Now that warmer days are here, it’s time for sandals and pedicures. In fact all year long, who doesn’t love a pampering at nail salon with a manicure and pedicure. It’s a quick easy process that leaves our hands and feet looking and feeling great.
Below are The Derm Institute’s Top 10 Tips for Healthy Manicure and Pedicures for summer ready nails!
1. Cleanliness is key. All nail salons should use an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant. Be sure your nail salon uses an approved disinfectant for their pedicure bowls. It is also recommend to choose a salon that sterilizes their instruments in between all clients. Be sure your technician opens the sterilized packet of instruments in front of you.
2. Do not shave, wax, or use hair removal products up to 24 hours before getting a pedicure. These procedures cause the opening of pores, leaving your skin more prone to picking up an infection.
3. Do not get a pedicure if you have bug bites, scratches, broken skin or lesions on your legs or feet. These breaks in your skin can increase your chances of picking up bacterial and fungal infections. Wait until these areas are healed before heading to a salon.
4. Go traditional on pedicures! You’re better off with pedicures that utilize traditional soaking buckets rather than spa chair pedicures. Spa pedicure chairs are more likely to trap mold and mildew in the filters unless they are cleaned between every client.
5. Bring your own equipment. It seems bizarre, but plenty of people do bring their own instruments, and love having control over that part of their mani-pedi experience. We suggest buying your own mani-pedi kit to take in with you so you can ensure cleaniness. You can disinfect your instruments by wiping them down with alcohol after each use.
6. Gel manicures are all the craze, but be careful. If you are fond of gel manicures be sure to go to a salon that uses LED lights for curing the gel nails instead of the traditional UV lamp. UV lights expose your skin to harmful rays and can cause damage and increase your chance of developing skin cancer. If your salon does not offer LED curing lights for gels, we recommend wearing finger-less gloves to UV protect your skin.
7. Give your nails a break sometimes! We recommend the cycle on/off pattern for those of you who put on acrylics or gels. The glue used in acrylic procedures and the acetone used for removing gels dehydrate and weaken the nail plate. Therefore, we recommend you cycle off every third month or so to prevent the damage of your nail bed.
8. Apply a base coat before applying dark polish. Dark polish can stain nails which can lead to a yellowing pigment. If you experience yellowing of nails soak them in lemon juice to lighten the nails.
9. To prevent ingrown nails, we suggest cutting/filing down your nails straight-across rather than rounded. Please be sure to tell your nail salon specialist that you only want to push back your cuticles and not cut them. Cutting of cuticles can cause chronic paronychia or inflammation of the cuticles.
10. Fungal infections are uncommon, but can be serious when it affects the skin. Paronychia is a fairly common infection seen from removing hangnails or cuticles. This infection can lead to a red and swollen area surrounding the nail, and tends to be painful. If you suspect a bacterial or fungal infection, be sure to make an appointment to see Dr. Chiu at The Derm Institute.
Your mani-pedi treatment should be relaxing. Use our ten tips above to avoid stressful conditions that mani-pedi’s can lead to. Always remember to apply sunblock to your hands and feet when showing off your polished nails!
. . . Shared by the TDI team
