The Easier Way To...

Get Neat, Healthy Cuticles

Holding clippers at an awkward angle to cut your own cuticles (half the time with your weaker hand) isn't just difficult—it's dangerous. "If you slip and remove too much, you create an opening between the nail and skin where potential irritants and bacteria can enter, increasing the chance of inflammation or infection," says Diane Berson, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. Here's a safer option: Every day, at the end of your shower when your hands are soft from the warm water, use a damp washcloth to gently push back each cuticle. The more often you do this, the easier it is: The cuticles don't have time to build up. After you've dried off, blend a drop of cuticle oil into each nail. 

— Kate Sandoval