How to Correctly DIY Push Back Your Cuticles With No Pain

Working on your cuticles is one of the most the easiest things that you can do to:

Give your natural nails a longer and more elegant look
Make your manicures such as your acrylic or gel nails last longer.

Now there are different ways you can tend to your cuticles from pushing them back to cutting them. But most experts recommend pushing back your cuticles as being the safest and easiest method.

So in this article, I am gonna guide you step by step on how to correctly push back your cuticles in a pain-free and safe way.

If you are curious to know why most experts recommend pushing back your cuticles instead of cutting them, you can click here.

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What & Where is the Cuticle

But before I explain how to push back your cuticles I need to do a brief explanation of what and where is the cuticle.

The cuticle is the whitish-clear skin at the base of the nails, it is composed of dead skin cells. Now the layer above the cuticle is the proximal fold and it is made up of living skin cells.

The cuticle is actually made up of leftover dead skin cells from the proximal fold.

Now when you push back your cuticles you are actually removing the dead cuticle skin and pushing back the proximal fold. But collectively in the nail world, the cuticle and proximal fold is usually considered as “The Cuticle”

How to Push Back Your Cuticles with a Cuticle Pusher

The first thing that you need to do is soak your fingers or toes for 4-5 minutes in a mixture of warm water and soap.
This helps to soften your cuticles and the proximal fold making it much easier for the dead cuticle skin to be removed and the fold to be pushed back.
Next, apply some oil or cream onto your cuticles, I recommend using a cuticle oil or cream but any good moisturizer would work.
Then use the flat end of your cuticle pusher to gently push back your cuticles (the fold) using circular motions.
Now once the fold has been pushed back you can use the pointy end of your cuticle pusher to scrape off any dead cuticle skin cells on the nail plate.
Finally wash your nails thoroughly with soap and water and then if you are not doing a manicure you can apply some cuticle oil to moisturize your cuticles.

Video of How to Safely Push Back Your Cuticle

Tips on How to Safely Push Back Your Cuticles

1- Use a wooden cuticle pusher – wooden cuticle pushers are gentle on your nails and won’t damage your nail plate.

You can click here to see the price for a packet of wooden cuticle pushers on Amazon.

2- Apply a good cuticle oil for healthy cuticles and nails – I recommend applying Jojoba oil on your cuticles at least twice a day.

You can click here to see the price on Amazon for a Cuticle Oil Pen that contains Jojoba Oil.

3- Use a nail file to buff away dead cuticle tissue. – To ensure that all of the dead cuticle tissue has been removed from your nail plate you can use a nail file to buff the area of your nails near to the cuticle area.

4- Always be gentle with your cuticles – Now if the natural method doesn’t work don’t use too much force or try to cut the cuticle. Instead, you can use a cuticle remover.

How to Push Your Cuticles By Applying a Cuticle Remover

Cuticle Removers are special chemicals used to soften your cuticles and dissolve dead cuticle skin.

They are highly effective at removing excessive amount of tough dead cuticle tissue that are sticking out. This is why I recommend using a remover when your cuticles haven’t been tended to in awhile and have overgrown.

I have an entire article on Cuticle Removers you can click here to read about how they work.

Or you can watch the video below to see how to use a cuticle remover to prep your cuticles without cutting them.

Recommended Brand of Cuticle Remover

I recommend Blue Cross – they are highly effective which is why they are one of the most popular brand of cuticle remover.

You can click here to see the current price for a bottle of Blue Cross Cuticle Remover on Amazon.

How to Push Back Cuticles Without Tools

The easiest way to push back your cuticles if you don’t have a cuticle pusher or any special tool is to use a match stick and a toothpick.

First soak your fingers in warm soapy water for 5 minutes
And then apply some oil or cream onto your cuticles.
Next, use the plain end of a match stick to gently push back your cuticles.
Finally, once the cuticle has been pushed back you can use the toothpick to scrape off any dead cuticle tissue on the nail plate.