- 1). Remove any nail polish, and wash your hands with soap. Soak your fingers in warm water, dry them, then moisturize the cuticles. You can use a commercial cuticle cream, but some fashion and beauty experts say olive oil or hair conditioner works as well.
- 2). Gently push back the cuticles with a dry washcloth or a cuticle pusher from a manicure set.
- 3). Buff the cuticles -- again, gently! -- with a nail buffer.
- 4). While some experts recommend trimming the cuticles, other sources say to leave them strictly alone to avoid infection. Trimming, on the other hand, might keep you from picking at them, which could be even more damaging. If you do trim them, use a sterile, sharp cuticle nipper from your own manicure set -- don't borrow one. Use the nipper to trim hangnails, which can be annoying and painful as well as prone to infection.
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