The other day, Scott and I had a conversation that looked something like this.
Scott: I got this really dry bit of skin on my nail today, so I picked it off and now it really hurts
Me: Yeah I get hangnails all the time
Scott: No, it was my skin, not my nail
Me: 
I swear I’ve explained to him what a hangnail is about 100 times. I get them frequently, despite actually looking after my hands and nails. Recently it’s been a common occurrence for at least one of my fingers to have a hangnail, and as an ex nail biter, once that happens I rip my nail bed to shreds. Which probably causes more hangnails. Fab. Although the number of hangnails I get should ease up now the weather isn’t so cold and dry, I’ve been making a conscious effort to look after my nail beds more to help the process and there are two products I really can’t live without now. I use hand cream a few times a day which helps, but since the regular use of these two bad boys I have definitely noticed a major improvement. When I do get hangnails, they’re much less prominent too and I can just snip them with cuticle scissors and avoid the temptation of biting and picking until there is nothing left.
No 7 Revitalising Hand Saviour – £11.50
I found this at home and, thinking it was a hand cream, dolloped some onto my hands. I was genuinely surprised to find an oily, gritty mixture – I actually thought it had gone bad! Turns out it’s a scrub for your hands which you rub in, working on particularly dry areas, then rinse off and pat dry. Despite being rinsed off, the oils in this leave my hands feeling incredibly soft, silky and smooth. I obviously stole it from home and now keep it in the bathroom, where I try to use it 2 – 3 times a day. I really focus the grit on my nail beds and cuticles to exfoliate and buff any dead or dry skin that might otherwise become a hangnail, and then rinse off. I’ll use a hand cream afterwards in the evening to give my hands an extra moisture boost overnight, but otherwise this is good enough to be used on its own.
I have two versions of this; this one and the lemon scented one. I keep the lemon version at work and it smells incredible, like lemon sherbert. I apply this to my nail beds twice a day as it is so rich, you don’t need to any more than that. It’s so thick and rich, although not oily, that it takes a while to soak into my cuticles so I tend to leave it on for about a minute before using a hand cream to disperse any residue, giving my hands an extra hit of hydration. The salve is incredibly soothing for existing hangnails and moisturises the cuticles so much that they can turn from looking a bit withered and dead to healthy as Larry.
If you do suffer with dry nail beds, hangnails, and ripped cuticles, 100% give both of these a go. I appreciate the prices are a bit steep but they’re so much more effective than just hand cream alone! Coconut oil is also quite a nifty little product for hangnails as they’re moisturising, antifungal and antibacterial so can prevent your hangnails from being infected, but it is really oily (duh) so I personally would only use it at night.
What magical products have you been using on your hands lately?
