you will need to trim less often, but the skin at the tip of the toe rises up and gets in the way of the nail growing forward.
• Cutting a dry nail. A hard nail crumbles and splits under the clippers.

What to bear in mind in a Tashkent autumn

Hard water and the dry air of the heating season make nails denser and more brittle, so a foot bath before trimming is especially worthwhile here. As you switch to closed shoes, check that the toe box isn't narrow and your toes can move freely, and give your feet time without socks at home. Toenails grow slowly, so a trim every few weeks is usually enough.

If you find it hard to reach your feet, your nails are thick or an edge is starting to grow in without inflammation, it is better to leave the trim to a specialist. A podiatrist at BOSCO will choose the right cut and take the pressure off the nail fold; instruments are sterilised in a dry-heat cabinet. If the toe is red, swollen, hot or there is pus, or if you have diabetes or circulation problems, don't cut it yourself and see a doctor straight away. What treatment of an ingrown toenail involves and what it costs is on the podiatry page, and how a podiatrist differs from a pedicurist is covered in Podiatrist or pedicure.