Among your good resolutions for 2024, perhaps you intend to take care of yourself, overall. And your feet are on your list. If they are dry, you can deeply hydrate them using creams whose effect you enhance with transparent film, as recommended by a dermatologist on TikTok. If your heels are cracked, certain ingredients are particularly suitable, such as glycerin to moisturize or chemical exfoliants containing AHAs and PHAs to eliminate scales. But there is also a part of our feet that requires maintenance and care: the nails. Sandrine Bergere Morant, chiropodist-podiatrist in Cannes, explains to us how to proceed.
When should you cut your toenails and what is the right size?
If we know that we need to cut our toenails regularly, what is the right frequency to do it? “They say you should cut them about every 6 weeks. To have a visual reference, you must not have more than 2 millimeters of white“, specifies the specialist. However, in certain cases, it can be done more frequently.”This is the case for athletes, for example when running, you have to be careful“, continues Sandrine Bergere Morant.
Toenail care: why should you cut them?
Regular trimming is essential for nails but also feet in good condition. If we don’t do it often enough, “the tip of the nail will repeatedly tap the toe of the shoe and risk causing a hematoma. For example, if you go down a mountain or play tennis with nails that are too long, this will cause microtrauma, bruises, cut the toes and there is a risk of secondary infection.“, details the expert, who advises to”monitor your feet and nails every day“. She adds that a nail that has a hematoma and has lifted is “perhaps out of its furrow, which will cause a problem in the growth“.
How to properly cut your toenails to avoid ingrown nails and infections?
Sandrine Bergere Morant advises cutting your nails with nail clippers, “it’s the best. We only cut what exceeds, we cut straight, not in the corners and not too short. Then we file the edges with a small file“, she explains. Before concluding, “if you moisturize your feet, change your shoes every day, go to a podiatrist once a year, dry yourself well between your toes after each shower, and avoid wearing too often varnish to let your nails breathe, you avoid a lot of problems!“
*Thanks to Sandrine Bergere Morant, chiropodist-podiatrist.