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Self-Care Measures for Dry Cuticles

Rajib Singha
Dry and cracked cuticles can certainly have an adverse effect on the way your hands look. Provided here are a few self-care measures that will help you improve the condition of the cuticles.
There's no denying the fact that one needs to take utmost care of nails during the winters, to keep them from becoming dry. Nutritional deficiencies and lack of nail care can also adversely affect the nails, so make sure that you follow a healthy diet.
If your cuticles are becoming dry due to harsh weather or lack of care, then you should start following a few self-care measures.

Self-care Measures

At times, following some simple home remedies can do the trick. Here are some tips that can be followed to keep the cuticles in a good condition.
● One of the causes of dry cuticles is lack of moisture. Due to obvious reasons, nails do not have the ability to hold moisture. One effective home remedy is to soak your hands in warm water mixed with apple cider vinegar. Soak them for about 10 minutes. Thereafter, dry them properly, and apply a moisturizer.
● Keep your nails from getting exposed to water for prolonged period.
● Most people have benefited from using concentrated essential orange oil to manage the problem.
● Make a mix of tea tree and aloe oil, and apply it onto the affected area. The tea tree oil would help prevent any further damage, and the other oil would keep the nails moisturized.
● Never break or tear off hangnails. Doing this would be a direct invitation to bacterial infection. Simply clip the dry part of the hangnail and apply an over-the-counter antibiotic.
● Though you can push back the cuticles, make sure that you never cut them.
● The less you make use of nail cosmetics like sculptured nails, nail polishes, or nail hardeners, the better.
● As mentioned earlier, nails are one of the prime indicators of the health of an individual. So, a diet that is balanced would definitely help in preventing such problems. You should include foods rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, and other nutrients in your diet.
The condition of dry cuticles should not be taken as only a cosmetic issue, as it tells you much more about your health. If after using all such remedies, the condition does not resolve, then you may want to visit a doctor.
You never know what the real underlying cause might be. So the sooner you detect it, the better it is, not only for your nails, but your overall health as well.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is solely for educating the reader. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a medical expert.