# Hangnails and fingernails

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangnails-and-fingernails/58543>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 19, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangnails-and-fingernails/58543 "2001-03-19T03:47:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangnails-and-fingernails/58543/1 "2001-03-19T03:47:34Z")

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This is a two-part question:

1. What causes those flaps of skin below and to the side of my thumbnail? What is the reason for them?

2. At the base of each fingernail, there is a membrane of skin (someone here must know the name). During my childhood (in the 70s), I pushed some of them down to the base of my nail (just because i could) 🙂 but they have never grown back to their original shape. Can they ever grow back?

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangnails-and-fingernails/58543/2 "2001-03-19T05:32:58Z")

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[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60489) might help.

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**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangnails-and-fingernails/58543/3 "2001-03-19T13:47:13Z")

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The membrane of skin is called the cuticle. The purpose of the cuticle is to seal off the nail bed from bacteria.

I think that opinions may be divided on whether you should push the cuticules back or let them be. If you’re going to push them back, do it after a bath, when the skin is softer. You can get cuticle cream, oil or gel, which helps soften them further so that they can be pushed back with a orange stick. You shouldn’t cut bits off them with clippers unless you’re sure you’re not going to damage any living tissue.