How To Properly Care For Toenails

Toe Nail Care Tips For Pretty Summer Toenails

Whether it’s summer and time to break out of your cold weather boots, or you’re dealing with winter foot issues from constantly wearing socks and boots, knowing  how to take care of your toenails is important!

knowing how to tak.  Learn how to take care of your toenails and ease into some comfortable sandals or flip-flops. While you may have your wardrobe ready to go, have you considered how prepared you are for your toes to be on full display? Your open-toed footwear may be calling your name, but it’s also good to remember to keep your toes and toenails in the best shape possible before you jump into those shoes.

Avoid Sweaty Feet

The most important rule of all when it comes to summer toenail care is to always keep your toes clean and dry, especially as the temperature starts to rise. This will cause excess sweat and moisture to bead in between the toes and around the nail bed, which will lead to fungus and bacteria and odor if left unchecked. (Not to mention sweaty feet makes shoes smell.) You can try soaking your feet in a basin filled with warm water and epsom salts at least once a week, followed by running a soft wash cloth across the surface to dry it.

Moisturize

Aside from this, while you might associate dry skin as a sensation that only occurs during winter, excessive sweating can also have adverse effects on the skin and leave the toes and the section around the toenails dehydrated and cracked. To best combat this, make use of a foot cream to keep your toes and feet soft.  The ideal time to moisturize is right after washing them, so this may also act as a secondary step to your toenail care routine. Not only that, but most people aren’t aware that the toenails can be moisturized as well as the skin around them. Try dabbing a bit of your foot cream on the surface of the nail bed and spread the product evenly across.

Cleaning

You can expect that you’ll be doing a great deal of walking as the weather gets better, and all this extra activity can do quite a number on the soles when calluses start to form near the toes. To get rid of the thickened skin, use a scrub brush or pumice stone after soaking your feet to carefully shed off the excess layers. This is good practice especially when you want to show off your toes in those sandals. To effectively scrub your feet, the area around the toenails should be a little damp. Make sure that you are not too harsh with the movements so you don’t end up causing any open wounds. You can get the best of both worlds by utilizing a foot scrub that will remove any dead skin from the toes and moisturize the soles at the same time.

Sunscreen

Another self-care tip that you should follow is to apply sunscreen on the feet. Beauty experts and dermatologists alike will constantly reiterate the importance of keeping those UV rays away from the face, but your feet will get just as much sun exposure during the summer. Protect your toenails when you don those flip-flops by applying an SPF cream over the surface of the nails and around the entire foot.

Trim Toenails

Lastly, the ultimate summer toenail tip is to ensure that you trim them regularly. Cutting your toenails straight across as opposed to rounding the corners will decrease the chances of your toenails growing inwards instead of out. Doing so will also lessen any dirt or bacteria that will seep underneath the nails and result in unsightly toenail infections, which you definitely don’t want when you head out! Finishing Touches Apply a bit of cuticle oil to help soften the cuticles so that they will even out. You should also remember to file and buff the surface of the toenails once finished cutting them as this will smoothen out the area and make it easier for you to paint your toenails in all manner of bright summer colors. Learn how to take care of your toenails, and beautiful feet will follow!