How to Clip Toenails

Video Transcript

"Today, we're going to talk about clipping toenails. You're going to need specific tools for this procedure, and what I recommend, is you're going to need a basin or tub, or maybe a big dish pan full of hot, soapy water.You're going to need an actual toenail clipper, probably a file with several different grits on the file. This one goes from a fine grit to a medium grit, to a coarse grit, to a very aggregate grit, and then also a three way buffer, which is very similar to the file, but actually much finer, and will impart a shine on the toenail when you're finished, and keep the layers of the nail down, so that there's no peeling after clipping the nail. To start, most toenails, they're generally a little thicker than a fingernail, so my recommendation is, that you would soak the toenails for a minimum of ten minutes. When you're finished soaking the toenails, dry them well. Just use a soft terrycloth type towel, and then begin and proceed with it, by clipping the toenail from the outside of the nail, and start basically, from the outside of the nail, and work your way across the nail, until you get to the center of the nail. Then, you would start again on the outside, on the opposite side of the nail, and start in small sections, again until you meet that same cut in the center of the nail. What this is going to do for you is, if you were to place the actual clipper on the toenail, in the center, and then just go ahead and clip all at once, you would run the risk of cracking the nail, and cutting it off in a very jagged fashion, so it's really important to start, and use small steps, moving towards the center of the nail, and then start on the outside again, as I said, and just meet that center cut, and when you get to the center, and you clip off the excess nail, obviously, throw it in the garbage, and then take your file, that I described earlier, that has the finer grit on it, and use the finer grit to actually file from the outside towards the center, on each side of that toenail, and what you'll do in that case, is just seal down, and you want to use it on a slight angle underneath, kind of coming from underneath the nail, and again, the reason for this, is so that you're not going to cause the layers of the nail to be open, so that they peel, and to seal those down further, you can then take the buffer, as I described, and start with the heaviest grit on the buffer, and just kind of file in a downward fashion, just seal down those layers even further. When you're finished, you're going to impart a nice shine to the nail,and you're going to seal it down very well, and you'll have a healthy toenail after clipping, rather than a jagged edge."