Cuticle Care Routine - Updated!

I did this post a while back, but deleted it months later since it wasn't even accurate anymore - so here's an updated version. I was recently asked on Instagram how I care for my cuticles so here's a little more in depth description of what I do to keep my nails healthy. Let me know if I flaked out and missed a step, I'd be happy to answer any questions!

This is a more intensive cuticle care day than normal since I only do this entire routine about once a month, but this is how I keep my hands, cuticles, and nails healthy! I've left a little bit of detail out since I have full reviews for some of the products that I use in separate blog posts, but I'll still mention them throughout the process.

Step one is this weird bowl of oily goo! A while back on Instagram I saw a blogger I followed post about how she keeps her nails white and her hands soft and ready to be manicured, so I've used this concoction ever since. I don't do it super often since it requires a lot of prep and time afterwards to make sure your nails get oil back (soaking them in water already probably makes Ana cringe!), but I find that it really helps them look healthy for me. After that intro, this is simply a bowl full of hot water, some vinegar and baking soda, and as much olive oil as you can spare. If I was rich I would use a lot more of it! After I have this all ready, I have a couple of products that I throw in there too that I'll talk about in a little more detail next.

The first thing I always add is my Sweet Baby by Donna Nail Whitening Soak! She hasn't made this in a while since she can't get all of the ingredients for it, but hopefully she gets the chance to bring it back since it's a must-have. I put a little spoonful into the mixture I already have and let it melt in a little bit. Next I tend to put an unreasonable amount of mani bombs, sugar scrubs, and other hand care products in because TREAT YO'SELF. This time I used a Pink Sugar Sugar Scrub Tab from Nikki Rose Bath and Body and a Lemon Verbana Mani/Pedi Bomb from Bomber Babe Hand Refinement.

Here's a better look at the Pink Sugar tab from NRB&B! I'll have a more specific review for this one along with the other products that they were sweet enough to send for me to review, but in short - it was awesome. It smelled amazing and it was really easy to use! I dipped it in the water a little bit so it started to break up and I rubbed it into my hands until it broke down enough to scrub some on my nails. It left my hands feeling super smooth and smelling delicious!

And here's a better look at the mani bomb I used! This one I threw into the water and let fizz away before I soaked my hands in it. I usually try to soak them for about 10 minutes, but I tend to get distracted or impatient and it usually ends up being less than that. All of the oils and goodies in these help make your hands and cuticles even softer, which helps remove them later!

Next up I put on my Simply Peel Latex Barrier before I used cuticle remover. I did a whole separate post on this stuff, but in short it protects your live skin from the damaging stuff in cuticle remover! That way you only take off what you want to. I made sure to let it dry before putting on my preferred cuticle remover, waiting the allotted time, and scraped everything away with a wooden cuticle stick.

After removing the latex and cleaning off all of the extra remover by washing my hands, my nails were a little raw. I anticipated this since I'd been painting them a lot without enough oil, so I made sure to slather lots on! I use a lot of different cuticle oils and creams, but recently I've been using a combination of Polish TBH's Good Morning Mocha, Sweet Baby by Donna's Tao Cacao, Bliss Kiss Crisp, and Sunny's Bath Product's Better Than Sex Cake. They all smell delicious and work so well together!

After a lot of oiling and a little bit of filing to even out my nail shape, my nails were nice and white! This was actually the picture that I was asked to do this review on, so we've definitely come full-circle. This was mid-oiling, but whenever I've oiled them enough I put on my Smooth Gem Base Coat to protect them whenever I'm not polishing them. Hopefully this all helped you learn my routine a little better! Does anyone else have any hand care products that they can't live without?