Have you been watching your toes over these summer months and feeling unhappy with how they look?
While some people turn to a salon pedicure to help hide their toenails, a study that used ultrasound to observe the effects on nails when having a gel polish manicure found nail weakness, brittleness and nail thinning. This leaves two options: continue with pedicures indefinitely – or have to eventually deal with nails that are even more damaged than when you started. Or – you can start to improve the appearance of your nails today by using these five podiatrist-approved methods.
1. Nail & Skin Care Appointment
You may know that podiatrists help people recover from pain and injuries – but we also help thousands of people with their nail health every week too. During a nail and skin care appointment, our podiatrists use safe, sterile and specialised nail care tools to:
- Carefully trim the nails, even if they are very thick, fragile or have a tricky distorted shape
- Reduce the thickness of your toenails, improving their appearance
- Use a burr to remove any superficial whitening, yellowing or discolouration on the outer layer of the nail
- Effectively clear the sides of the nails from debris and hard skin build-up
- Remove any callus that has built up around the toes and feet
- Safely and immediately remove any corns from the toes and feet
- Help with ingrown toenails if you have any
Simply put: we help your feet and nails look and feel great. When your feet are being cared for by our registered podiatrists, you know that with our high safety standards, your nail health is always being put first. This is unlike nail salons that are largely unregulated when it comes to their infection control processes, meaning they are free to use the same instruments with minimal cleaning from one person’s foot to the next.
2. Cosmetic Nail Restoration
Regardless of the state that your nail is currently in, cosmetic nail restoration allows us to significantly improve the appearance of your toenails in just one appointment by creating a new flexible, durable and breathable nail over your existing nail. This is the service that has our patients walking out feeling fantastic, and loving the look of their new smooth, whole and natural nail appearance.
We use a system called Keryflex, which was named as one of the top ten innovations in podiatry care. The nail we create does not damage your natural nail beneath, which continues to grow out. This treatment is highly sought after because:
- You’re free to use nail polish, polish remover and detergents without damaging the nail
- It’s a perfect complement to antifungal laser treatment for those with fungal nail infections, giving you a fantastic looking nail after your treatment
- It comes in three colours: natural, opaque and pastel.
- The new nail is extremely strong yet elastic, so it adjusts well to the rolling motion of your feet when you walk – and won’t get damaged from regular daily activities
- The nail is breathable, allowing your true nail to grow beneath the artificial nail without any adverse effects
- Keryflex has antifungal properties
- Your new nail looks and feels natural
- Keryflex gives an immediate cosmetic enhancement – the cosmetic benefits are seen and completed in one appointment
- The process is completed by board-registered podiatrists with strict hygiene and sterilisation protocols
3. Paraffin Wax Bath
While paraffin wax baths are often praised for their natural pain-relieving properties for conditions like arthritis, they can also promote better nail and skin health through their hydrating, moisturising and circulation-boosting properties. This can help with brittleness, dryness and damage, while giving your nails better protection in the future. Having a paraffin wax bath before a skin and nail care treatment can also help soften hard calluses and cracked heels, making them easier to remove by your podiatrist.
4. Laser Fungal Nail Treatment
Fungal nail infections and the nail changes that follow are one the top causes of dissatisfaction with nail appearance that we see. Infected nails often become discoloured, streaky, brittle, flaky, thick or crumbly, starting off mild and growing worse over time.
Laser treatment works by the laser beam directly penetrating the nail, damaging and eliminating the fungus. We offer two types of lasers at different clinics – hot laser and cold laser. Both types are safe, painless, and effective – showing significantly higher clearance rates in clinical studies compared to the usual lacquers, creams and oral medications.
5. Comfortable, Supportive Footwear
Ever wonder why some of your toenails are thicker or perhaps more discoloured than others – and that these tend to be the nails on the longer toes? It’s no coincidence – when our longest toes repetitively hit the ends of our shoes day in and day out, over time the nails can grow thicker and discoloured, calluses may develop at the ends of the toes, and if the shoes are a little too small, the same toes may start to angle downwards.
This is where comfortable and supportive footwear that is professionally fitted to your feet (and takes into account that your big toe isn’t always the longest toe, and that one foot is often slightly bigger than the other!) can help improve the appearance of your nails in the long run by preventing shoe-related nail damage. It will also help stop any existing damage from getting worse. Many of our clinics have retail stores so you can try on and get the best shoes for your feet – and not just that feel great, but fit your foot type, too. We have podiatrists and trained staff available to ensure you get the best fit and maximum comfort.
Ready To Love The Look Of Your Toenails?
If you’re ready to love the look and feel of your toenails, while having the confidence to know that your feet are being cared for by qualified and experienced health professionals, then book an appointment with our podiatrists. We can discuss any foot concerns you have beyond the appearance of your nails too, such as warts on the feet, recurring ingrown nails and much more.
You can book online here, or call us on 1800 FOOTDR
References
[1] https://scholarship.miami.edu/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Nail-damage-from-gel-polish-manicure/991031577592702976