How to Use Cuticle Oil Without Getting It All Over Your Hands
If your phone ends up shinier than your nails, start with one nail rather than a drop on every finger. A thin sheen along the rim gives you a useful stopping point before oil reaches your palms.
Set down the bottle and start with one hand
Dry your hands and rest one palm down on a towel. With a brush, wipe one side of the bristles against the bottle neck. With a dropper, put a little on a clean fingertip and keep the tip of the dropper off your skin.
Trace the curve at the base of the nail
Touch the oil to the skin along the base and sides of one nail. Work it in with the pad of the opposite finger. If that fingertip still has oil on it, move straight to the next nail. A bead running toward the knuckle is enough to share between several nails.
Try the towel test before picking up a book
Press the pads of your fingertips against a clean corner of the towel. If they leave an oily mark, blot the pads while leaving the nail folds alone. Finish one hand before switching sides so you always have a dry palm for the bottle or your phone.
Leave the skin around the nail in place
Oil is one way to condition the rim of the nail. If hand cream already keeps it comfortable, massage a little around the edges after washing. The AAD advises against cutting or forcefully pushing back cuticles. If a product stings a split in the skin, stop applying it there.
Hand cream or lotion after washing your hands?
Source · American Academy of Dermatology