Bare Feet with Better Pedicures

There’s something about hitting the beach with a fresh pedicure that feels quintessentially summertime. The wabi sabi nail look with a backdrop of sand and sea screams fun IRL and on Instagram. But if your nail care motto from June to August is paint, enjoy, remove, repeat, podiatrists say you might want to hit pause on the cycle to let your feet breathe. If you don’t (I’m so, so sorry to break this to you), you may just find toe nail fungus lurking beneath your Bimini Blue polish.

“Nail polish is a leading cause of toenail fungus,” says Doug Tumen, DPM, FACFAS, a board-certified podiatrist based in New York’s Hudson Valley. The toxins and preservatives lurking in most commercial polish encourage the growth of fungus, according to the expert. Same, same with artificial nails. “If upon removing nail polish you see white spots, yellow discoloration, or thickening of the nail, you may have a fungus forming,” explains Dr. Trumen. So if you’re gearing up to swap hues and spot any of these nail no-nos, skip it and go au natural for a bit. Your nails just need a moment to breathe now and then.

Still though—it’s summer! If you want to rock the ugly nail trend in various shades that are surprisingly flattering, Dr. Tumen recommends choosing salons that offer cleaner pedicures and double-checking that the establishment’s tools are sterilized. “New anti-fungal, non-toxic nail polish is now available. Consider switching to safe anti-fungal nail polish to help avoid developing fungus toenails,” he also advises. Enjoy a pop of color peeping out from your sandals for a week, then give them a rest with the anti-fungal product. That way, you don’t have to deal with a gnarly case of toe fungus come fall.

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Why You Should Give Your Toenails a Break from Polish Give your nails a chance to breathe, stay healthy FACEBOOK TWITTER LINKEDIN PINTEREST Email You may think that the mark of a great pedicure is one that lasts for weeks on end. But you might want to think twice about letting that beautiful shade of coral linger on your toenails. It’s important to give your nails a break from polish, says foot specialist Joy Rowland, DPM . “I always recommend to my patients that it’s best to leave polish on for a few weeks on, and then remove the polish and go without for a few weeks,” Dr. Rowland says. “It’s not a good idea to leave nail polish continuously on your toes all summer. They need a break.” While your nails seem to be hard, they are far from impermeable. In fact, your nails are much more permeable than your skin. As a result, they can soak up substances – such as nail polish – that are applied to their surface. Inviting foot problems The danger with keeping your nail polish on too lon

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