Nail care routine

Overview

This is a guide to my nail care routine for those who might not know where to start. It may seem like a lot of steps, but I’ve been building this up over the years. I’ve tried many variations.

• I had a professional manicure done and I enjoyed the results, but I don’t see me building that into my routine. I’d rather do that at home as part of my self-care.
• I suggest watching Nail Transformation by @abetweene on YouTube for a great video version. The following guide is my rendition based on the video with what works for me.

Tools and supplies required

• Cuticle softener
• Cuticle trimmers
• Cuticle pusher
• A brush of some type (Optional)

Prerequisites

1. Trim your nails with nail trimmers and file them smooth

Frequency

• I typically do this about once a month, or earlier if I notice that my nails look particularly poor. You don’t want to do this too often if you’re using a chemical cuticle softener each time.

History and background

• Just nail trimmers for most of my life and no attention paid to my cuticles
• Manicure in London with electric bit
• Manicure in Portugal by medical manicurist

Routine

1. Soak finger tips in warm water

This is to soften the skin of the proximal nail fold

1. Get a small bowl and fill it with warm water
2. Soak your finger tips in it for five minutes
3. Dry your fingers

2. Apply cuticle softener

1. Apply cuticle softener to the proximal nail fold and on any dead skin they may have grown onto the nail
2. Follow the instructions on the cuticle softener, but most say to leave it on for about 15 seconds
3. Rinse off the cuticle softener after the time has elapsed
4. Dry your fingers

3. Push back and shape the dead

1. Use the cuticle pusher to gently push back the dead skin of the proximal nail fold. Do this in a sweeping motion to help tease the skin out from under the cuticle
2. Don’t push too hard as you can irritate the living tissue of the cuticle
3. It helps to lift the dead skin up away from the nail for trimming in the next step

4. Trim the dead skin

1. Use cuticle trimmers to carefully and gently clip away the dead skin of the proximal nail fold as closely to the cuticle as you can without clipping living tissue
   • The trick is to use the tip of the trimmers and take very small “bites” and gently pull away at the same time
   • Your cuticle trimmers must be sharp for this
   • Don’t use your trimmers to cut anything other than skin so they don’t dull too quickly
2. (Optional) Use the brush to gently sweep away the clipped skin and clear it from under the cuticle. I use a beard brush that I already have
3. I’ve had success with going back in after trimming with the cuticle pusher that I dipped in water and doing the sweeping motion again. It got rid of any remaining small particles of dead skin, then the brush sweeps them off the nail. This has made a big difference in the final look

5. Apply cuticle oil

1. Apply a conservative amount of cuticle oil to the cuticle and the area around the nail bed to rehydrate any skin that the cuticle softener will have dehydrated
2. Leave it on to soak for a few minutes and rub in any excess

6. Apply hand moisturizer

1. Apply hand moisturizer to soften the hand in general and to soften the skin around the cuticle