What’re the best cuticle care tips? Well, there are a lot of things you can hear that may or may not be true! When was the last time you had a manicure and pedicure done? Did they take out your cuticle or no? Let me give you some tips so that you can take better care of your cuticle and your nails!
The Nail
Finger nails are made out of protein, keratin in particular. We don’t, need to exert effort on growing them. They grow at their own pace. The nails are also a great indicator of health. The color can tell a few things about your blood chemistry. If it’s pale, you may lack iron. If it’s bluish, you may have low hemoglobin. Isn’t that awesome?
But aside from that, we can also use our nails as fashion accessories. We can grow them long and pain them pretty colors too. Now, how is this related to the cuticle?
The Cuticle
The cuticle is a thin layer of keratin that covers the proximal end of the nail. Below it is the nail matrix, and a little further along is the nail root. The nail root is where the nails grow! Just like our hair!
Now, when you visit the nail salon and starts your manicure, you may notice that they take out your cuticle as a part of the process. Is that good or bad? Is it part of the best nail treatment out there?
How Do You Take Care Your Cuticle?
1. Do Away With Cutting Them.
It may seem like cutting them, as the old practice, is a way of taking care of your cuticle. Unfortunately, cutting them can lead to more harm! If you cut them too far, you may expose the underlying vascular tissues. What’s wrong with that? Well, you are exposing yourself to infection when you do this!
The cuticles, together with the eponychium covers the end of the nail and acts as a barrier so that the nails will not get infected.
2. If They Grow Long, Push Them Instead.
The reason you cut them is to make your nails look longer. Right? Now, instead of cutting them which poses a risk for infection, you can have them pushed instead. Using a wooden stick, you can gently push your cuticles far back instead. This is a safer choice for a pretty nail!
3. Cuticle Solvent For The Win.
For some people, managing their cuticle means cutting them off. Some people tend to have an exaggerated growth of cuticle which is not pleasant in the eyes. You may be tempted to cut them, but you have a better solution!
A gel cuticle remover or a liquid cuticle remover is your best choice to dissolve the excess growth of your cuticle. They are cheap, and you can buy them easily on department stores. This solvent softens and dissolves the excess cuticle. Now that its soft, this can facilitate easier pushing with a wooden stick!
4. They Are Subject To Dryness Too! Have Them Moisturized!
Our cuticles, like our skin, is also subject to the harsh dry environment. They can easily dry out and crack if you are not careful! When you apply body lotion, don’t forget to apply onto it too!
Another thing is, you should also give them extra moisture when you clean them. Cleaning them can take out moisture from the cuticle. Applying oils can be a little messy but will help nourish your cuticle. Anyhow, a regular lotion will do a fine job too.
The important thing is that you take care of them by providing them enough moisture.
Related– 7 WAYS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR NAILS GROW STRONGER AND STAY LONGER
5. Tell Your Manicurist You Don’t Want Your Cuticle Cut.
The nail salon you frequent may practice the removal of cuticles through cutting. Right before you start, tell your manicurist that you don’t want your cuticle cut. Tell her how to take care of your cuticles. Using salon equipment may pose many health risks for you! If these tools are not properly sanitized, you may catch some infection from it! Be very, very careful! Oh! And tell her to be mild on your nails too!
6. Avoid Strong Detergents And Other Strong Chemicals.
Strong detergents can suck up the moisture from your skin, nails, and cuticle! When dealing with detergents and other household chemicals, make sure that you don gloves. This will protect your skin, nails, and cuticles from getting exposed to this drying agent.
Another harmful chemical we use is nail polish remover. There are different variants of nail polish remover out there, and choosing can be a little difficult. Here’s a tip, do not use pure acetone. They are very strong and can dry your cuticle and nails! Find something that has some moisturizer on them.
7. Clean Your Nail Care Tools!
Every time you are scheduled for a manicure, make sure that everything they use are properly sanitized. Maybe you already have this standard in mind and ask the spa about it. That’s great!
Unfortunately, at home, because we are the only ones who use these nail care set, we don’t bother cleaning them! Hey! You know what! Bacteria can harbor on your nail care set too! When you accidentally get yourself cut while cleaning your nails, you may have an infection!
Now, make sure that you clean them every time before you use them! Here’s a neat trick, you can clean them with alcohol, then iodine, then with alcohol again. This stuffs are available in your medicine cabinet! Use them!
8. Careful With The Hangnails!
Another thing you need to pay attention to on how to care for your cuticles is hangnail. Hangnails are annoying, and when you strip them off, they could damage the cuticle! Don’t pull them with your bare hands! There’s a special tool for that and use it! A hangnail remover an cut the hangnail to the roots so that there will be no annoying bit left. You can use a nail clipper, but it may leave a stump!
I hope that the question how to care for cuticles is now answered clear! Aside from having some pretty cuticle and nails, take in mind that you should not compromise safety and health! Don’t let yourself contract unnecessary nail infection!
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