A guide to cuticle care

“Cuticle” is used loosely for all the skin around the base of the nail, but that skin is not all the same. Knowing which part is which explains most of what good cuticle care is, and why some common habits do more harm than good.

Cuticle and eponychium: the difference

• The eponychium is the fold of living skin at the base of the nail. It is the part you can see and feel as the edge of your finger skin.
• The cuticle, strictly speaking, is a thin layer of dead tissue that the eponychium sheds onto the nail plate. It clings to the nail as it grows and is often almost invisible.
• The sidewalls are the folds of skin along each side of the nail. They are living skin too, and the usual place for hangnails.

Together they form a seal between the nail and the skin, which helps keep water, dirt and germs away from the area underneath the skin fold where the nail is made.

Why not to cut living skin

Cutting the eponychium breaks that seal. It can leave small wounds that sting, bleed or become infected, and the skin often grows back thicker and more ragged, which tempts you to cut again. Damage near the base of the nail can also show up later as ridges or marks in the nail as it grows.

The dead cuticle on the nail plate is a different matter. It can be gently lifted and removed, and that is part of preparing a nail for polish or gel, because gel does not grip properly over it. Loose hangnails can be trimmed carefully at the point where they lift, without pulling.

The line between the two is not always obvious on your own hands. As a rule, anything that is attached, pink or sore when touched is living skin and should be left alone; anything that is white, dry and sits on the nail plate itself is dead cuticle and can be gently lifted.

Hangnails

A hangnail is a small strip of skin that has torn away from the sidewall or the fold at the base. It is skin, not nail, and it usually comes from dryness, biting or picking. Pulling one tears into living skin and often leaves a sore, open split.

1. Soften the area with warm water or a little oil.
2. Use clean, sharp nail scissors or nippers. Blunt tools tear rather than cut.
3. Trim only the loose piece, as close to its base as you can without cutting into attached skin.
4. Oil it afterwards, and keep oiling daily so the next one is less likely.

How to oil your cuticles

Daily oil is the single most useful habit for the skin around your nails. It keeps the eponychium soft, reduces hangnails and helps the nail stay flexible.

1. Apply a drop to each nail, at the base.
2. Massage it in over the skin and the nail plate, and along the sidewalls.
3. Do it often. Once or twice a day works well, and bedtime is easy to remember.

Any plain cuticle oil or light plant oil will do; consistency matters far more than the particular oil. Thicker balms suit very dry skin and are best used at night. If you wear gel, oiling also helps the finish look fresh between appointments. There is more in how to make a gel manicure last.

How to push back safely

1. Soften first. Push back after a shower or bath, or after soaking your fingertips briefly in warm water.
2. Use something gentle, such as a wooden stick or a soft rubber-tipped pusher. A wooden stick is best used once and thrown away, since it cannot be properly cleaned; a rubber pusher should be washed and dried after each use.
3. Push lightly, back towards the finger, in small movements. It should never hurt.
4. Wipe away the loosened dead cuticle from the nail plate.
5. Finish with oil.

Do not dig under the skin fold or force it back. Pressure there can damage the area where the nail grows. Once a week or so is plenty; pushing back daily irritates the skin more than it tidies it. For more on looking after your hands between visits, see an at-home manicure between appointments.

Common mistakes

• Cutting to get a clean line. It looks neat for a day, then grows back rougher.
• Pushing back dry skin. Dry skin tears; softened skin moves.
• Using metal tools with force. A metal pusher held at a steep angle can scratch the nail and bruise the area underneath the fold.
• Biting or picking. Small tears become hangnails, and hangnails can become infected.
• Oiling only when it looks bad. Oil works by keeping the skin supple all the time, not by rescuing it occasionally.

Toes need the same care

The skin around the toenails is built the same way and benefits from the same approach: no cutting of living skin, gentle pushing back after a bath, and oil or a rich cream worked in regularly. Shoes add pressure and friction, so the sidewalls on the toes can harden or catch. Toenail care at home covers trimming and the rest.

When to see a doctor

If the skin around a nail becomes red, swollen, hot, painful or produces pus, it may be infected. See a doctor rather than treating it yourself, and avoid having a manicure on that finger until it has healed. Persistent itching, peeling or blistering around the nails, especially after gel, can be a sign of an allergy and is worth showing to a dermatologist. If you have diabetes or poor circulation, have any break in the skin around the nails checked early, and see a podiatrist for problems around the toenails.

At the studio

Cuticle work in a manicure here is gentle: dead cuticle lifted from the nail, living skin left intact. Metal tools are sterilised between every guest, and files and buffers are single-use.

In practice that means the skin is softened first, the eponychium is eased back rather than cut, and the thin dead layer is lifted from the nail plate so polish or gel can sit cleanly against the nail. Genuine hangnails and loose, detached skin are trimmed where they lift. If your cuticles have been cut regularly in the past, the skin may be thicker for a while; it settles with time and daily oil, and it is worth saying so at the start so the work can be paced accordingly.

Questions people ask

Will my cuticles get worse if I stop having them cut? They may look untidy for a few weeks while the skin recovers. With daily oil and gentle pushing back, most people find the skin settles thinner and smoother than before.

Is cuticle remover safe? Products that soften dead cuticle can help, used briefly and only on the nail plate, then washed off. Left on living skin they can irritate.

Does pushing back cuticles make nails grow faster? No. It tidies the base of the nail and shows a little more of the nail plate, but growth happens underneath the skin fold and is not affected.

Why do I get so many hangnails in winter? Cold air and indoor heating dry the skin, and dry skin splits. Gloves outdoors and more frequent oil usually help.

A cuticle checklist

• Oil once or twice a day.
• Push back gently, after a bath, about once a week.
• Trim hangnails at their base; never pull.
• Never cut living skin.
• See a doctor for redness, heat, swelling or pus.

For tidy, healthy cuticles and a finish that sits cleanly at the base, book a manicure. Feet need the same care; see pedicure.