Does Cuticle Oil Actually Work? What It Does, and When to Use a Cream Instead

Cuticle oil sits in that category of products everyone owns and few people use: bought after a manicure, kept in a drawer, applied twice. Which is a pity, because it is one of the few hand-care steps that shows results quickly, provided you understand what it is for.

What the cuticle actually is

The cuticle is the thin layer of skin at the base of the nail. Its job is to seal the gap between the nail and the skin, protecting the area beneath, where the nail grows from, against water, irritants and infection.

That is why dermatologists generally advise against cutting cuticles or pushing them back hard. A cut or torn cuticle is a break in that seal. The goal is not to remove the cuticle but to keep it soft, flexible and intact, so it looks neat without being trimmed.

What cuticle oil can do

• Soften dry, ragged cuticles, so they look neater and are less likely to split.
• Reduce hangnails, which usually start as small splits in dry skin at the side of the nail.
• Keep nails more flexible. Nails that dry out become more brittle and more prone to peeling and splitting. Oil massaged into the nail and the skin around it helps reduce that.
• Make hands look cared for. Soft, intact cuticles do more for the appearance of hands than polish does.

What it can't do

• It won't make nails grow faster. Fingernails grow slowly, and nothing applied to the surface changes that rate in any meaningful way.
• It won't repair a nail that has already grown out damaged. It can only help the nail that is still to come, and the nail plate's flexibility from here on.
• It won't treat a nail condition. Changes in colour, thickness or shape, or a red, swollen and painful nail fold, need a GP or dermatologist rather than an oil.

Why nails change after 40

Many women notice their nails becoming more brittle, peeling more easily or developing fine vertical ridges with age. Ridges of this kind are very common and usually harmless. Brittleness is often made worse by things we do to our hands: frequent washing, harsh cleaning products, acetone and the removal of gel or acrylic manicures. Keeping the nails and cuticles supple won't reverse ageing, but it does take away much of the everyday damage.

What to look for in a cuticle oil

Short ingredient lists are a good sign. You want light oils that absorb rather than sit on the surface, something conditioning, and very little else. The Cutis Nail Original Cuticle Oil is a good example: six ingredients in total.

• Grapeseed oil, a light oil that absorbs quickly.
• Squalane, a stable, skin-friendly oil that softens without greasiness.
• Jojoba oil, which is technically a liquid wax with a structure similar to the oils skin produces naturally.
• Vitamin E (tocopherol), which conditions and helps keep the oil stable.
• Bisabolol, a soothing compound best known as a component of chamomile.
• Geranium oil, for a light scent.

It comes in a twist-up pen, which matters more than it sounds: no dropper, no spills, and nothing to stop you using it at the desk or in the car. It is vegan and cruelty free.

Oil or cream?

They do slightly different jobs, and most hands benefit from both.

• Oil is light and absorbs quickly, so it suits the daytime and anywhere you need your hands back straight away. It softens the cuticle and the nail itself.
• Cream is richer and stays on the skin longer, so it suits the evening and very dry cuticles. The PAUME All-in-One Cuticle & Nail Cream is designed to nourish and strengthen nails and cuticles overnight.

If you only choose one, choose the one you will use every day. For most people, that is the pen in the handbag.

How to use it properly

1. Apply at night, after the last hand-wash of the day, so it isn't rinsed straight off.
2. Massage, don't paint. Work the oil into each cuticle and the surrounding skin for a few seconds. The massage is half the benefit.
3. Follow with hand cream or balm, which helps seal the oil in.
4. After a shower, when cuticles are soft, gently ease them back with a towel rather than a metal tool.
5. Be consistent. Daily use for a few weeks is what makes the difference. Most people notice softer, neater cuticles well before their nails grow out.

The short version

Yes, cuticle oil works, for what it is meant to do: keeping cuticles soft and intact and nails flexible. It won't make nails grow faster or fix a nail that is already damaged. Use a light oil by day, a richer cream at night if your cuticles are very dry, and leave the cuticle scissors in the drawer.

For the rest of the routine, read why hands age faster in an Australian summer. And because a good cuticle oil is the kind of thing people rarely buy for themselves, it makes an excellent stocking filler.