Home Remedies for Hangnails

Hangnails are basically slivers of dead skin that have split off from your fingernails. There it hangs, just waiting to snag on your sweater, or in your hair, or just about anything else you come in contact with. And, when that happens, hangnails can hurt like the dickens.

Lots of things can cause hangnails.

• Hands that aren't properly moisturized.
• Biting your nails.
• People who wash dishes regularly without using gloves will often get hangnails.

Hangnails themselves aren't really serious. However, they can be annoying and painful.

Here are some things you can do to deal with your hangnails.

What Not to Do

You should never bite off or pull off hangnails. When you do either, you risk ripping and tearing living, healthy tissue, and end up with a bloody wound that hurts more than just leaving hangnails alone. And, worse, the area could end up getting infected.

Clip Hangnails with Nail Scissors

You should use nail scissors to remove hangnails. However, clipping excessively dry hangnails can cause almost as much damage as biting or pulling them off. So, before clipping your hangnails, you should soak your hands in warm water. Add bath or olive oil to the water. Soak your hands for about ten minutes before clipping your hangnails.

Before using, clean the nail scissors with a little alcohol. Clip away as much of your hangnails as you can, but make sure you only clip away the dead skin. Since hangnails are made of dead skin, it shouldn't hurt to clip them. If it hurts, you've gone down too far.

After clipping hangnails, treat the area with antibacterial ointment. This will prevent infection. You can then cover the area with a bandage.

Keep Your Hands Moisturized

You can prevent hangnails by keeping your hands moisturized. Use hand lotion or hand cream several times a day, especially after you've washed your hands, washed the dishes, or had your hands in water for a long time. Since hangnails are often the result of the skin around your fingernails drying out, make sure to rub the lotion into your cuticles, and the skin surrounding your nails.

Soaking your in a solution of water and bath or olive oils a couple of times a week will also keep your hands moisturized and prevent hangnails.

Wear Gloves to Prevent Hangnails

When you submerge your hands in water for extended periods of time, this dries out your hands and can lead to hangnails. So, if you're going to be washing dishes, or washing the car, wear rubber gloves that have a cotton lining.

For extra moisture, try this nighttime treatment. Before going to bed, apply some kind of moisturizer (lotion, cream, or oil) to your hands, paying special attention to your cuticles. Then slip on a pair of cotton gloves. Doing this once or twice a week will go a long way towards preventing hangnails.