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1.

Picking or biting the nails or cuticles. 

“Picking (onychotillomania) or biting (onychophagia) can physically separate or lift the cuticle away,” Stern explains. 

If you pick or bite your nails—don’t be too hard on yourself. Oftentimes this can be a nervous tick or a coping mechanism for chronic or situational anxiety. We’ll dive deeper into a few ways to ease this habit to follow. 

“​​A dry, dehydrated cuticle is more prone to lifting and separating and thus becoming a hangnail,” Stern says. Simply having dry hands to the touch is often caused by an external factor (a few popular ones to follow). However, hand eczema is also a possibility, but it’s generally more severe than just dryness alone. 

“Hand eczema, or hand dermatitis, is characterized by redness, blistering, cracking, flaking, and itching of the palms and fingers,” board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D. once told mbg. Of course starting with preventing dry skin is a great first step, but hand eczema will likely require more intervention than just a great hand lotion—so it’s best to see your dermatologist if you suspect you have eczema on the hands, or anywhere else on the body for that matter. 

4.

Frequent hand washes & sanitizer. 

5.

Working with your hands.

“Any activity that predisposes the nail area to trauma or where the hands are immersed in chemicals or water will serve as a risk for the development of hangnails,” Stern notes. 

Certain occupations that call for frequent handwashing are particularly prone to dry cuticles, including anyone working in the food industry, health care, hair dressers, etc. 

7.

Using damaging nail products. 

Acrylic and dip powder formulas contain harmful ingredients like resin and formaldehyde, which can contribute to thinner nails and breakage. Plus, if you get any glue or hard dip on the side of your cuticles, there’s a high chance you’ll have to clip it off, tearing the skin. 

Of course, not everyone can—nor wants to—avoid acrylic tips or gel polishes and that’s perfectly fine. However, you should be extra mindful of tending to your cuticles, so take note of the preventative measures below. 

Board-certified dermatologist Hadley King M.D. notes swimming in a chlorinated pool as one often overlooked cause of frequent hangnails. Chlorine can dry out the skin on your nails (and your body skin, facial skin, and hair too). 

If you swim frequerntly, whether it be in saltwater or chlorinated pools, be sure to pay special attention to moisturizing after you hop out. If you can, rinse off right as you exit the pool to ensure the chlorine doesn’t sit on the skin for too long. 

“Wash hands with an antibacterial soap to ensure that the area that you will be treating is clean,” Dern says. You’ll want to minimize the chance of bacteria carrying over from anything you’ve touched. Typically we advise using more gentle hand wash formulas with less stripping surfactants, but this is an instance in which you should be as hygienic as possible. There’s higher risk of infection here, and that’s not to be messed with.

In the next step you’ll want to use a cuticle trimmer, so be sure to clean it beforehand. Swipe an alcohol tab over your tool before using it, or soak it in alcohol and dry off with a clean towel. 

“Use a clean cuticle nipper to carefully remove at the base,” Stern says. When you go in to trim the skin, don’t go so far down that you poke into the skin, but be sure to get to the base of the hanging skin. 

This is much safer than pulling or biting, Stern says, “Both of which can lead to irritation.” 

Plus, “There are so many nerves around your finger area, it can be very painful if the skin gets pulled or dragged by your clothes or other objects,” notes Amy Ling, the founder of sundays—a nail care brand focused on wellness. 

• Identify your triggers. 
• Keep your hands busy. 
• Keep your nails short. 
• Apply a foul-tasting polish so you won’t be tempted to bite.
• Chew gum or eat mints instead.
• Contact a mental health expert if you feel your nervous ticks are impacting your day-to-day life.

If your nails are becoming thin and brittle, you get hangnails often, or you find the skin around your nails to be red and itchy, you might want to reevaluate what kind of nail care you’re using. 

Especially for those with sensitive skin, ingredients like formaldehyde can wreak havoc on more than just the nail itself. Instead, opt for nontoxic nail polish—here’s 13 A+ brands to shop. 

If your hangnails comes from picking at your skin, then investing in regular manicures isn’t a bad idea. This way a professional nail technician can help keep the skin around your nails clean and healthy, leaving less broken-off skin to tug on. 

Plus, manicures serve as a moment of self-care, where you have no choice but to be mindful while your nails are being tended to. Nail and skin care part of full-body health care, and shouldn’t be viewed as just an appearance-based or frivilous investment. 

Here’s the thing—a minor hangnail can certainly be treated at home with the protocol listed above. In fact, “Most hangnails do not require medical intervention,” Stern says. But once it begins turning into an infection, that’s when you’ll want to visit a doctor. 

Not sure if it’s time to schedule a visit? Here’s a few signs you might not be able to DIY your hangnail, according to Stern and King:

• The affected area is warm. 
• There’s pain around the area. 
• Intense redness. 
• Swelling. 
• You see pus or blood. 
• If it persists beyond a week.