How to fix a hooked fingernail?

[DarkHorseJ27]

The nail on my ring finger likes to hook so severely the only way for it not to even have a little bit of a hook is not to have the fingernail grown out at all. Is there a way to fix this or am I going to have to choose between bare fingers or fingerpicks?

[gull12]

The nail on my ring finger likes to hook so severely the only way for it not to even have a little bit of a hook is not to have the fingernail grown out at all. Is there a way to fix this or am I going to have to choose between bare fingers or fingerpicks?

 

Some fingernails just have a tendency to grow that way. You may want to consult your doctor to see if there is another way to trim the nail to help it grow straighter. Skin on strings ain't bad. My fingernails are very thin and flexible, so I keep them trimmed and use bare fingers. Been doing it for 40 years. I just never got the hang of fingerpicks - thumbpick, yes - fingerpicks, no. Good luck.

[Clif Schlicher]

I gather that's the only one that's hooking. If the others are curving, but to a lesser extent, you might have a vitamin or mineral deficiency of some sort. Look at your other fingernails more closely.

 

Is this a recent development? Do any of your fingernails exibit "tree rings", crosswise indentions parallel to the end of the nail? Usually that would indicate a period when you weren't in the peak of health.

 

If like most of us, you keep your fretting hand finger nails trimmed short, let them grow a bit and see if it happens on the other hand. If only on the ring finger curves. it may be a genetic thing, in which case finger picks are a cheap alternative to gene therapy.

 

Best of luck on this one.

 

Clif

 

ps: I'm no doctor. This is just from 60 plus years of personal observation, FWIW.

[Opa John]

 

The nail on my ring finger likes to hook so severely the only way for it not to even have a little bit of a hook is not to have the fingernail grown out at all. Is there a way to fix this or am I going to have to choose between bare fingers or fingerpicks?

 

 

Okay, I'm not a doctor either, but here's what you need to do. Lay that ring finger out on a solid concrete block. Then have a good friend give it a good strong whack right on the finger nail with a 32 ounce greasy ball peen hammer!. It'll hurt like hell and it might even bleed a bit, but in time that finger nail will turn black and fall off. Then, in about another month or so, you'll have a brand new nail where that ugly old hooked one is now.

 

If you do this right now, you'll probably be back to playing again by about Christmas!

 

OR, you could still "wuss out" and learn to use finger picks.

 

You're welcome.

[10ae1203]

 

... in about another month or so, you'll have a brand new nail where that ugly old hooked one is now. ...

 

 

Having done this a time or two, I have to say that sometimes they come back funny, and also, the one time I really blasted it and lost the whole thing, it took months.

[Terry Allan Hall]

 

The nail on my ring finger likes to hook so severely the only way for it not to even have a little bit of a hook is not to have the fingernail grown out at all. Is there a way to fix this or am I going to have to choose between bare fingers or fingerpicks?

 

 

Learn to play w/ just your thumb, fore-finger and bird-finger?

[DarkHorseJ27]

 

I gather that's the only one that's hooking. If the others are curving, but to a lesser extent, you might have a vitamin or mineral deficiency of some sort. Look at your other fingernails more closely. Is this a recent development? Do any of your fingernails exibit "tree rings", crosswise indentions parallel to the end of the nail? Usually that would indicate a period when you weren't in the peak of health. If like most of us, you keep your fretting hand finger nails trimmed short, let them grow a bit and see if it happens on the other hand. If only on the ring finger curves. it may be a genetic thing, in which case finger picks are a cheap alternative to gene therapy. Best of luck on this one. Clif ps: I'm no doctor. This is just from 60 plus years of personal observation, FWIW.

 

 

The nail on my ring finger has always been hooked at least since I started using nails to fingerpick. I've always tried to file it so it won't be a problem, but never with results that were completely satisfactory. The nail on my middle finger does hook to a slight extent, but nothing that has ever been a problem. I don't have any of the indentations you mentioned. I have let the ring finger nail on my fretting hand grow out and it does not hook.

[DeepEnd]

Second toes (next to the big toe) on both feet have had hooked nails for years. Always figured my shoes were too small. You haven't been wearing shoes on your hands, have you? Tight gloves?

Seriously, here's some info courtesy of Merck.com (scroll down). It also refers to toenails but might be helpful:

 

Onychogryphosis: Onychogryphosis is a disorder in which the nail, most often on the big toe, becomes thickened and takes on an extremely curved, hooked appearance (ram's horn nail). The curved hooked nail may injure an adjoining toe and is caused by one side of the nail growing faster than the other. This disorder involves damage to the nail bed, which is most often caused by repetitive injury (such as by ill-fitting shoes), but may also occur in disorders such as psoriasis. Onychogryphosis is common in older people. The nails should be kept trimmed, and injury to nearby toes can be prevented by placing lamb's wool between the toes. Footwear or stockings that gather at the toes should be avoided.

 

[panhandler]

Chop that finger off at the first joint from the end. Problem solved :poke:

[scottgd]

I believe that condition is called "clubbing". My doctor noticed that on me several years ago and did some blood test looking for a vitamin deficiency. Turns out it's just the way it is.

 

However I have this on all my fingers. IOn my left hand I keep the nails VERY short (to the skin) on my right hand a bit longer but not long enough to catch a string and split. Just learned to live with it I guess.