To cut or push back cuticles – which is correct?

Hardly any question in nail care is debated as hotly. The short answer: pushing back is the normal case. Only what has died off anyway gets cut.

The reason is that “cuticle” means two completely different things.

Two kinds of cuticle – and only one may go

The nail fold (eponychium). The living rim of skin at the base of the nail. It has its own blood supply, is connected to the tissue and forms a seal: it closes the gap between nail plate and nail bed against water, dirt and germs.

The membrane (cuticula). The thin, dead layer of skin that travels along on the nail plate. It is dead and has no blood supply.

Removing the cuticula does no harm. Cutting into the living nail fold opens a gateway for germs – and that is exactly what happens in most manicures at home.

What speaks against cutting

• Risk of infection. The seal that was removed is missing. Nail bed infections very often start exactly like this.
• It grows back thicker. Injured skin responds by keratinising more strongly. Once you start, you have to trim more and more often.
• Ridges in the nail. The nail root sits directly beneath the nail fold. Injuries there can show up as ridges or dents in the nail growing back – and that for months.

The right order

1. Soften. Three to five minutes of warm water or a drop of nail oil, left to work briefly.
2. Push back. With a rosewood stick or a cuticle pusher, at a flat angle and without pressure. Do not scrape – push.
3. Remove only what is loose. Whatever clearly lifts away after pushing can be taken off with cuticle scissors or cuticle nippers. Only that, and nothing that has to be pulled at.
4. Care for it. Massage a drop of oil into the nail fold. Supple skin tears less often.

The rule of thumb: if it pulls or hurts, it is living tissue. Then the scissors go away.

And what about hangnails and torn skin?

Those may and should go – but cut off cleanly, not torn off. Tearing lets the tear run deeper into living tissue. For that you need a really sharp pair of scissors: a blunt one crushes and drags at the skin.

The right tool

• Rosewood stick or cuticle pusher – for the bulk of the work
• Cuticle scissors – fine, pointed, slightly curved; for occasional use
• Cuticle nippers – very short jaws, more precise; the professional option
• Nail oil – the best prevention there is

Important: the instrument must be sharp and clean. Here that is not a question of comfort but of hygiene.

When you should leave it alone

Hands off cutting with diabetes, circulatory disorders, blood-thinning medication or a weakened immune system. Pushing back is enough here – anything beyond that belongs in expert hands.

See a doctor if the nail fold reddens, throbs, swells or discharges pus. That is a nail bed infection and it rarely heals on its own.

Conclusion

Push instead of cut – and if you do cut, then only what has come away by itself. It looks just as well groomed, lasts longer and spares you the inflammation.

This article is no substitute for medical advice.

Matching tools at nagelzange.de:

• Cuticle scissors
• Cuticle nippers
• Nail scissors

Matching products