answered Jul 16, 2009 at 03:48PM
That's a good question and I would be intersted to hear what a medical professional would say. In my personal experience, the only thing that has helped me has been moisturizing my cuticles. You can do so with regular lotions, but I think cuticle oil is the best. Another thing to note is that trimming your cuticles (as they do in salons) typically creates more hangnails than you would otherwise get.
I hope that helps... I look forward to seeing some other answers from experts!