Why do we need (DO we need?) to push back our cuticles? Is it just for appearance, or does it stimulate nail growth in some way? When grooming my nails I was always taught to push them back, but never really heard a reason why. Now I do it partly out of habit and b/c I do think it looks nicer. What’s the general consensus on this?
My impression is that it’s intended to expose more of the lunula, the white crescent shape at the base of the nail. I’ve never heard of it stimulating nail growth.
We definitely don’t need to. I’ve never pushed a cuticle in my life.
I’m 43 years old and have never bothered to push back cuticles. To me it seems like a strange proactice, since I’m unaware of any benefit. However, a few months ago my wife started ragging on my fingernail grooming habits, and recruited my mom and sister to help, saying that I’m a slob since I don’t worry about my fingernails and toenails (there was no other criticism, just nails). I keep them trimmed and pretty clean, I just don’t worry about cuticles. And even in this confrontation, I still have never heard a good reason to, other than they think it looks better. It’s just something I don’t get (and it feels uncomfortable too).
Am I the only person in the world that doesn’t seem to have those at all?
Anyway - I always heard it was for hangnails. For me, it seems to be true. When I don’t push my cuticles back regularly, I get hangnails; when I do, hangnail free.
If hangnails are those little strips of skin which come away from the base of the nail (and sting!), then that’s why I push them back too (my gf’s suggestion).
Ah, so it’s mostly for appearances’ sake. Amarinth, I don’t really seem to have visible lunulas either - only on my thumbnails.
My wife’s response to this question is to make her nails look longer, especially when painted.
Yeah, exactly. I can’t imagine ragging on a guy who (presumably) has unpainted nails for the appearance of his cuticles - they just don’t stick out, to my eye. But if you have significant cuticles, and try to paint your nails, it looks really stupid. If you paint over the cuticle, it obviously makes the polish look lumpy. If you don’t, it looks like you have a sorta ragged patch of unpainted nail just past where the polish stops.
It really helps prevent hangnails. Once I learned about that, I get them a lot less often.