I have horrible, ragged cuticles and weird misshapen bits of nail bed skin...help!

[Greensleeves]

I want lovely nails but mine are awful

I don't bite them, so the nails themselves are OK (they have to be short because I play the guitar, but can still be nice and shapely and polished)

The problem is my cuticles are ALWAYS ragged, I get those hard hitches of skin that I just can't help pulling out (they then bleed and mae everything worse), there's always bits of skin that seem to grow down from the nailbed onto the nail in uneven ways, so when I put nail varnish on it looks lumpy at the top. I haven't the foggiest what to do about them can anyone advise?

Regular cuticle cream and pushing back with an orange stick might help.

Get cuticle cutters and aim to do them twice a week or however needed.

Go for a professional manicure every other week to strengthen and maintain the nail beds

I should follow my own advice because I always pick and bite my raggy cuticles!

Regular piling with solar oil rubbed into the cuticles and lots of hand cream might help.

Oiling - not piling!!

I use Body shop Hemp habd cream numerous times a day. If I don't my cuticles and skin around my nails become very dry. They then split and I need to pick them.

So a good start would be to use a good hand cream diligently.

Ah, I don't use any oil or cream or anything on them, maybe that's the gamechanger.

What the hell is a cuticle cutter?

You don't need to trim your cuticles! That lets bacteria under the skin. Just gently push them back if needs be. OP my cuticles get bad too if I don't look after them. Sweet almond oil (health food shop) is great to kept them moisturised. Anything with vitamin E will help you.

Urea cream. If they are really awful Flexitol Heel Balm which is 25% urea but it does feel weird on your hands.

10% still good and not weird feeling.

I do pick at the bits and with urea cream the dry ends just magically disappear.