Ingrown toenails almost always come down to two things: how you cut your nails and what shoes you wear. The good news is that both are easy to fix, and a few simple habit changes can stop most ingrown nails before they start. If you already get them repeatedly, there are additional strategies that break the cycle.
Why Ingrown Toenails Happen
An ingrown toenail develops when the edge of the nail pushes into the surrounding skin. Your body treats that sliver of nail as a foreign object and launches an inflammatory response, which is why the area gets red, swollen, and painful. Two mechanical forces are usually responsible: the nail being cut too short, or the skin being compressed against the nail by a tight shoe.
When you trim a nail too short, the remaining edge loses the structural support of the skin around it. Without that constraint, the nail can slip sideways and dig into the soft tissue as it grows. Tight shoes create the opposite version of the same problem. They squeeze the skin ridges against the stiff nail plate, essentially turning the nail into a blade pressing into your own toe. Either way, the result is the same: nail punctures skin, inflammation follows.
Cut Straight Across, Not Too Short
The single most effective thing you can do is change how you trim your toenails. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends cutting straight across rather than rounding the corners. When you curve the edges, you create a sharp point that’s angled directly toward the skin fold on each side of the nail. As the nail grows, that point can burrow in.
Leave a small amount of white nail visible beyond the tip of your toe. Cutting shorter than the flesh line removes the nail’s ability to grow in a controlled path. Use a proper toenail clipper (wider and flatter than a fingernail clipper) and make the cut in one or two clean passes rather than nibbling away in small clips, which can leave jagged edges. If a corner feels sharp after trimming, gently file it smooth rather than tearing or pulling at it.
Softening your nails first makes a cleaner cut. Trimming right after a shower or bath, when the nail is slightly more flexible, reduces the chance of creating micro-splinters along the edge.
Choose Shoes With a Wide Toe Box
Your footwear matters more than most people realize. A shoe with a narrow or pointed toe box compresses the skin on both sides of the nail, and over time that constant pressure can force the nail edge into the surrounding tissue. Look for shoes that give your toes enough room to spread and wiggle freely. A wide toe box accommodates the natural fan shape of your foot and keeps lateral pressure off the big toe, where most ingrown nails occur.
High heels are a common contributor because they shift your body weight forward onto the toes. If you wear heels, opt for a lower height and a wider base to minimize how much force gets concentrated on the front of the foot. Flat shoes or low-heeled options are the safest choice for everyday wear. Before putting shoes on, it’s also worth checking inside for small objects like pebbles that could press against the nail during the day.
Prevention Tips for Runners and Athletes
Repetitive impact makes athletes especially prone to ingrown toenails, particularly on the big toe. Every time your foot strikes the ground, the nail bed absorbs force, and in shoes that are even slightly too tight, the nail gets driven into the surrounding skin over thousands of steps.
A simple lacing adjustment can relieve pressure on the big toe specifically. Start by threading the lace from the top of the shoe diagonally down to the bottom eyelet near the big toe, then lace the rest of the shoe normally in a zigzag pattern using the remaining length. When you tie the shoe, the material over the big toe lifts slightly away from the nail while the rest of the shoe stays snug. This is a well-known technique among podiatrists who treat runners.
Running shoes should also have at least a thumb’s width of space between your longest toe and the end of the shoe, since feet swell during exercise.
What to Do at the First Sign of Trouble
If you notice a nail edge starting to dig in but there’s no significant swelling or pus, you can often redirect the nail at home. Soak your foot in warm water to soften the tissue, then gently tuck a small piece of clean cotton or waxed dental floss under the ingrown edge. This lifts the nail slightly and encourages it to grow above the skin rather than into it. Replace the cotton or floss after each soak to keep the area clean.
This technique works best for mild cases caught early. If the toe becomes inflamed, increasingly painful, or starts draining pus, home care is no longer enough. A healthcare provider can numb the toe and trim or remove the portion of nail that’s embedded. For nails that keep coming back, a procedure called partial matrixectomy removes part of the nail root to prevent regrowth along the problem edge. Even with this procedure, recurrence rates sit around 34%, which underscores why ongoing prevention habits matter even after professional treatment.
Extra Precautions if You Have Diabetes
People with diabetes face higher stakes with any foot problem, including ingrown nails. Reduced blood flow slows healing, and nerve damage (neuropathy) can mask pain, meaning an ingrown nail might progress to infection before you even feel it. The American Diabetes Association recommends washing your feet daily in warm (not hot) water, drying them thoroughly, and inspecting them for cuts, sores, or redness every day.
Wear shoes at all times, even indoors, to protect against accidental injury. Moisture-wicking socks help keep feet dry and reduce the skin softening that can make tissue more vulnerable to nail penetration. If your regular shoes pinch or rub, ask about therapeutic shoes or custom inserts. Any numbness, non-healing cuts, or signs of infection warrant prompt professional evaluation rather than home treatment. Good circulation also plays a protective role: regular walking in comfortable shoes stimulates blood flow to the feet and lower legs.
Salon Pedicures: What to Watch For
A pedicure can be part of good foot maintenance or a direct cause of an ingrown nail, depending on how it’s done. The most common mistake technicians make is cutting nails too short, which, as described above, removes the structural support that keeps the nail growing in the right direction. If you get regular pedicures, ask the technician to trim straight across and leave visible length beyond the tip of the toe. Rounding the corners or digging into the nail grooves to “clean them out” creates exactly the conditions for an ingrown nail to develop.