Customer Reviews

Satin Edge 2 Sided Ingrown Toenail Lifter

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I feel silly reviewing a product like this, but I have to admit I have had ingrown toenails for over 38 years and they can get very painful! I decided to search AMazon for something that would help me deal with them when they are very bad, and bought this. I was actually surprised at how useful it was. I was able to get to the end of the nail and pull it up and out enough to deal with it, and faster than I used to be able to using other methods.

While this instrument has an unusual shape, it works like a charm lifting an ingrown toenail up so it can reseat itself in the proper growth channel.

This review is actually a message of hope to the other reviewers of this product who suffer with ingrown toenails and anyone else who might read this who suffers from this problem. After some excruciating experiences as a child and teenager with ingrown toenails (both big toes once got so infected that I had to have a doctor cut the nails completely in half down the middle and the infected halves torn out) I finally happened on a general practice doctor who gave me the THE BEST ADVICE.

Since receiving this advice 20 years ago I HAVE NEVER HAD ANOTHER INFECTED INGROWN TOENAIL. It's cheap, painless, and it WORKS. You will never have to "dig" or "trim" an infected nail again:

After taking a shower or soaking your foot so that your nail is soft, gently lift the corner of the toenail that is ingrown and using a tweezer or other pointed nail tool (like this product) GENTLY place a small wad of cotton (like from a cotton ball or q-tip) under the corner of the nail. DO NOT shove the cotton in too far and DO NOT put so much cotton that you bend the nail upwards past horizontal. Also, DO NOT shove the cotton straight into the infection! You want to place the cotton under the corner of the toe nail and close enough to the inflamed area to lift the toenail away from the infection and redirect the toenail in a more horizontal direction.

Once you have the cotton under your nail, you should feel relief from the digging corner of the nail. BUT you should NOT feel like you have a hug wad of cotton under your nail that is causing a new discomfort. If so, you have too much in there. If it's more uncomfortable for you to walk after placing the cotton, this is a good tip that you have too much in there. If you're not sure, give your toe half an hour or so to test it out and see how you feel. If you have an infection already, you may need to give yourself a couple of days of slight adjustments (although, the less touching the better in my experience) to start feeling total relief.

I find it is helpful to treat the bit of cotton with neosporin - it lubricates the placement of the cotton and fights germs. My method is to take a small pull of cotton from a q-tip or cotton ball and roll it gently between my forefinger and thumb with some neosporin into a little ball. Don't make the little ball too tight and hard as this will hurt your toe. Keep it soft.

I change out the cotton pieces about once every two or three weeks. I have been using this method for about 20 years, and as I mentioned above I have not had a single ingrown infected toenail since.

Other important tips:

People who are prone to ingrown toenails should NEVER cut their nails too short and should always cut nails STRAIGHT ACROSS. NEVER EVER EVER cut down into the corners of your nail. This is GUARANTEED to cause you problems. I know this may seem counterintuitive, but trust me.

I hope this message reaches some people who suffer with this problem, because I know what it's like to think that you will be dealing with something like this for the rest of your life without an end in sight.

I would be happy to hear if anyone benefits from this posting!

This is like a microwave oven; you never need one until after you've had one... then you never want to be without one again.

Item was deliver on time and it was my life saver, great tool for nasty ingrown toenails. I was able to fix my ingrown nails, here is the trick, once you lift the nail put a tiny pad underneath like cotton or anything that is soft. You must lift the nail with this tool daily for at least a week or until it doesn't hurt much. And last step is let your toenail grow out for a month or so, when you finally trim it make sure it is not very short.

Thin and strong, not sharp, and I don't feel it's dangerous to use. Rounded edges, excellent handle. Another good tool for your set.

If you search Amazon for "SE Dental Tool Set 4 Piece" you will see that this tool is included in that 4 piece set for almost half the price. Just wanted to help. Sorry for the "fake" review.

This small tool is a big help in caring for the toenails. It is especially effective in cleaning under the big toenails. You just have to be careful to not be too aggressive. I thought it was overpriced, considering the shipping charge, but it seems to be a quality-made tool.

I have been looking for a tool like this for years, instead of cutting into my toenails. This works great for lifting up the ends and setting the toenail to regrow the proper length. Company was very quick with delivery, and the instrument is exactly as pictured. Great product for the price.

My experience with this Satin Edge 2-sided Ingrown Toenail Lifter that I bought last week (due to a sudden emergency of my ingrown toenail becoming almost unbearably painful and forcing me to react quickly by searching for absolutely *anything* that might work) is that, it did work, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Let me explain-

This tool was able to fit in between my regular toenail and skin area, which allowed the skin to separate enough for me to dig using *another* tool in order to find the ingrown nail, but because I suffer from incredibly deep ingrown nails that come back at least 3 times a year, this toenail lifter wasn't able to actually get underneath my ingrown nail and remove it.

The reason it couldn't fit underneath my ingrown nail is because I have quite possibly the worst case scenario when it comes to ingrown nails- they appear in a location that requires constant digging which means dealing with a gross amount of blood and a good amount of pain. In other words, I'm not blaming this tool for not being able to fit underneath my ingrown nail and remove it. It's almost the right size, though perhaps a slightly smaller one would have worked better.

Every 3-5 months I have to cut the corner of my toenail all the way down to the very end using a pair of special toenail trimmers shaped like pliers, and for those of you who suffer the same misfortune as me, I recommend small pliers or specially-shaped nail trimmers that allow you to cut the toenail all the way down to the source of the problem without feeling significant pain, and just allow the ingrown nail to grow out by itself. Hey, simply exposing the ingrown nail means you're in less pain by about 50%.

After the ingrown nail is exposed -in my case at least- I have to wait up to 7-10 days to actually find it because the ingrown nail is so darn small. I usually take something small like a toothpick or even a pin and scrape it back and forth in between my toenail and toe skin, and the ingrown nail is usually located in a spot that requires me to trim even *more* of my regular toenail in order to get to it. For some really bizarre reason (and I STILL haven't been able to find an explanation for this) trimming away more of my toenail increases the pain where the ingrown nail is located, even though it doesn't really make a lick of sense exactly why this happens. THIS is when the pain intensifies dramatically. Sometimes the pain goes away in a few hours, other times it takes 16-24 hours. I always make sure I'm not doing anything important that requires constant walking the next day when I operate on myself just in case the pain lingers longer than usual.

Anyway I assume the ingrown nail reveals itself after you trim your toenail short enough because during this 7-10 day period, your ingrown nail is working itself out of your skin the same way a splinter does. This is what I believe happens. During this 7-10 day stretch, your skin will probably go through a wild assortment of problems such as itching, burning, throbbing, pinching, redness, dead skin turning white and peeling, shiny red skin, etc. It's extremely important to wear loose shoes during this time, even though it's not exactly enough to take the pain away completely. I know all too well with every step you take, the pain kicks in and won't let up at all until the ingrown nail is either completely taken out, or completely pushed away from any skin that might allow it to re-enter.

However it's possible this ingrown lifter tool would work for those of you who *didn't* make the foolish decision that I made (letting the ingrown nail grow deeper into the side of my toe and assuming the problem would go away on its own- it WON'T go away by itself, trust me- it's a recurring problem that you HAVE to get taken care of, either by your doctor or you giving yourself a bathroom floor toe operation) and if you react as soon as you believe you're developing an ingrown nail (you'll definitely know it because the painful and distinct signs are noticeable almost right away) this tool would probably be the perfect choice. I don't fall under this category though. Mine are worse because I foolishly waited until it was too late and they grew in too deep.

So no- I'm not knocking this item just because it didn't work the way it was advertised. It *did* allow me to lift up on my skin in a way that was mostly painless, which allowed me access to the ingrown nail. The important part is that, if you're someone who suffers constantly with ingrown nails, constant trimming and digging is going to be a given and you already know that, and this toenail lifter will probably work to an extent. It will lift up either your regular toenail, ingrown nail or your skin, which is definitely helpful. It might even help you find the ingrown nail right away, and who knows, if all the trimming you do provides enough space between your toenail and the ingrown nail, you might even be able to use this tool to lift it up and out.

I just wish it worked for the reasons listed- that it actually got under the really deep ingrown nails and allowed instant lifting and removal. No it doesn't quite work that way.