Having a pretty set of hands can really add that extra boost of confidence. Some folks say that your hands are one part of your body that can really age you if you're not careful.
Taking care of your cuticles is a big part of a pair of healthy, gorgeous hands. However, we're not all that well-informed on how to properly care for them.
These are eight things you absolutely never want to do to your cuticles.
Do you like to get a manicure on a regular basis? Does your manicurist like to clip your cuticles back when you walk in? Well, that little beauty step may be putting you in danger!
Your cuticles are part of the largest organ of your body, and they play an important part in keeping disease and bacteria at bay!
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1. Forget To Moisturize
You don't need to purchase any fancy products to keep your cuticles moisturized. All you really need is a couple of drops of hair conditioner.
According to Real Simple, coating your cuticles in conditioner before giving them a good soak will help keep them nicely moisturized. You can also rub them with olive oil after a shower for a quick fix.
2. Cut Healthy Ones
While it's tempting to cut back what we've come to see as "excess" cuticle, it's important to keep it in tact! Your skin is the largest organ on your body, and it's important to respect its natural barriers against infection.
Now you will want to clip dry, torn, or split cuticles, but when you start to cut your healthy cuticles back, you put yourself at risk for acute paronychia, an infection that causes discomfort, redness, and swelling. According to MedScape, it requires oral antibiotics if warm soaks multiple times a day do not fix it.
3. Let Your Manicurist Go To Town On Them
Never be afraid to speak up to your manicurist if he or she is being too rough on your nails in any sense.
And if your cuticles are being mangled, or you notice that they're getting cut rather than just pushed back, you should say something (politely) right away. You don't want to risk infection that may even require a round of antibiotics.
4. Use A Metal Cuticle Pusher
Use orange wood sticks to push back your cuticles instead of chopping them off or using metal sticks. They'll be much less likely to split in the future, and using a disposable stick is much better than using a metal tool that can get covered in bacteria.
5. Push Them Back While They Are Dry
Always make sure that your cuticles are nicely moisturized before you push them back with your orange wood stick, or else they may painfully crack, putting you at risk for infection.
6. Leave Them Bare While Cleaning
When you wash dishes with grease-fighting soap, or wash clothes with stain-lifting properties, you're drying out your hands and your cuticles in a major way.
Wearing gloves for chores like this protects from those drying agents, and actually gives you a great opportunity to moisturize. Apply your favorite product before donning your gloves for chores and you're killing two birds with one stone!
7. Rip A Hangnail
A hangnail isn't really part of the nail. Rather, it's a piece of skin that separates away from the cuticle. When you get one, you should never rip it away, as this can tear too much of the cuticle and skin away, putting you at risk of an infection once again.
According to Huffington Post, you should wash your hands and clip it away at the base with a clean clipper. Then, to be safe, cover it in antibiotic ointment and an adhesive bandage.
8. Use A Dull Cuticle Nipper
While you don't want to cut healthy cuticles at all, in order to get those pesky hangnails and torn, dry cuticles taken care of the right way, it's important to use a sharp, quality tool. If you use a cheap or blunt tool, you're going to cause more harm than good. According to XoJane, you don't really need to spend more than $10 on a quality trimmer.
Will you be paying more attention to your cuticles after reading this? Please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
