Hangnails

Be your own Manicurist

Because hangnails are dead skin and are therefore painless, you may not even realize that you have one until you snag your tights. A hangnail occurs when the cuticle around your nail grows out onto the nail plate. Don’t try to chew off a hangnail with your teeth or pick at it. When removed improperly, hangnails can cause an unsightly bloody mess on your finger. Or they can get infected. With proper cuticle care, hangnails don’t have to ever become troublesome, follow the expert advices. It takes power to resist the urge to tear or bite off a hangail, so it’s good idea to have a bandage or two in your cosmetic bag for this very purpose. If you discover a hangnail, put the bandage over it to keep yourself from picking at it until you can treat it properly.  The first line of defence is a good manicure. It’s also very helpful to smooth around the nail with cream and to buff the whole nail area. Don’t cut cuticles when they are dry. It recommend softening them first by soaking them in warm water and olive oil. Since the idea is to remove only the dead skin that makes up the hangnail and not to injure the living tissue around it, clip closely without going too far down. You don’t want to leave anything to play with. If a mishandled hangnail gets infected, apply an over the counter antibiotic cream and keep it bandaged.