Sunday, March 18, 2012

Cuticle Care: I weigh in


With the multitude of cuticle care products out there, it can be tough to navigate and decide what works best for you. I have tried a number of products -- here are the six that are either tried and true or that I have given a shot recently.

Keep reading to see how they measure up (in my opinion)!



Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream - This is the cuticle product that I have used the most out of any of these. I've almost finished a whole tin! Smells lemony fresh, not artificial smelling at all. Rubs in nicely, moisturizes really well, but makes the skin surrounding your fingers shiny. Not sticky or thick feeling. It can be hard for long nailed people to get it out of the tin without getting cuticle cream under their nail, especially when it gets low. This is my go-to purse-safe cuticle product.

Sally Hansen VitaSurge Cuticle Gel - The really big selling point for this one is that it dries quickly and matte, so you can put it on right before a nail photo and your hands won't be shiny. It's also not greasy, so you won't leave fingerprints on everything you touch. It doesn't smell like much at arm's length, if you get up close, it smells kind of like orange soda. The main drawback is that the orange color of the gel can show on your skin in a close up photo, even when rubbed in (especially if you are fair). The gel can leave a bit of residue if it dries on your nail, but that can be wiped off easily. This product seems to go faster than my other cuticle products.

Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser + Balm - This is one of the best smelling cuticle products, in my opinion, but the texture on this is not pleasant to me. Smells like cucumber and white tea -- very refreshing -- but it is waxy and sticky and feels thick on my skin. The product design is cool, with the green and white swirled together. It can be difficult to get the lid to line up correctly sometimes. Moisturizes fine, but is very shiny on your skin. I don't have a lot of cuticle to remove so it's hard for me to comment on the removal properties.

OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil - Smells like grapeseed, nice and light scent, fresh. Avoplex comes in an OPI bottle, which is cool and kind of novel to me. Absorbs well and moisturizes nicely. I wouldn't keep this one in my purse though, as the oil can get on the cap threads and make the cap not as secure. I love using this one for photos, but you definitely have to give it time to soak in, or your skin will look shiny to the max.

Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil - Love the mini Essie bottle, smells good. Cap doesn't seem very secure though, so this might be an oil to use at home and not on the go. Absorbs well and moisturizes nicely. This is kind of like the Avoplex though, in that it isn't a good choice right before manicure photos.

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve - Works fine in a pinch, but I prefer it on lips! :) Very floral smelling, obviously, but sort of slick and greasy. Moisturizes nicely but not my first choice.



The winner for "Most Well Rounded Cuticle Care Product" is...

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream! 

It's the product I've used the most for a reason. It's portable, smells good, and does its job without being too heavy or waxy. Keep it up Burt and your bees!
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37 comments

  1. I'll have to check out the Sally Hansen one - I like that it dries matte! I use Burt's Bees and SH Cuticle Oil, but I like the Julep roller ball oil - it smells like eucalyptus! I've been interested in trying Lush's Lemony Flutter - I hear it's awesome. I just need to finish some of these others first before I go buying another product.

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  2. OPI also sells a cuticle remover as part of the Avoplex line. It does "alright" as far as removing cuticles. It's not nearly as effective as NSI's "Nurture" line of manicure products - which is great at removing heavy cuticles and has the most neutral scent which also makes it great to use on men. They don't do manicures every week, so they often have the worst cuticles.

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  3. I'm also using Burt's Bees cuticle cream :) and really like it. Well I like your new layout of your blog... <3 <3
    can u post a tutorial about your nail care :D please!!

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  4. I have long nails, and for any tin (I use Burt's Bee's time to time) I have a spatula for it to scoop a little out.

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    1. Yes, I recently started using the back of my nail and scraping outward instead of inward... so the cream ends up on the top of my nail instead of underneath it!

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  5. I love Orly's cuticle cream...they sell it at Sally's. I find the Burt's Bees cream is too sticky for me.

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  6. I use Burt's Bees too. I carry it in my pocket on the way to work and by the time I get there, it's softened up and easier to use. I keep it out on my desk while at work and probably reach for it to use it more times than needed, but I love it, lol.

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  7. I'm with you on this one! Burt's Bees is one of my favorites too :o)

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  8. Great round up! I've actually never tried any of these (my go to is LUSH Lemony Flutter) but will look for the Burt's Bees and Sally Hansen VitaSurge.

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  9. I have the Cuticle Remover + Balm but I just can't get myself to use it for any length of time! It's SOOOO sticky. I have cats and I swear I have fur/lint covered fingers because EVERYTHING sticks to my cuticles after I put it on. :(

    Bummer too since it smells so good.

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  10. I love the badger balm cuticle product. It's a little oily, but it smells fantastic, like ginger, and soaks in quickly. It's the same price as Burt's, but you get more product!

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  11. OPI sells Avoplex to go in an awesome tube... i love it for in my purse

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  12. I really love the Burts Bees cuticle balm, but I really want to try the Sally Hansen cuticle gel! Right now I'm using and loving Sally Hansen Apricot Cuticle Balm. I think it is discontinued, though, as I bought it from Big Lots. It's great, though, and smells really wonderful!

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  13. I love and use Tips for Nails and have for years, you brush it on and it works great. As a equipment operator and in the streets/roads department for my city my nails take a beating and this keeps my nails great. No one can believe I have the nails I have doing my line of work.

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  14. LUSH Lemony Flutter FTW.

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  15. Thank you for this! Now I'm definitely going to have to try the Burt's. I also use the Rose Salve for my lips, not my cuticles very often.

    Also, I love the blog re-design!

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  16. I've used Burt's Bees off and on for a while. Just started using Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover with Aloe once or twice a week between manis. It's been working really well for me :)

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  17. The OPI Avoplex comes in a great purse form - it's liquid - but in a tube that is not breakable and has a brush on the tube. I use it and another I keep in my purse all the time. I always want something with me that I can get out when I have to wait - or going to drive and know I have time to let something really work in but not make my hands slip off the wheel. My all time fav is a duo that I use at night or when home and have time for a full treatment. It's the Barielle Strengthening Cream (now sold at Sally's for lots less than via Barielle.com) in the Barielle Pro line at Sally's. Then after that sets up for 30 secs, add the Barielle intensive Nail Treatment Oil (in a bottle with a brush). I used both of these products for a long time - always came back to them as they were my favs - but did not know until about 1 yr ago they are meant to go together per Barielle. You can get the oil also at Sally's in the B. Pro line - it has a different name and you needs to look at the products and figure out which one it is. I have right now a huge back stock of the oil so I have not needed to purchase it at Sally's yet - but when I need it next I will purchase it there - cheaper with the retail price and then my Sally's card too (and any coupons I might have). Highly recommend those 2. Also keep your eyes open at places - there are tons of good locally made organics like lavender and oil oil ones in tins. I love to pick up something new and give it a try if it smells great and the trial they usually have there feels good.

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  18. I'm going to try the Sally Hansen!! I have Burt's Bees and I also use OPI Avoplex Hand & Nail Cream, it moisturizes my hands and cuticles and isn't greasy or shiny so it's good for photos and in my purse! I also have Orly Cuticle Therapy Creme. I think it was a free gift with a polish purchase... but I haven't used it enough to form a solid opinion yet! ;-)

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  19. You should try LUSH Lemony Flutter and ORLY Cuticle Creme. Those are my favorites!

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  20. I use the body butters from bath and bodyworks...just love how they smell and moisturize. On the rare occasion I let my nails grow long, I use my knuckle to scoop a little butter out...works awesome and no tools needed. Love your blog =)

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  21. I hate oils. I managed to spill a bottle on a pair of pants that were pretty new and the stain will of course not go away. Stupid oils.

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    1. Try washing the spot a couple times with Dawn dish soap.

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  22. I really need to get a cuticle cream. these look great!

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  23. Burt´s Bees Cuticle Cream sounds like a good product.

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  24. Thanks for the post! I have Burt's Bees and I love it. I also love Lush's lemony flutter, but I only use it at night because it's seriously greasy! Love your new website design!

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  25. I mainly use Lush Lemony Flutter - it smells great and does a good job! And I love the Butter London Handbag Holiday Cuticle Oil. It smells like Piña Colada and gets absorbed quickly. The matte SH Gel sounds interesting though. Too bad I can't get SH products over here. Great post!

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  26. Is Burt's Bees like Lush Lemony Flutter? It seems to be smelling the same and it works nice, but I hate that it's so greasy...

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  27. I have two things of the Burt's Bees cream... One on my night stand at all times, and another in my purse. Every night before bed I use "Hard as Hoof" and massage it in, then I throw the Burt's Bees over it to seal in the moisture since it is more oily. Then I do it again in the morning after I get out of the shower...

    I also have NutraNail 5 to 7 day Growth Formula on my desk at work that I use every morning while I'm waiting for my emails to load. I honestly cant tell you if it works for growth, but it's water-based so it absorbs completely and very quickly and moisturizes my cuticles nicely with no residue or oil. Usually after lunch I'll use the Burt's Bees again (and maybe the Hard as Hoof depending on how dry my hands are).

    Whenever I treat my cuticles, I always finish it off with lotioning my hands. I live in Arizona, so it's pretty much always 0% humidity, so I have to stay on top of things. I only treated my cuticles twice this past weekend because I was so busy, so I'm playing catch-up right now!

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  28. Now that i see all this products, i realize that i have to start taking care of my cuticles more :$

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  29. Coming in late - the Burt's Bees is good. If you're having problems getting it out of the tin, scoop it out with the BACK of the nail, so you have a glob sitting on the upper surface. Then scrape a little bit off onto each nail of the opposite hand; use a finger of that hand to wipe off the extra and then wipe it onto the cuticles of the hand you scooped with. Then rub it into each cuticle and wipe off the excess on your hands with a tissue or paper towel. Leaves your hands nicely moisturized without it coming off onto everything.

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  30. I love CND Solar Oil. It smells heavenly, like almond oil - which is the first ingredient. Yum!

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  31. I love Lush lemony flutter also and Cnd Solar Oil :)

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  32. Some beauty experts strongly recommend eye creams. Why? The skin around the eye contains no fatty tissue and is therefore very thin and susceptible to wrinkles. Special eye creams are formulated to "thicken" this area.https://www.carlmontpharmacy.com/cinnarizine-domperidone.html Yet other experts (including the beauty editors of Allure in their new book) claim your daily lotion works around the eyes just as well.

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  33. You have lot of ideas with you.I love your ideas.

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