Leukonychia or not?

Pregunta: Can the nail tech cause leukonychia by over-filing/ buffing? And, if so, can they fix it? I have one client who has white patches on her nails, and I’m worried they could’ve been overfiled by her previous tech? The image attached isn’t mine, but they look similar to this.

Respuesta: Leukonychia is a condition of the nail. It is caused by the matrix being temporarily disrupted and producing some immature nail plate cells that haven’t been fully keratinized. They will grow out and can have a coating applied.

El tipo de daño que se ve en tu foto puede deberse a varias causas:
– slightly too aggressive removal where the coating has been scraped off.
– dehydration of the nail.
Esto puede subsanarse añadiendo aceite o agua y dejando que penetre. Se puede volver a aplicar una capa y aconsejar a la clienta que utilice un buen aceite de uñas con más frecuencia.

Otra causa, sobre todo si es sobre la zona de tensión, se debe a la flexión de la uña. Esto es bastante común en uñas secas o relativamente débiles. De nuevo, se puede volver a aplicar un recubrimiento, pero quizás con una ayuda adicional para la resistencia de las uñas.

There is another condition (which this doesn’t look like) which is White Superficial Onychomycosis (WSO). This is a mild fungal infection and it is white patches that are ‘powdery’. Any files or buffers used on this condition should be discarded and the client referred to a medical practitioner (or pharmacist) for treatment.

Of course, the nail plate can be overfiled and cause it to be thin and weak and must be avoided at all costs. It wouldn’t necessarily look like this though.