The right tools
Hands are on display in every handshake, every meal and every meeting, and they get less attention from most men than their shoes do. The kit is small and cheap. You need a sharp fingernail clipper, a larger and straighter toenail clipper, a fine-grit file, and a soft nail brush. A glass or crystal file lasts for years and leaves a smoother edge than coarse emery board. Wipe the clippers with rubbing alcohol now and then, and do not share them, since nail fungus travels on tools.
The weekly trim
- Trim after a shower, when the nails are softer and less likely to split or crack.
- Cut fingernails mostly straight across in two or three small clips, not one big bite, which tends to crack the nail.
- Leave a thin sliver of white, about a sixteenth of an inch. Cutting down into the pink invites soreness and infection.
- Round the corners slightly with the file, stroking in one direction only. Sawing back and forth frays the edge.
- Scrub under the nails with the brush, soap and warm water. Never dig underneath with a metal point, which can separate the nail from its bed.
Fingernails grow about an eighth of an inch a month, which is why a weekly trim keeps them even.
Toenails
Toenails grow at roughly half that speed, so every two to three weeks is enough. Cut them straight across and leave the corners square, level with the tip of the toe. Rounding a toenail down into the corners, or cutting it too short, is the classic cause of an ingrown nail, and tight shoes do the rest. An ingrown toenail that is red, swollen or draining needs a doctor or a podiatrist, not bathroom surgery.
Cuticles, hangnails and the biting habit
The cuticle is a seal that keeps bacteria out of the nail root, so leave it uncut. If it looks ragged, push it back gently with a towel after a shower and rub in a drop of fragrance-free hand cream. Clip a hangnail at its base with clean clippers and never tear it, since a tear runs into live skin. Nail biting is easier to break when there is nothing to catch, so keep the nails short and filed smooth, and keep a file within reach for the moment you find a rough edge.
Tip Keep a second clipper and file in your desk or travel kit. A snagged nail dealt with in ten seconds does not become a torn one by evening.
