Dirt accumulation under your toenails is quite a common problem because no matter how often you clean them, the dirt just always seem to return quickly .
This is especially true for those with ingrown toenails or turned down nails and sweat a lot.
When this dirt is not cleaned often it becomes black and may start to smell.
It can also make you feel embarrassed to wear slippers. This post from the webswite lorecentral.com will guide you to clean your toenails and keep the dirt and smell away.
Whats causes dirt to be under your toenails?
There are a number of factors that contribute to smelly and dirty toenails.
A very common reason is the buildup of keratin debris which is a fibrous structural protein that makes up the outer layer of the skin from the underside of the nail.
Sweat is another factor which causes black dirt under your nail to smell because bacteria love sweat and they break it down to create smelly toenails .
Skin cells from the nail bed when they die gather up under the nails and are loved by fungus and as they feed on them they can cause dirt and bad odour under your toenail.
Other factors are lint from your socks, footwear, bedding etc dirt from walking barefoot , unclean shoes and socks . Even the moisturising creams we rub on our feet cause dirt buildup
How to clean to dirt under your toenail?
First you need to soften the dirt and gunk under your nail and this can be done by using a softening solution of your choice along with warm water.
Solution1
One cup of salt , one cup of sea salt , two cups of baking soda ,a few drops of lavender or peppermint oil mix all in a basin of hot or warm water then soak your feet for five to eight minutes.
If there is any shade of yellow on your nail your nail may have fungus so you can use this mixture
Solution 2
Soak your feet in a basin of apple juice.
Soak your feet for five to 10 minutes then wipe with a towel, the dirt under your nails should now be soft .
Using a nail clip trim your toenail straight across, never cut in the corners to prevent ingrown nail.
Once you have cut your nails you can now clean the dirt with a nail cleaner starting from the centre and work your way to the edges if you have ingrown toenail you would need to use an ingrown toenail cleaner to remove the dirt you can also use a cuticle pusher and spoon nail cleaner to remove the dirt above the nail.
Once you’ve removed the dirt use a soft brush and brush away any remaining particles, a good nailbrush should have two-sides with soft bristles for the top of nails and smaller stiffer bristles for cleaning under nails.
Tweezerman nailbrush is a good example. If you wish you can wash once more with warm water .
How to keep toenails clean?
To keep the nails clean you need to maintain short nail and soak it once or twice a week depends on how dirty your nails get. Your foot sweats all day and this is one of the reasons dirt gets under our nails so men should always wear socks when wearing shoes and women can wear stockings.
Also change into new socks every other day or daily if you sweat excessively .
When you are bathing use the toe brush to brush away any dead skin or dirt build up which would have accumulated over the past 12 to 24 hours .
