Hi girls,
Recently, I have received several questions regarding my nail cuticle care. I must admit, I am a bit obsessed with it. In today’s post, I’d like to share with you my methods for treating my nails and cuticles. However, before I get to that…
Where do dry cuticles come from?
There are many factors that cause dryness of the cuticles, however, one this is invincible – it is an annoying problem and it must be dealt with quickly. Understanding the causes of skin breakdown is a very important step, because it facilitates the adjustment of care to our needs.
Dry cuticles are the outcome of:
- discontinuation of systematic hand care,
- too aggressive hand treatments,
- improper manicure,
- cutting the skin around your nails too deeply,
- compulsive nail biting,
- frequent contact with detergents,
- natural tendency to dry skin,
- atopic dermatitis, eczema or allergies,
- deficiencies of vitamins A, E and B group.
One might say that…the best way to keep your nails and cuticles healthy is to sit, apply cream and do nothing else, ha ha ha! In fact, we are not able to get rid of hand irritation and dehydration fully but we can reduce it to a minimum. If you want your hands to be well-kept and don’t want the cuticles to ruin the manicure, we can introduce some healthy habits. They are the answer to the following questions:
How to eliminate dry cuticles around the nails?
How to heal dry cuticles around the nails?
How to moisturise dry cuticles around the nails?
I encourage you to introduce a few simple rules in the daily care (and not only), so that the skin around the nails do not deteriorate. In my opinion, (I say this from my own experience) the most important are the ones listed below.
- DIET – the condition of nails and hands depends mainly on what we eat during the day. Unfortunately, if we do not provide all essential ingredients, the nails can weaken. Damaged and dry skin is one of the effects of lack of proper moisture. It is very easy to improve such situation by drinking more water and eating proper amounts of fresh vegetables on a daily basis.
- APPLYING A HAND CREAM REGULARLY – I know I might be repeating myself, however, proper moisturising is the key to success. A good-quality hand cream (with lanolin, urea, oils) is a great way to maintain the proper hydro-lipid balance and preventing excessive water loss.
- GLOVES – ever since I started developing my interest in proper hand care, I cannot imagine doing any house chores without rubber gloves. I use them for the washing up and cleaning – whenever my hands are exposed to the harmful effects of detergents. For people allergic to latex, I recommend antiallergic ones. In the winter, I also wear gloves (not the rubber ones this time), to protect the hands from frost, wind and humidity.
- MASK – from time to time, it is a good idea to apply a nourishing mask which will deliver essential moisturising substances. You can either buy hand scrubs and masks in the drugstores and dry cuticles will no longer be your problem. I prefer reliable homemade recipes. The best hand masks are based on oils (almond or olive), honey with the addition of natural yoghurt and vitamin E. Personally, I love a mask made of boiled flaxseeds – it eave my hand silky soft and smooth.
TIP: Make sure to buy cotton gloves. This way, the mask applied to the hands will not smudge and will be better absorbed.
- OILS – applying oils to the nails is a better alternative to a traditional cream, although, out of pure laziness, I use less frequently. The most recommended oils that moisturise dry cuticles are Olive oil, Sweet Almond oil, Coconut oil, Jojoba oil and Argan oil. For better effects, you can first, warm them up and then soak your nails and massage into the cuticles.
- MANICURE – you probably wonder how it’s possible that I find manicure as a way to overcome dry cuticles. There is nothing strange about this. I mean, of course, a classic manicure made with respect to all the rules (for example, the skins should be removed (and by removed I mean with softening products and pushed back rather than torn or cut with sharp tools). Well-groomed nails and hands are less likely to have damaged cuticles.
- HAND SCRUB – since we exfoliate dead skin cells from all over the body regularly, why not doing it for the hand as well? It is best to use a gentle scrub, which we can also prepare at home by mixing, for instance, your favourite oil with honey, lemon juice and exfoliating particles (in this role the brown sugar, ground seeds of raspberries, coffee grounds or sea salt are wonderful).
I apologize that I have given you my methods for dealing with cuticles without a specific order. I did not want to suggest what is more important and what can be omitted, or in what order to apply these treatments – each of them is just as effective and prevents the appearance of dry skin around the nails. I use them all alternately and recommend the same to you. Try them out and let me know which method is your favourite!
Kisses’n’hugs!
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