Tips for taking care of your cuticles
A roadside groom trims finger nails of a lady in Lagos. The cuticles and skin surrounding the nails play a special role of protecting your nails. The nails are appendages of the skin and protect the finger tips. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- It prevents bacteria and yeast from getting into the soft tissues around the nail. When the cuticle is damaged, your nail bed might get infected. This is a condition known as paronychia.
- Avoid poor manicure practices such as digging into the nail edges. Always ensure that manicure tools are sanitised before use.
The cuticles and skin surrounding the nails play a special role of protecting your nails. The nails are appendages of the skin and protect the finger tips. The cuticle is a specialised form of keratin joining the skin of the back nail fold to the nail plate.
It prevents bacteria and yeast from getting into the soft tissues around the nail. When the cuticle is damaged, your nail bed might get infected. This is a condition known as paronychia. To preserve your cuticles:
• Ensure you wear gloves when doing chores that involve using water for long periods.
• Avoid poor manicure practices such as digging into the nail edges. Always ensure that manicure tools are sanitised before use.
• Do not pick the cuticles by biting and pushing them back using your nails.
• Do not file your nails too deeply inside the nail fold as this can damage the cuticles.
• Keep your cuticles neat and presentable by trimming them with a cuticle trimmer.
• If your nail becomes infected with pus, you may need a surgical incision to release the pus.
• Do not apply nail polish on nails with a damaged cuticles.
• The use of strong, acetone based polish remover is contraindicated when cuticles show signs of damage.
• Apply olive oil at night to improve appearance of dry cuticles.
• Hangnails are long pieces that appear as the nails grow. Do not pull or bite them off. Trim using a cuticle cutter.
