Nails & Needles

Nail and Hand Care: Cuticles and Hands

Every nail enthusiast has their own tips and tricks for keeping their nails and hands in tip top condition. In this series of posts, I thought I’d show you what works for me. Some of these I’ve discovered through other people’s blogs, some I’ve found on my own.

There’s been a bit of trial and error before I got far enough to say with certainty that this thing or that thing is beneficial to my nails and/or my skin. Some of the items below are actually still in that testing stage, but things are looking good for them, so they’re included anyway.

1. Plastic orange stick. For pushing back my cuticles after using cuticle cream or for use during nail-mending.
2. Oliva Eco Cuticle Oil. For keeping my cuticles soft. I try to use this at least once a day, but sometimes I forget. I like this particular one because it has a brush applicator, but I sometimes also use ACO Sense & Care Cuticle Cream.
3. Glass nail file. I need to get a new one as I broke this one just the other day. It still works great, it’s just a bit fiddly. On the plus side, this is now small enough for me to keep a piece in mymini nail kit. ;) Glass files are brilliant because you don’t have to worry about which direction you file your nails and, also, unless you break them (like I do! I’m clumsy as all that), they last forever and a day.
4. Foldable nail file/buffer/polisher. I don’t like this one as much as my glass file, but it works well enough in a pinch. The buffer and polish sections of this work a lot better than the file bits, so I tend to use those most. Sometimes I use the buffer right after I’ve applied nail oil (which I will talk about in the next post in this series).
5. Nail brush. I use this after my cuticle eraser has worked its magic. It helps to get rid of those pesky dead skin cells and stuff that likes to sit around your cuticles. This came in the little mesh bag I keep my mini nail kit in.
6. CND Cuticle Eraser. Great for getting rid of those dead skin cells I mentioned above. I got this off eBay after reading about it on a couple of blogs, but I wasn’t sold at first. Eventually I realised that it was because I didn’t let it sit on my cuticles long enough before rubbing it off. Now what I do is: apply it on each of my cuticles, let it sit for about 15 minutes before rubbing it in (much like you would a cuticle cream or oil), then take my nail brush and brush it over my cuticles to make sure all the stuff the eraser has softened up actually rubs off. Then I wash my hands to get rid of the last traces.
7. Cowshed Cow Pat. I received this in September’s Glossy Box and I’ve used it ever since. It contains grapefruit and coriander oil, which means it smells really special. I love coriander, so I love the smell, and this makes my hands feel really soft and smooth. I’m almost out of my tube and first chance I get, I’m buying a full-size one. Can’t be without it now!
8. LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter. Name one nail blogger who hasn’t mentioned this at some point? I bought it after recommendations from a lot of people and while I’m not the biggest fan, I do like to use it sometimes when I feel my cuticles need a little extra moisture action (like when I’ve been neglecting them). My favourite use, however, is for when I’m swatching a lot in one go: I rub this on my nails, then apply a coat of Seche Vite to them. After that, I apply my nail polish and finally another coat of Seche Vite. When everything has dried properly, it’s super easy to just peel off in one go. Best trick ever! I learnt it from Cactus’ Nail Polish.

That’s it for today! Now you know my favourite products for keeping my hands looking nice and feeling soft, as well as for shaping my nails. What are yours?