Three Ways To Transform The Appearance Of Your Toenails (Podiatrist Approved)

Posted 15 May

It feels great not to have to worry about the state and appearance of your toenails. You don’t have to give wearing sandals a second thought, you don’t cringe at the thought of removing your shoes at the pool, and you don’t have to keep your feet covered with socks when visiting friends. So what can you do to help when your nails are looking discoloured, thick, hard or brittle? Actually - quite a lot. It’s very possible to change the appearance of your toenails into one you can be proud of, and much easier than many think - with a little help from your podiatrist. Here’s how.

Clear Looking Nails In One Visit: Keryflex Nail Restoration

The first option is our nail restoration treatment, which is a big favourite for those that want that fresh and healthy nail appearance (almost) instantly. If your nails are discoloured, brittle, look moth-eaten, or you find them otherwise ‘unattractive’, this may be the perfect solution. 

Using a system called Keryflex, we’re able to create a new flexible, breathable and natural-looking nail over your existing damaged nail. Our patients love knowing that with Keryflex, they’re not doing any damage to their original nail beneath, as a healthy environment is maintained for the original nail to grow. The same can’t be said for other types of artificial nails that are used to ‘hide’ the appearance of toenails, while using bonding agents and other materials that can destroy the nail and make it more brittle and discoloured.

Our podiatrists love the benefits that Keryflex offer to our patients, including that:

• Keryflex nails are robust, which means you can apply nail polish, use polish remover, and handle detergents without any risk of damage.
  
• The nails are flexible, bending with the natural movement of the toes (like your real nail would) instead of feeling rigid and uncomfortable, or snapping.
  
• Keryflex doesn’t cause any additional damage to your natural nail beneath, or to the skin surrounding the toe.
  
• The nails are non-porous, so you don’t have to worry about moisture getting trapped between the original nail and the Keryflex nail, which could otherwise cause more damage.
  
• Our registered podiatrists apply your Keryflex nails using strict hygiene and safety protocols, giving you the best care and results.
  
• You get an immediate cosmetic improvement in a single appointment, with three colour options: natural, opaque and clear.
  

A Nail And Skin Care Visit

While our team is very well known for specialty areas such as MLS laser for pain relief, falls prevention in older adults, heel pain treatment and more, we also help countless Queenslanders with managing their toenails - and it goes far beyond ingrown nails (another one of our specialties). 

We offer dedicated skin and nail care visits, where our podiatrists use their expertise (and some fantastic sterile medical tools) to provide safe and hygienic care for your feet and nails. We follow very strict infection control protocols that you won’t experience anywhere else. Safe foot care is particularly important if your feet are considered high-risk from having conditions such as diabetes, or problems with wound healing.

At our skin and nail care visit we will:

• Trim your nails, even if they’re exceptionally thick, brittle, misshapen or have other problems
  
• Reduce the thickness of your toenails, which both helps improve the way they look by removing the thick surface layers, but also helps improve your comfort, particularly if your thick nails have a tendency to hit the top of the shoe at the toe box and cause you discomfort 
  
• Remove surface-level discolouration. While some discolouration is long-lasting, we see many people with white, yellow or brown/black just on the surface level of their toenails. This is fairly simple for our podiatrists to remove! We use a specialised burr and you can enjoy a significant cosmetic improvement
  
• Remove hard skin down the sides of the nail to help optimise foot comfort
  
• Remove calluses that have formed around the toes and feet, giving you smoother skin by the end of the appointment and relieving any discomfort caused by excess pressure during walking.
  
• Corns on the toes and feet are also safely removed during the appointment, which provides instant relief from their pain and discomfort if they’re already causing you hassle.
  

PACT Fungal Nail Treatment

The most common cause of nail changes that create a less-than-ideal nail appearance is from a fungal nail infection. Having fungus infiltrate your nail causes permanent damage as it eats away at the keratin in your nails. This can leave the nails looking streaky, flaky, brittle, discoloured, crumbly and worse. Without treatment, the changes to the nails progressively worsen over time. 

This is where PACT comes in. PACT stands for Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy, and it leverages the interaction of light with photosensitive agents to kill and destroy the fungus without causing any harm to the healthy nail tissues. We find this to be a superior alternative to hot laser treatments because there’s no risk of burns or any safety concerns, meaning your health stays the top priority.

Once the fungus is destroyed, the remaining nail can grow out healthy and clear. No anti-fungal treatment can reverse the damage inflicted by nail fungus, so PACT is a long-term solution for nail health and confidence. In the meantime, many people choose to have Keryflex nail restoration so their nails can look healthy and clear, while their fungus-free nails grow healthy, strong and long.

Unsure Where To Start?

No problem - our podiatry team is here to help. If you’re unhappy with the look of your nails, just book in with our podiatry team and we’ll start with an assessment to confirm what has caused the changes you’re seeing, whether that be a fungal nail infection or something else. Then we’ll discuss the best suited treatment options for you to help you live with healthy, clear and beautiful-looking nails for the years to come. 

Book your appointment online or call us on (07) 3356 3579.