Preventing Hangnails

We’ve all had them, and we all hate them! Hangnails are pieces of skin that are still attached to the nail, either at the base or on the sides, and can be quite painful. There is one main culprit for hangnails: dry cuticles. Knowing that, it becomes easier to prevent hangnails from ever popping up. Here are some tips to keep your nails healthy and strong – hangnail free!

The key to preventing hang nails is to keep your cuticles and nails moisturized. Here are some easy ways to do just that!

• Use cuticle oil or cream.
• Rub some lip balm into your cuticles before you go to bed.
• Try petroleum jelly on your cuticles. The fats penetrate into your skin to moisturize, while the jelly forms a protective layer that locks in the moisture.
• Vitamin E can also be used to keep cuticles moisturized.

Here are a couple of other general tips to prevent hangnails.

• Don’t pick at your cuticles or bite your nails.
• As soon as you see a hangnail, use nail scissors to snip it off. Before you cut it, soften the hangnail by soaking your hand in a water/oil mixture.
• If you frequently have your hands in water, chemicals, or cleansers, wear gloves to protect your skin.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 4th, 2006 at 2:18 pmand is filed under Skin Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.