Value Village ／ Health
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Few people are ever taught how to cut their nails, and "short and rounded" is taken for granted worldwide. Yet that is one of the main causes of pincer nails and ingrown toenails. The Japanese Dermatological Association and the Japanese Society for Foot Care and Podiatric Medicine recommend the "square-off" cut instead.
| Item | Toenails | Fingernails |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Square-off: cut straight across and round only the corners slightly with a file | Rounding is fine, but do not cut too short |
| Length | Level with the toe tip or slightly longer (0–1 mm) | Slightly shorter than the fingertip |
| Timing | After a bath (nails are soft) | Same |
| Tools | Straight-edged clippers or nail nippers. Cut in several small snips, not one | Nail clippers |
| Filing | In one direction, not back and forth | Same |
| Frequency | About once a month (toenails grow at half the speed of fingernails) | Once a week |
| Cuticles | Do not force them off. Push back gently at most | Same |
| Problem | What it is | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ingrown nail (陥入爪) | The corner of the nail digs into the skin: redness, pain, pus | Stop cutting short; switch to square-off. For pain or pus, see a dermatology or plastic-surgery clinic (taping, wire correction, surgery) |
| Pincer nail (巻き爪) | The nail curls sideways. Cutting too short, ill-fitting shoes, ageing, the way you walk | Shoe size (see our article on wearing shoes); correction (often not covered by health insurance) |
| Nail fungus (爪白癬, onychomycosis) | Thick, cloudy white to yellow, brittle | Dermatology clinic (oral or topical medicine over several months) |
| Nails in older people | Thick and hard, cannot cut them yourself | Foot care (nursing, care services), dermatology clinic |
[Verify] Check the square-off recommendation against materials from the Japanese Dermatological Association and the Japanese Society for Foot Care and Podiatric Medicine.
The main cause of ingrown and pincer nails. Level with the toe tip, straight across, corners only.
A vicious circle: it digs in further. Let it grow and return to square-off. For pain or pus, see a dermatology or plastic-surgery clinic.
A route of infection for nail fungus (athlete's foot). One per person, or disinfect.
It may be nail fungus. A dermatology clinic can test it (a few minutes); the medicine takes months. Left alone, it spreads to the feet as athlete's foot.
Pointed shoes, shoes that are too small and heels are among the main causes of pincer and ingrown nails. Leave room at the toes and fit the heel snugly (see our shoe article).
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https://www.dermatol.or.jp/qa/
https://jfcpm.org/
https://www.dermatol.or.jp/uploads/uploads/files/guideline/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
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