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EDIT: What started as a journey for me has become this wealth of information for anyone wanting to step up their nail game. If you are looking for help with your nails, please scroll down and read through. There’s a lot of great information here!
Thank you @ather @WinglessOne @RGbrown @CynthieLu and anyone else I may have missed for your contributions and to everyone else who will contribute in the future!
———
Since discovering the joys of manicures and nail polishes, I’ve been wondering about proper hand and nail care. I have a handle on skincare, especially because my eczema forces to me to be prudent with it, but nail care is new to me.
Lots of hand washing from work plus eczema on my hands means my hands are usually dry. I do keep hand cream or lotion handy for after washing. I also have a nail brush for cleaning up under my nails when they get really dirty (usually after working on my car or in the garden.)
My questions are: Is there anything else I should be doing to keep my nails in top shape? And what can I do when my cuticles are damaged? (Sometimes happens when my eczema flares up on top of my fingers). The internet has proven to be a wealth of information though some of it is contradictory.
@JoSometimes Looks like @RGbrown's already given you lots of good info, so I'll just tell you my personal approach to nail care.
Some background info on me and my nails:
Since I have a skincare perspective, I focus more on the health of the skin around my nails than the nails themselves. That's partly because the biggest health boost for the nail plate (the actual hard nail) and nail bed (the skin under the nail plate) happens internally and depends on your diet and overall health. Nails grow from a "matrix" beneath the skin; it sits between the nail base and the last knuckle of each finger. To my knowledge, no topical product can affect matrix health. That's gotta happen internally.
What can affect the matrix from outside the body is bacteria getting under the skin fold at the base of the nail. That skin fold, by the way, is not the "cuticle." Neither are the skin folds along the sides of the nail (what many folks call "side walls"). The actual cuticle = dead skin cells that are pushed out from under that base nail fold and stick to the nail plate. Cuticles help create a seal between the nail plate and that base nail fold of skin; that seal keeps bacteria out. "Cuticle nippers" are misnamed because it's impossible to cut cuticles with them. They should really be called "hangnail nippers" or something. A lot of people, including some doctors, do call the base nail fold the cuticle, but that fold is actually living skin—which is why docs always say "don't cut the cuticle." They mean don't cut that living fold of skin, as you're likely to give yourself an open lesion that's vulnerable to bacteria. It's generally best to gently push that skin fold back with a cuticle pusher instead of cutting it.
In my experience, the healthier I keep the skin around my nails, the healthier my nails become as a result. And there are a few things I do to the nails themselves. Here's my basic list:
Keep nails covered at all times. For me, that doesn't mean keeping them polished with color all the time. It means keeping at least base coat on them, plus a top coat if I'm not in lazygirl or anxiety attack mode and can manage a quick 2-step maintenance mani.
Frequently use nail (*ahem* "cuticle") oil. I've gotten better about applying oil after each hand washing. You don't need to use a ton of oil: I usually just rub 2 drops between my palms, rub my nails and fingers against my oiled palms, quickly rub each nail and surrounding skin to work the oil in, and then apply a hand cream/lotion. For extra occlusivity, I sometimes apply a petrolatum-based balm (usually Aquaphor Ointment) to the skin around my nails. Sometimes I swap Aquaphor for Kerasal Foot Ointment because it contains urea (hydrates and gently exfoliates) and a low amount of salicylic acid (more exfoliation). You might wanna start using a petrolatum-based balm on the skin around your nails: tap a little water on that skin (not the whole nail) first, to give petrolatum some hydration to seal into your skin. You don't wanna seal in dryness instead.
About the best type(s) of oil to use:
Gently push back the base nail fold each night. On some of my fingers, the base nail fold sticks to the nail plate and stretches as the nail grows. Rather than shove 'em all the way back in one shot (which creates a big loose skin flap and weakens the seal that keeps bacteria out of the nail matrix), I use a "cuticle" pusher to gently nudge those skin folds back a bit. I do this after I've applied oil and cream/lotion/balm before bed. I use orange sticks (wood cuticle pushers) for this instead of my glass cuticle pusher.
Don't cut the nail folds unless absolutely necessary. When I have flaky skin around a nail, I don't try to pick or exfoliate the flakes away. If the flakes stick out enough to tempt me to bite at them, that's when I nip 'em off with "cuticle" nippers. Same goes for hangnails.
Remove cuticles, but be quick about it. Cuticle remover/exfoliator liquids are accurately named. 😄 They usually contain potassium hydroxide, aka caustic potash (aka lye). That stuff's very alkaline: leaving it on skin or nails for too long will cause some nasty chemical burns. The goal here is to remove the true cuticle (dead skin cells stuck to the nail plate), not the living skin at the base and sides of the nail.
I don't use cuticle remover before each mani; I try to do it every couple weeks unless I notice lots of cuticle creeping up my nails beforehand. I do one hand at a time: apply liquid remover to the base of all nails on one hand, wait 2 minutes, rinse those nails with water to remove the lye, and then gently rub each nail base with my glass cuticle pusher to scrape off that dead skin. Then I work on the other hand. I like Butter London's remover, but Blue Cross's works faster for me. My glass cuticle pusher is Butter London's.
Apply nail oil and lotion/cream after rinsing off cuticle remover. Some people don't apply oil til after the mani's done. I like to do it at this stage because I don't like to leave that skin unmoisturized. Heck, even if I don't use a cuticle remover, I often apply oil and lotion/cream after I've removed nail polish and shortened/shaped nails. After application, I wait maybe 10-15 minutes—about the time it takes me to revisit the polishes, effects, and tools I've planned for a mani and tweak as needed—and then swipe all nails with 100% acetone to remove all oil and cream from the nail plates. Then I apply my base coat.
File nails down instead of clipping them. I'm sure nail clippers cause no issues for some folks. For me, clippers seem to cause too much stress on my fingernails, which I'm convinced is a major cause of the deep side splits I used to always get on all 10 nails. Those splits stopped happening when I ditched the clippers. Since then, I've always filed my nails shorter instead of cutting them shorter.
Use a glass (aka crystal) nail file. This was another big game changer for me. A good glass file can greatly reduce the time spent shortening or shaping nails, without shredding your nail tips. I currently use a Germanikure file, but for a few years I used Sephora's old glass nail file. I'm not sure about Sephora's, but I know the Germanikure file's grit is etched on instead of sprayed on. Etched grit should last pretty much forever. Sprayed on grit will eventually wear completely off the glass file, just like what happens to old emory boards (those have sprayed on grit).
I didn't list "keep nails dry" because I lack the patience to wear gloves each time I wanna rinse or wash a plate, bowl, glass, fork, etc. And I'm dang sure not wearing gloves to wash my face. I do often wear gloves while cleaning countertops and sinks and stuff, mostly to protect the skin on my hands. Generally though, it's good to try reducing water exposure when/where you can.
Fun fact: I was planning to start a nail care thread that contained all this info and more nerdy details. You just saved me the trouble! 🤣
Aw yissss, I love a good @WinglessOne deep dive! All fabulous stuff! 💖
Thank you @WinglessOne! You are such a wealth of knowledge! I’m going to edit my original post and let people know to keep scrolling and find your response.
I’m starting to notice a trend that some “hair care” products are really just skincare for your scalp. It seems like that notion extends to nail care too. Good skin = good nails.
@WinglessOne, thank you so much! This is so much good information.🙏
Yay for hand and nail care! I definitely have some tips
1. Cuticle oil is your nails' absolute best friend. A base of jojoba oil is best, as that mimics our own natural sebum, and is the oil most easily absorbed by the nail itself. Having some other oils mixed in is fine, as those are great for the surrounding skin, but jojoba is definitely key for nails. Use it as often as you can remember, at least 2-3 times a day; I have several scattered throughout the house to help me keep it up regularly. You can buy a premade mix, or make your own (or just use plain jojoba)...it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive (unless you want it to be!). Even if you are wearing polish, it'll soak in around the edges and under the tips. Well hydrated nails are flexible, and that flexibility helps reduce breakage and peeling.
2. Avoid water whenever possible. Nails are made up of 50+ layers of keratin, and when water gets in between those layers, it pushes them apart, making your nails weaker overall, leading to peeling. I use gloves for washing dishes and other water-intensive activities. Some folks even shower with them (though I don't go quite that far). After washing your hands or otherwise getting them wet, apply oil and top with a cream/lotion/balm if at all possible.
3. Keep them polished at all times. The layers of base coat, color, and topcoat all help provide a bit of thickness, reinforcement, and water resistance. Nails are dead material and do not "breathe", so taking a break isn't necessary. I normally slather on some oil between color changes and let it soak for anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours, but other than that, I've always got polish on (even if it's just base and top coat if I'm super short on time).
4. Nails are "jewels, not tools"! Be mindful of what you do with them. I use a knuckle to open the microwave or cabinets now, I pull out the box cutter instead of trying to pick the tape off a package, I use a spoon or the top of my tweezers to pop a soda tab up, and so on and so forth. It takes a little vigilance at first, but becomes second nature over time.
5. Tying back in to number 1 above, I generally recommend avoiding strengtheners. Nails should be flexible enough to bend under stress, but many strengtheners can actually make your nails too brittle, where they snap and break instead of flexing. They can make sense for some people in some scenarios, and if your nails are super thin, you may find them helpful for a bit while they grow out, but I avoid them altogether, and my nails are so much better without them.
I highly recommend hopping over to YouTube and watching a video from SimplyNailogical titled "How to Grow Long Nails Fast...(Actually Helpful Information)"; it was a turning point for me in getting my nails healthier and stronger than they've ever been. Even if length isn't your ultimate goal, it's got great advice for general nail care.
Aside from the above, I'm trying to make a scrub session a once or twice a week routine...I put a small jar of Tree Hut scrub by my kitchen sink and try to remember to use it before I start a mani or whenever I think about it, paying attention to my sidewalls and cuticles in an attempt to help reduce the hangnails and flaky skin from even starting, then follow up with a dose of cuticle oil and some lotion. When I do get a dead piece sticking out, I try to get to my nippers and clip it off as soon as possible so I won't play with it and make it worse (I can pick for hours if the mood is right 😬 trying not to do that though!). Warm oil soaks are great too...every couple of weeks or so, I put a generous drop of cuticle oil on each finger, slip on some disposable gloves, and if I'm sitting for a bit, I'll slide my hands under a heating pad for a hour or so. My hands are baby soft afterwards!
I don't have eczema, and don't have much knowledge about it at all, but I've heard several good things about the Skinfix eczema hand cream, if you're looking for something specifically targeted towards that. Assuming your skin tolerates it, I still recommend some jojoba under it first!
@RGbrown Since you so kindly gave me the advice of jojoba oil my nails have been in much better shape. Thank you for sharing all this nail care knowledge with us 💜
@JoSometimes I found a good size bottle of pure Jojoba Oil at a Natural Vitamin/Food store. 22$ just as a place to consider looking 🙂
Thank you @RGbrown! You are amazing!
I kept seeing suggestions to take a break from polish once in a while. It didn’t make sense to me because I know nails are just keratin, not living tissue, so I appreciate the confirmation on that.
Washing is so hard to avoid because of work, but I do keep lotion at my desk, in my bag, and there’s one in almost every room at home. I have tried Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream 3 oz/ 89 mL and I did like it.
Do you have any suggestions for cuticle oil? Preferably something on the budget or drugstore end of things.
I make my own cuticle oil, and have a few different containers I keep it in. I start with jojoba and vitamin e, add in whatever other oils I happen to have laying around, and a little essential oil for scent. My current batch is:
4oz jojoba
2.5oz vitamin e (you can use as much or as little as you want to get your desired thickness, I just happened to get a decent price on this size bottle)
1oz Julep facial oil (I love it for my face, but I found a bottle in the cabinet that had been there a while and needed to be used up)
10ml bottle of some facial oil sample
I divided that between two 4oz bottles, and scented half of it with peppermint oil and half with orange and coconut oils. And once I'd used some down, I added a little bit of almond oil that my sis gave me to each bottle. It's endlessly customizable!
Also keep in mind that ~8oz of cuticle oil mixed at one time might be an insane quantity, and perhaps look for smaller bottles of oil lol. I'm hopeful the vitamin e keeps this stable long enough to not turn rancid before I finish it 🤞🤞
As for containers, I really like the brush tip pens, they're great for getting under the nails if you have any length. They're a bit of a pain to refill, but I can usually do that a few times before they start falling apart. Bliss Kiss makes some reusable pens that are completely different from the standard twist up that I'd love to try one day...supposedly much easier to refill without destroying them. Will likely order some when my current pens break down.
Rollerballs are nice too, easier to refill than pens, and more pocket friendly (I have mostly stopped carrying a purse these days, and love an option I can slip in my pocket when I go out), though getting oil under my nails is harder.
I've tried nail polish bottles too, but wasn't a huge fan of having to dip the brush multiple times to finish off both hands.
My current experiment is eye drop bottles; I picked up some little 7ml ones recently, and like them pretty well. It's easy to get oil under my nails (but it's also easy to accidentally squeeze out too much, so they definitely aren't perfect). Should be easy to refill though, I'm hoping.
As far as anything premade, if you'd rather go that route, just be sure to check the labels...there are a surprising number of mixes out there with no jojoba at all. CND Solar Oil has a decent amount of jojoba in it, and smells divine (almond extract) though it can be pricey in the smaller/more portable containers...buying a bigger bottle and putting it in your own containers may be more cost effective. I've also heard great things about NBM Cuticle Buddy but haven't tried it (comes in rollerballs and refill pouches, with multiple scents available). I have tried a couple of the indie brands, Glisten & Glow and Black Dahlia. G&G is nice, but at $7 for one 2mL pen, it's overpriced (I got mine in a mystery bag). BDL is nice as well, and much more reasonable (rollerballs are $4.50/5ml or $6.50/10ml)...I got my first in a mystery bag, and then bought a few more so I'd have more rollerballs to refill with my own mix later 😅 Although...while I'm guessing CND is available in Canada, the others might be cost prohibitive to ship; I know very little other than Canadian shipping can be absolutely ridiculous sometimes. But whatever your reasonable options are up there, really all you need to do is look for jojoba and go from there!
Wow! You’re amazing @RGbrown! Thanks for showing me what ingredients to watch out for. I think I’ll stick to store bought for now. At least it’ll give me something to compare too if I decide to go down the DIY road. Thank you thank you again! 😊
Just a bottle of jojoba would be an excellent place to start, even if you don't wanna doctor it up with other stuff! I get mine from Ulta, which doesn't help you much in Canada, but I know Amazon has quite a few, and I'm sure there are other options up there too!
@greeneyedgirl107 I like the Dior one. It’s a crème and stays on my nails when I go to sleep. Sephora use to sell it but now I get it from Nordstrom’s! I believe it’s called Crème de apricot. I also believe I saw one by Burt’s bees that’s also a cream version.