Nails Your Way

Why It Is Not Good Practice to Cut or Nip Cuticles

The living skin surrounding the nail plate is called the eponychium. The cuticle is the layer of dead, transparent skin that attaches itself to the nail plate as it sloughs off the underside of the eponychium. The function of the eponychium is to protect the nail matrix (growth center). Trimming disturbs the function of the eponychium causing the body to react with a self-defense mechanism. In this case, it will replace the cut tissue with thicker, harder material. Cuticles should not be thick and hard but soft, pliable and moist.

It is not good practice to cut or nip the cuticles. This is true because the more aggressively you remove the skin, the faster the body will replace it-thus creating an unhealthy cycle that may scar the eponychium or cause any number of infections that may harm the surrounding tissue or the nail bed. The only skin that should be nipped or cut is hangnails or dead skin-tags.

To get the cuticles healthy and beautiful is the goal of every good therapeutic manicure. First, the eponychium is softened in order to make it pliable. This is done with a soak in penetrating warm lavender and grape-seed oil or a warm mitt vitamin E lotion treatment. Instead of trimming the eponychium, it is reduced with an alpha-hydroxy cream cuticle remover. This breaks down the bonds between the dry skin cells and makes them easy to remove with a stainless steel pusher/curette or crystal cuticle pumice stone. The dry skin is easily removed with the pusher/curette or cuticle pumice stone as the eponychium is gently pushed back. Any skin that is loose, standing up or rough is what can be cut or nipped.

At home maintenance is an important factor in the dry cuticle recovery process. A manicure every now and then is not enough to get the nails and cuticles into good condition. There should also be a good at home maintenance routine as well as a series of therapeutic manicures in order to heal dry cuticles and prevent problems from developing and reoccurring. The most important aspect of home care cuticle maintenance for any client is keeping the cuticles pliable and moisturized. To accelerate the eponychium's exfoliation rate and prevent dry skin cells from building up, use a lotion that contains vitamin E and patroletum every day. With the daily use of penetrating cuticle oil, such as peach, grape-seed, eucalyptus, lavender or myrrh oil, and a vitamin E lotion, you can see a marked improvement of dry cuticles in approximately two weeks.

Any decision to overcome a problem requires the ability to stick to a plan. Many people are overcoming weight problems by choosing a good program and continuing with it until their goal is reached. Attaining healthy cuticles also requires that same kind of discipline. You can have beautiful healthy well-groomed nails and cuticles with the discipline of a nail damage recovery program that includes a daily homecare maintenance routine designed by a Licensed Manicurist and Onyxologist.

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Nails Your Way
Jeanne Grace Curtis
5900 Orchard Road
Douglasville GA 30135-4726

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(All the way at the end of Orchard Road)

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770-949-3113