Nail How To: Cuticle Care

Once a week or so I sit down for an hour in the evening in front of the TV with my big basket full of nail polishes and goodies and give myself a manicure. I used to be an extreme nail biter - ragged nail stubs, bloody shredded cuticles, the whole nine yards of obsessive chewing. One day I decided that I just wanted to put a stop to it once and for all, and I did. The key to this cold turkey bad habit quitting was making my fingers something that I wanted to admire, not devour. Hence, the start of the weekly manicure. As long as my nails and cuticles are well groomed I am able to avoid the temptation to nibble and the side effect is fabulous nails!

The first half of my manicure is grooming my cuticles. I am not one of the lucky people who have nice smooth set back cuticles, I have the dry - would creep over half my finger nail if I let them - type. Below is my four step process diagrammed out in full detail. 

Tools:

1. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED! I have tried other cuticle removers this is by far the most effective, and cheap!
2. Cuticle Nippers
3. Metal Cuticle Pusher I couldn't find the one I have exactly, its a few years old, hence why I like the metal, they last forever and can be cleaned and sanitized and keep a sharp edge, unlike the wooden ones.
4. Paper Towels 

1. Apply a generous layer of the cuticle remover onto the cuticles of one hand. Let it sit for a minute.
2. Use the cuticle pusher to push cuticle back, it shouldn't hurt, but you will have to push hard enough to scrape them back. It may take a few tries to get this down, but you learn in time how aggressive to be. 
3. Finger by finger, firmly wipe away the gel with a paper towel and use the nippers to cut off the excess cuticle. *Cuticles if cut to far will bleed profusely, I learned this the hard way, and still do it on occasion.
4. Check out all of your fingers and make sure you don't have any little bits to clip.
5. Repeat on the other hand.

Now you are ready for polish....or you are done, depending on how you like your nails!