How can ballet dancers deal with ingrown toenails?

Asked by: Sagar Mastracci

In minor cases, soaking the affected area in salt or antibacterial soaps will not only help with the ingrown nail itself, but also help prevent any infections from occurring. In more severe cases, surgery is an option.

Are ingrown toenails common for dancers?

It is so common in dancers and especially ballet dancers because the toes are pushed into ballet tights, squeezed into firm fitting ballet or pointe shoes and then worked for hours on end jumping, spinning and pointing the toes.

Does pointe cause ingrown toenails?

Ingrown nails are often caused by cutting the edges of the nail too short, as well as repetitive stress and pressure on the toes and nails, especially while wearing tight shoes. It’s no surprise that pointe shoes are a common culprit!

How do athletes deal with ingrown toenails?

Soaking the foot in warm, soapy water, or Epsom salts three to four times a day for 10-20 minutes. After each soaking, dry the toe and place a small piece of wet cotton under the nail near the corner of the ingrown nail. This helps lift the nail from the skin and allow it to grow properly.

Do ballerinas toenails come off?

Dr. Frank Sinkoe, podiatrist for Atlanta Ballet, gives you the scoop on what to do: Toenails fall off when the nail moves too much, either because it’s too long, the box of your pointe shoe is worn down or your foot is sliding in ill-fitting shoes. The toenail usually bruises before it falls off.

Why do dancers get ingrown toenails?

Ingrown toenails are not unique to dancers. But this profession definitely makes them more likely. Commonly caused by improper nail cutting, ingrown nails can also be the result of repetitive microtrauma damaging the nail plate. (We’re looking at you, heels and pointe shoes.)

How can I remove an ingrown toenail myself?

Use a pair of tweezers to gently push a tiny piece of cotton or gauze into the corner of your toenail where it’s ingrown. This helps to make a space between the nail and the skin. Cut the visible nail corner or the ingrown spur away to help relieve the pressure and pain.

How do you cut toenails for pointe shoes?

Cut toenails short and straight across



The toenail should be straight across and not curved. Curved nails or nails that are too long can lead to ingrown toenails. The length of the nail should show only a very small amount of white. Use clippers – not scissors – to get a clean, straight cut.

Why do ballerinas cut their feet with razors?

During certain ballet moves, they balance on the tips of the toe of the shoe. Unfortunately, this puts all the ballerina’s body weight on their toes, causing a host of foot problems including bunions, calluses, corns, and blisters.

How do ballerinas cut their toenails?

So what i'm going to do is just clip a tiny tiny bit from the center of that toe i'm going to do the same thing for each of these toes. Just really taking a smidge off the center of the toenail.

Do professional ballerinas wear toe pads?

Speaking of her pointe shoes, the process of getting them ready is a production all on its own. Teuscher says she first puts toe pads — which is a padding that encases and protects her toes — on her foot and then covers her foot with her tights. Molded toe pads inside the pointe shoes.

Why are there holes in ballet tights?

Convertible tights (also called transition tights), can be worn as footed or footless tights, they have a small hole under the foot so they can be converted to a footless tight by pulling the hole over the toes and heel.

Why do ballet dancers wear pink tights?

Since ballet was first performed in Europe, the dancers had light skin. Ballet tights were worn in pink to match the dancers’ skin tones as closely as possible. Using pink tights for ballet had the added advantage of seeing the dancers’ legs under the fabric.

What do ballet dancers wear under their leotards?

Although the ballet dancers prefer to wear underwear beneath their leotards, they usually wear underwear made up of very thin material and often invisible seams. Many leotards come with a built-in liner that is specialized for the genitals, and these liners can be quickly taken out of the leotard and washed.

How much does an average ballerina weigh?

The average height of an American ballerina is about 5 foot 2 inches to 5 foot 8 inches. In correspondence to height, weight would ideally range from 85 to 130 lbs. Just by analyzing those numbers, ballerina’s body mass indexes are expected to be considerably less than the average women’s BMI.

Do ballet dancers wear cups?

Yes, male ballet dancers wear a dance belt, which some people refer to as a cup. This belt provides support and slight protection for the male genitalia but mostly it streamlines the appearance of the male anatomy for costume purposes.

Do you have to be skinny to be a ballet dancer?

Male and female ballet dancers are expected to look and be very thin in physique as females are typically lifted by the male and need to look as if they are ‘floating’ making them look easy to lift. The ideal weight for a ballerina depends on the ballet company and the individual ballerina.

How much should a 5 7 ballerina weigh?

109.79 lbs

A girl who is 160 cm ( 5’2-1/2”) should weigh 39.6 kilograms (87 lbs). A girl who is 174 cm (5’7”) must weigh 49.8 kilograms (109.79 lbs).

What is the ideal height for a ballerina?

The height requirements of dancers are really designated by the ballet companies hiring. Most ballet company’s average height for a female is approximately 167cm. However, in Europe some companies require females to be no taller than the traditional 165cm, while others have a minimum height of 173cm.

What is the ideal ballerina body?

From the documentary “Ballerina” the ideal body type of a ballet dancer is “ideally a ballerina will have a small head, long neck, long arms, long legs, slender figure.” Altynay Asylmuratova, Artistic director of the Vaganova Ballet Academy- 2009.

Does ballet make you skinny?

A ballet dance class can help you burn twice the calories as a contemporary dance class does. The right intensity, music, steps and a well-monitored diet can help a person burn 400 calories during one hour of dancing. People with higher body mass index can lose up to two to three pounds in a week.