After the third round of quarantine in California, I’ve come to the realization that we are just not talking to clients enough about cuticle care and maintenance. Here are some basic habits to get into to get the most out of your mani or if you’re not into getting your nails done, this will help your nails look nice and help prevent snags and hang nails. Let’s start with the basics.

Did you know that your cuticle is ONLY the non-living tissue that attaches to your nail plate? The longer it’s left unmanaged, the more dead tissue and protein can attach to the nail plate and if you let it go too long, you may find that living tissue can start to overlap as well. When the living tissue starts to grow where it aught not be (on the nail) it can make cuticle clean up a much longer process and can make you more prone to bleeding. Your cuticles aren’t just there to be a nuisance, they are an outgrowth of the tissue that’s intense to protect your nail matrix (the big boss brain of the nail) from infection- when we don’t take care of our nails and the surrounding skin, the body will try to overcorrect.

When we think of at-home cuticle care, we’re going to focus on three practices: softening and pushing the cuticles and committing to a cuticle oil regimen.

For most people, the most convenient way to soften cuticles is to take nice relaxing shower or bath and if you’ve got gel, polish or enhancements on your nails- this is the only way I recommend you soften your cuticles.

If you’re nails are bare you can soak them in warm soapy water for a few minutes as well and your cuticles are super stuck or overgrown, after soaking you can apply a bit of cuticle remover as well- be sure to grab something gentle (Orly Cutique is a great and easy to access option).

Once your skin is softened (and if you’re using cuticle remover, you’ll want to keep it on for this part) using an angled cuticle pusher or orange wood stick, gently push the excess tissue off of your nail plate. Be mindful of your pressure, we just want to remove the dead excess tissue and the tissue that is stuck to your nail. If you’ve used a cuticle softened, nows the time to rinse.

I don’t recommend nipping your cuticles at home, an improper cut can lead to at best an awful hangnail, most likely callouses and thick skin from over-nipping and at worst a gnarly infection (especially if you’re not able to properly disinfect your tools). That being said, if you insist on nipping your own cuticles, you only want to nip the whitish dead tissue- if you bleed or it feels tender, you’ve got too far.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT step of the whole process and something you should be doing multiple times a day. Truly, you can’t do it too much or too often. Cuticle oil will help condition the nail plate and the living tissue around the nail. I advise clients to align their cuticle care regimen with their day and night skincare routine, but I also recommend keeping an easy to apply pen or roller of oil in your car cup-holder for quick red-light or stop sign maintenance.