Come here, I want to cut you!

I used to watch Ricki Lake back in the day.  I remember this one episode was about bad ass girls in gangs.  They were so bad ass they carried razors in their mouths 24/7 ... ya know in case they had a hangnail.

On occasion I will get a nasty hangnail.  In today's post I will show you how I take care of it.

The hangnails I get these days are different than the ones I use to get when I first started caring for my nails a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.  The kind of hangnails I used to get were from dry skin.  Also their location is somewhat different now too.  They would either start at the cuticle (eponychium) or on the skin right near the cuticle called the proximal nail fold (see the second picture for these terms).  These types of hangnails can be taken care of with a regular moisturizing routine (2-3 times a day) using your favorite moisture delivery system.  I have several posts on the importance of moisture.  You can visit them here, here, and here.   

Now they look more or less like this:

Please excuse the stainage.  I will be taking care of it soon.  For now, let it soil your eyes. 


Actually this is a continuation of stainage I got from China Glaze - Italian Red that was further enhanced by China Glaze - Rodeo Fanatic.  


Thank you China Glaze! <=== SARCASM 

Pictured here is a recent hangnail.







I don't have too many hangnail issues from lack of moisture these days because as I have told you before ... I am slightly obsessed.  When winter rolls around things can get a little tough, but I do what I can.  Nowadays my hangnails appear after I use cuticle remover. 

If you are not familiar with my earlier post on cuticles please visit this post.  In the mean time, I will continue to use my hubs ugly stumps for demonstrations purposes.  Yep, I'm still holding a grudge.  

The point of cuticle remover is to remove the "true cuticle", not the eponychium, however since you are putting the solution near the eponychium it too will do its chemically business there as well.   Perhaps I leave it on too long or get a little rough with the towel action ... as seen in this video.  

Either way, I will get the hangnail on the eponychium as shown in the first picture.  


I seriously wish I was taught to carry a razor in my mouth, because that would be some interesting self defense skills that could double as hangnail resolution.  However, a better tool for the job is the ...

Cuticle Nipper

This picture shows my jaundiced finger nails wearing 3 coats of OPI Bubble Bath.


You know what makes me laugh ... my mom calls them NEEEEPERS.  I freaking love her for it.  Every time she's looking for them, I pretend I don't know what she is talking about just so I can get her to say it over and over.  <3


There are many kinds out there and generally speaking the sharper they are the better.  These kinds of tools can be on the pricey side, but are much better for hangnail removal than say a razor you hide in your mouth or a nail clipper like I have seen being used on YouTube quite often. 0.o

The sharp pointy slanted end allows for a more precise and accurate removal of the hangnail without tearing the eponychium (which is live skin) further.  Since the eponychim is live skin you want to be careful when you are cutting anything in that area as a deep cut can cause a wound that may lead to bleeding and possible infection ... if you are a dirty girl.  But seriously be careful!

It may be a good idea to reserve nippers just for the purpose of cutting skin; avoid the temptation to clip nails (or other hard things) so that you can keep them as sharp as possible.  

This picture shows the finger after the hangnail was snipped.  


With continued moisture and perhaps a little AHA cuticle cream this area will smooth out and be glorious again! 


Do you get hangnails? How do you get rid of them?


More importantly ...
Do you know how to hide a razor in your mouth?