I'm Hoping These Two New Cuticle Oils Will Heal My Busted Fingertips

I’ve written about my issues with cuticle care so many times, but it’s an eternal issue for me. How do people manage to keep their hands looking nice, while also (presumably) using their hands all the time? I’m constantly just trying to keep my hands moderately soft and my cuticles undetectable, and it’s difficult. I have tried many products I liked - loved even! - but I struggle with being consistent. I really like this Sally Hansen Cuticle Rehab tube, but even though I praised it for being virtually mess free, it wasn’t mess free enough. It took too long to apply carefully, so I’d either put it on really sloppily and end up with oil on anything I touched, or I’d avoid putting it on at all, becasue I knew it would take time (literally two minutes, but sometimes two minutes seems like an eternity). I resorted to only applying it before bed, but it was just so easy to not do, so I didn’t.

IS THIS WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL HANDS???

I really thought I’d solved it with the Tenoventen Oil I reviewed here, but it wasn’t perfect, and it cost $26. I’ll pay $26 for something indispensable, but this wasn’t it.

I haven’t reviewed these, but in the past I’ve also tried the Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream, the Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil, and myriad hand creams (my favorites are O’Keeffe’s and Trader Joe’s Head to Toe Balm).

I initially bought the Tenoverten Cuticle Oil when Target was having one of their 25% off beauty sales. I LOVE those. I use them to stock up on essentials, but also to try new things. They come around at different times throughout the year, and the most recent one was Cyber Monday. I got a TON of stuff, including two potential cuticle solutions.

First, Sally Hansen Cuticle Rehab Oil Balm. My thinking with this one is that it’s like the other Cuticle Rehab, but cleaner. It looks weird, like a hybrid of a Clinique Chubby Stick and those novelty erasers that make you think they are useful and cool, but they’re just erasers. I had absolutely no idea what I was going ot get when I ordered this. Turns out, Oil Balm is a great descriptor. It’s like of waxy, but it applies really smoothly and it doesn’t melt and become greasy once it’s on your skin. It’s really is a mess free version of the other Cuticle Rehab!

Here’s a close up after a few applications. It’s actually a pretty ingenious formula, and at around $8 I’d happily repurchase, and even keep a few scattered around different parts of my house, bag, and car.

The other product I tried was Olive & June’s Cuticle Serum. If you break it down, this is actually more expensive by volume than the Tenoverten Cuticle Oil, BUT, the application is better. Instead of a roller ball, the Olive & June Cuticle Serum has a little foam ball, which I think allows you to get more product into all the little spaces of your cuticles while still being mess-free.

You do have to turn the bottom of the tube to get product out and into the foam applicator, but if you end up applying too much, it’s easy to redistribute the excess product with the applicator. This one is the least goopy of all the cuticle products I’ve tried, and I love Olive & June. While it is still pricey, I prefer it to the Tenoverten, and I’d repurchase this in a 25% off sale, but not full price.

If YOU have a favorite cuticle oil that I haven’t mentioned above, you are legally required to tell me. It’s clear I will try anything, and I’m always on the lookout for a cuticle miracle.