Pro Tips on Cuticle Care

Don’t you just feel better when you have manicured nails? Just me? Having my nails freshly painted makes me feel put together. But, I often forget about my cuticles. Here’s some professional advice on cuticle care from Clary Sage College Nail Technology Instructor, Lorane!

There are two approaches to cuticle solvent.  Both are quite effective but they live at different ends of the 0 – 14 pH scale.

The more traditional approach is to use a product like Blue Cross Cuticle solvent.  It has a pH of 12.  It is mostly sodium hydroxide, the same ingredient found in hair removers like Neat or Nair. Sodium Hydroxide is very effective to loosen the dead cuticle tissue so it can be more easily removed from the nail plate.

The second and newer cuticle treatments have a low pH and are very effective and, perhaps, less caustic on the nail plate if left on for a longer period of time.  Some examples of these products are the Avoplex Cuticle Treatment by OPI and Cuticle Away and Cuticle Eraser by CND.

Both low and high pH cuticle solvents should be rinsed and brushed off the area of use fairly quickly, to avoid damage to the nail structure and the surrounding skin.

Because the body naturally repairs itself while we sleep, one of the best things anyone can do for themselves is to apply cuticle oil to each nail and the surrounding skin just before going to sleep at night. I recommend either OPI’s Avoplex Cuticle oil because of its avocado complex with Omega 3 Fatty acids to nourish and protect the skin. Or CND’s Solar Oil (this is one of my favorites). It contains:

• Sweet Almond Oil to fight free radicals and restore the skins pH, all while protecting against sun damage.
• Jojoba Oil- this oil penetrates to a cellular level and most mimics the skins own sebum and  it is packed with vitamin E, B-complex, copper, zinc, selenium, iodine, and chromium
• Vitamin E Oil- of course it is rich in vitamin E, fights free radicals  caused by UVB, seals in moisture to the skin and more.

And there you have it, a few tips on cuticle care while you’re watching E! Network.