Cuticle Pushers

Cuticle Pushers

Beautifully manicured fingernails help you look polished and make a great impression on everyone that you encounter during your day. To get a salon quality manicure at home, you need to do more than simply apply coats of polish. Cuticle care is an essential part of any professional manicure, and you can recreate that salon experience at home with a cuticle pusher from Walgreens.

Cuticle Care and Your Manicure

The cuticle is a thin layer of skin that grows along the bottom of each fingernail. The skin is a protective covering that helps to shield growing nail cells from damage. Many people find that their cuticles become overgrown and begin to cover their nails. This can make the nails appear shorter and detract from the appearance of the hands. As a result, many people look for ways to improve the look of the cuticles as a part of a manicure. It is possible to push back the cuticle and expose more of the nails to increase their length and enhance their appearance. This is done prior to polishing during a manicure.

Benefits of a Cuticle Pusher

If you want to improve the look of your nails, it's important that you handle your cuticles with care. Medical experts caution against trying to cut the cuticles or remove them at home. Doing so could lead to a serious infection called paronychia, which can cause swelling, pain and nail discoloration. Instead of removing the cuticles, experts recommend pushing them back. This can easily be done with a cuticle pusher, a tool with a small flat head that is uniquely engineered to safely retract the cuticle. When you use a cuticle pusher regularly, you can keep cuticles from looking overgrown.

Using a Cuticle Pusher

Before using a cuticle pusher, experts recommend that you prepare the skin for the treatment. Use a polish remover if your nails are painted. Soak your hands in lukewarm water for several minutes. The warm water helps to soften the cuticles, so that they can be pushed back more easily. When using the cuticle pusher, it's important to make gentle movements and to stop if you experience any discomfort. Applying a hand cream or cuticle cream regularly can help to keep the cuticles soft, so that they are easier to push back when it's time for your manicure.

Types of Cuticle Pushers

Cuticle pushers come in different styles to meet your needs. As you compare tools, you'll want to look for one that will be easy for you to grip and to maneuver. Some cuticle pushers can be used for more than one task during your manicure routine, enhancing their utility. For example, some cuticle pushers have a pushing tip on one side and a cleaning tip on the other. You can use this type of pusher to clean under your nails after soaking and to remove excess polish from the edges of your nails. Cuticle pushers that double as nail shaping are also available, and you can find cuticle pushers sold along with other nail care tools and essentials.