Dryness, cold weather, and nail biting are held responsible for dry cracked skin around fingernails. If not treated, this disorder can result in chronic skin ailment.
Every day your fingers have to sustain through a group of irritating substances, which make the skin around the nails dry, cracked and peel. Most people bite the dry skin around nails to remove them, but this small tear can leave fingers infected.
Beauty experts recommend moisturizing with home remedies to fix dry skin. Prior to that let’s discuss its causes.
What Causes Dry Cracked Skin Around Fingernails?
Apart from external factors, genes, skin ailments, low intake of nutritious food and allergic reaction also result in dry skin.
- Low humidity in cold weather strips natural moisture from the skin, resulting in dryness, cracking and peeling of skin around fingernails.
- We all torture our hands in different ways, whether you clean dishes or cling on a rock, as they are exposed to thousands of drying elements and impurities.
- Constant exposure to these drying elements results in the rough skin on side of fingertips.
- Chemical substances incorporated in detergents or soaps remove valuable moisture from the skin and make it dry.
- Nail polish that is intended to bring alluring look, may result in the unintended irritated skin. Chemical ingredient in it may lead to itching and the infection can be triggered leading to fungal infection.
- Similarly, there are few manicure and pedicure steps which may result in infection if not handled with professionals.
- Nail polish removers that must be confined to remove nail polish also strip vitamin E or moisture from fingernails.
- Personal care products that you use regularly may contain few allergens that may irritate your sensitive skin results in dry, peeling and cracked skin around nails.
- Your skin needs necessary nutrients to work efficiently, lack of certain minerals and vitamins may result in dry skin around toenails.
- Chronic ailments like psoriasis, eczema and nail fungus result in the inflamed, dry, scaly and itchy skin. It may also affect your fingernails and toenails, resulting in yellow nails.
- Apart from this, nail biting, sucking and long exposure to water can leave your skin on fingernails dry.
How to Get Rid of Dry Skin Around Nails?
To have an enticing look or smooth skin, you must focus on hydrating from inside. Along with this, the topical application helps to escalate healing process and avoid dryness.
There are a bunch of home remedies and necessary tips that avoid dry cracked skin around fingernails.
Step –1: Dry rough skin must be removed. Take some lukewarm water and soak your fingers in it for 5 minutes.
Step- 2: Take a dry towel and pat dry your cuticles. Make sure there are no droplets of water around fingernails.
Step- 3: Moisturize them as mentioned below.
Step- 4: Take manicure nippers to cut the dead skin around the fingernails.
Step- 5: Push cuticles using a wooden (Be gentle)
#1 Moisturize and Moisturize
It’s not a typo. Hydrating yourself from the inside and outside is essential for smooth skin texture. To grab your eyeballs I mentioned it twice so that you can understand its importance.
There are thousands of home remedies and cosmetic creams to moisturize your skin. I prefer home available remedies as they aren’t incorporated with chemical ingredients.
If you’re using any beauty product that works well with your skin and include no harmful chemicals, go with it.
- Initially, wash your fingers by soaking it in lukewarm water for few minutes.
- Now pat dry using a soft
- Take required amount of olive oil, glycerine, jojoba oil or vitamin E oil around nails and leave it to dry naturally.
- You can try any natural ingredients that suit your skin.
#2 Include Vitamin Rich Diet
As mentioned above, not just topical application, you must internally hydrate your skin.
Studies state that high intake of vitamin C can reduce dry skin. Further, it also promotes collagen production and decreases roughness on the skin around nails.
Fruits like watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, peaches, pineapple, oranges, apricots, plums and apples that are rich in water content must be ingested to hydrate the skin. (1)
Apart from fruits, fish, nuts, avocado, sweet potato, oysters, olive oil and cucumbers also help to get rid of dry skin.(2)
#3 Nail Care Regimen
Along with your nails, manicure and pedicure will give your skin around nails a specialized treatment. The dry or rough skin around the corners can be removed by these professional manicurists.
Apart from that cuticles also need to be moisturized. Trimming or cutting of cuticles may leave a gap for bacteria to invade nail plate and trigger infection. So, you must moisturize cuticles with coconut oil.
Dry Cuticles Around Nails
Like skin around the corners of nails, cuticles must be moisturized regularly. You shouldn’t bite or pluck cuticle skin, as most people do.
Cuticle covers the join between nail plate and fingers. Cutting will leave a gap that allows fungi to invade and trigger fungal infection.
Dry Skin Around Nails During Pregnancy
Along with happiness, pregnancy brings lots of hormonal changes in women. This fluctuation may result in cosmetic issues like dry skin and swollen parts.
According to Medline Plus, issues combined with skin, hair, and nails can be returned to normal state after pregnancy.
However, most women try to reduce these issues by using home remedies and other personal care products recommended by a physician.
How to Avoid Dry Cracked Skin Around Fingernails?
Not just moisturizing, you must intend to prevent dry skin. Read on below-mentioned tips.
- To restore moisture over the top layer of the skin in winters, experts recommend using a humidifier at 60%.
- Avoid excess use of harsh chemical included soaps. Instead, you can prefer soaps that come with moisturizing abilities.
- Excess use of scrub, bath sponges and wash brushes may leave your skin damaged. Also, pat or blot on your skin instead of rubbing.
- Reduce your bath time to 10 minutes daily. Longer exposure to water may strip natural oils from the skin.
- Apply moisturizer after bathing, when the skin is still damp.
- Wear gloves to lock the moisture in winter and to avoid irritants.
- Avoid fabrics that irritate your skin and results in an allergic
- Nail polish or personal care products that include preservatives must be avoided.
- Take a small amount of petroleum jelly and gently rub over fingernails and toenails before going to bed. (3)
- Along with skin around nails, hydrate cuticles regularly.
