Cuticles: Push Them Back, Don’t Cut Them

Manicure Stuff

If you have ever sat in a salon chair while someone snipped along the base of your nails, you have probably been told it is “just dead skin”. Dermatologists would like a word. The one rule on cuticles that nearly every health source agrees on is simple: do not cut them.

Pushing them back is a different question, and the experts do not all give the same answer. This post lays out what the cuticle does, why cutting is the line, and how to handle the push-back if you decide to do it. It is a small part of the nail that causes a surprising amount of arguing.

What your cuticle actually does

The cuticle, which anatomists call the eponychium, is a thick layer of skin cells along the proximal nail fold, the fold of skin at the base of the nail. According to Cleveland Clinic it sticks to the outer surface of the nail plate and protects against germs and infection.

Illustration of a fingertip and a cross-section labeling the nail plate, cuticle, nail fold, nail matrix and nail bed

Image: Diagram of nail anatomy showing the nail plate, cuticle, nail fold, nail matrix and nail bed by BruceBlaus (Blausen Medical), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Think of it as a seal between the nail plate and the skin around it. Break that seal, and bacteria and fungi have an easier way in. The infection that results around a fingernail is called paronychia. Cleveland Clinic explains that bacteria enter broken skin around the nail, and that anything that dries out or breaks the skin, from frequent dishwashing to nail biting, raises the risk. The AAD describes the early signs as redness and swelling around a nail, and says early cases can often be treated with soaks and antibiotics, while an open sore needs more extensive treatment.

Cutting: the one thing to skip

The sources here are unusually blunt.

  • The AAD’s manicure and pedicure advice says: “To prevent infection, never cut or forcefully push back your cuticles.”
  • The APMA’s pedicure tips say not to cut your cuticles.
  • MedlinePlus says not to let a manicurist work on your cuticles.
  • On dip powder manicures, the AAD says cutting or pushing back cuticles can lead to a serious infection, and tells you to ask your nail technician to leave them alone. It adds that if the technician objects, you should “remain firm”.
A cuticle nipper with turquoise handles and small sharp jaws

Image: A cuticle nipper, the tool this post suggests leaving in the drawer by Ari Abitbol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A cuticle nipper like the one above is a salon staple, which is why it gets a photo here, and why this post suggests leaving it in the drawer or not buying one. Nothing in the health sources I read recommends cutting the living cuticle. If you see a loose, ragged bit of skin, that is a hangnail, and the nail problems post explains how to deal with those. It is not a reason to trim the cuticle itself.

So can you push them back?

Here is where the sources split, and I would rather show you the split than pretend there is one answer.

Leave them completely alone. The AAD’s “how to trim your nails” page lists avoiding cutting or pushing back your cuticles. Cleveland Clinic says pushing back or removing your cuticle in manicures and pedicures can harm your nail health, and that it is better to leave it alone.

Push gently, if you must. The AAD’s manicure safety page says: “If you must push them back, only do so gently after a shower or bath.” The APMA’s pedicure tips say to use a rubber cuticle pusher or a manicure stick to gently push back cuticles, but to avoid pushing them back again and again, because that can make them thicker.

There is also a reason for the caution. The AAD says that grooves and ridges down the center of a thumbnail, sometimes called washboard nails, may mean you have developed a habit of picking at or pushing back the cuticle on that thumb, often without noticing. MedlinePlus likewise says chronic picking or rubbing of the skin behind the nail can cause lengthwise splitting or ridges.

My reading of all that: cutting is out, and pushing is optional. If you want a tidy base for polish, the gentlest approach in the sources is the one below. If you would rather skip pushing entirely, you are in line with the AAD’s trimming page and Cleveland Clinic.

If you push, do it like this

  1. Wait until after a shower, bath or hand wash, when the skin is soft (AAD).
  2. Use a rubber or wooden tool made for the job (APMA). Skip anything metal and sharp.
  3. Use light pressure on the skin, working along the nail without scraping the plate.
  4. Stop when you feel any resistance or soreness. Forcing it is what the AAD warns against.
  5. Do not do it every day. The APMA’s concern is repeated pushing.

Steps 3 and 4 are my own practical tips. The sources give the “gently, on soft skin, with a rubber or wooden tool” part but no more technique detail than that.

What to do instead: moisturize

The AAD’s advice for rough or scaly cuticles is to moisturize them. It suggests petroleum jelly at bedtime as a budget-friendly way to soften dry cuticles, and says cuticle oil is another option that works well. Petroleum jelly also appears in the AAD’s gel-polish advice as a way to protect skin around the nails. Cleveland Clinic names petrolatum, lanolin and glycerin among the ingredients in nail moisturizers that hydrate and protect nails, which is a reasonable thing to look for on a label.

A small round tub of white petroleum jelly seen from above

Image: A small tub of petroleum jelly by Kiyok, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A short daily routine does most of the work:

  • Wear gloves for dishes and wet chores, then moisturize afterwards (AAD).
  • Rub a little petroleum jelly or cuticle oil into the skin around each nail at bedtime.
  • Do not bite or pick at the skin around your nails (NHS, AAD).
  • After polish remover, which dries the skin, moisturize again (AAD).

When to get help

Redness, swelling, warmth, pain or pus around a nail, or a nail that starts to lift or turn a different color, is not a cuticle-care problem. The NHS says to see a doctor if the skin around a nail is sore, red, swollen and warm. Anyone with diabetes should treat any nail or foot problem as one to show a doctor or podiatrist promptly (AAD, APMA). The nail problems post covers the common causes.

If you go to a salon, you are allowed to say “no cuticle work, please”. The AAD gives exactly that advice for dip powder manicures, and MedlinePlus says to do the same.

Where to go next

If you are getting set up for a manicure, the tools matter as much as the technique, and you will find a short list of what is worth having in the Shop’s mani-pedi collection.

Sources