Keeping Your Cuticles Cute

Everybody has had that moment where they look down at their hands, are loving their polish choice, and then realize that their cuticles need some serious attention - now. Cuticles provide a barrier between your nails roots and the outside world. Unkempt cuticles can cause infection, hangnails, and are just plain unsightly! These are our top three tips for keeping your cuticles cute (see what we did there?):

1. Moisturize!

This is the first step in any cuticle care routine. Having moist cuticles prevents cracking and splitting, and allows you to push back the cuticles without damaging your skin further. Like any part of your body, and especially when using nail polish removers, cuticles can get dry quickly and need a moisture boost to stay looking their best. Our favourites? Curel Hand and Cuticle Therapy ($4.71 at Drugstore.com) and LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter ($16.95 at ).

2. Push 'em Back

Pushing back your cuticles using a cuticle remover and a nail tool is essential to having beautiful looking and properly shaped nails. Every nail bed is naturally shaped a little differently, so remember to push back your cuticles and stop if you ever feel pain! First, you apply a cuticle remover (we use Essie's Disappearing Trick which is 7.75 at Walmart), and then using a cuticle tool, such as the Tweezerman Pushy and Nail Cleaner ($18.00 at Tweezerman.com) to gently push back the cuticles, following the natural shape. If there is dead skin left on the nail, you can use the nail tool to scrape it off so it doesn't cause unsightly bumps on your polished nails.

3. Trim

There is debate whether cutting your cuticles causes increased risk of exposure to bacteria, but as long as you only nip the dead skin away, you should be safe! Clean any tools you use with alcohol beforehand in order to avoid infection. We like to trim from the free edge of the nail from one side to the other, so there are no jagged edges. When the skin comes off in one long, thin piece - you're doing it right! We love the Tweezerman Cuticle Nipper (basically, extra sharp tweezers for your nails!) because it is so much easier to maneuver than a traditional cuticle cutter - it is available at Sephora in a mini set with a pushy tool here).

4. File…

Confused? Don't be! If your cuticles are super dry - it happens to the best of us - filing them can easily remove extra dead skin and exfoliate the new skin around your cuticles (making you more receptive to moisture!) We only file our cuticles when they get extra rough looking, but we swear it works! Any files will work, but we've been using the Zip File from Tweezerman ($9.00 at Tweezerman.ca) and bonus: it's cute!

Any serious cuticle problems should be dealt with by a medical professional, but for keeping your cuticles in tip top shape for your endless polish changes - this is our way!

Check out Tweezerman online or on their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook!

What tips and tricks do you have for keeping your cuticles and hands in their best condition?

Disclaimer: Some of  these products were provided to us by the company/PR for our honest consideration and review.