How do you prevent hangnails?

Make sure you are not rounding your nails too much when you cut them. You don't want the sides to be much lower than the middle of the nail. This way the whole nail grows out together rather than the sides growing into your skin.

This (along with wearing looser shoes) is what finally ridded me of the problem with a chronic hangnail on my toe. I would think the same principle applies to fingers.

moisturize yer cuticles w/ really gooey goo. i like mad gabs elephant lube.

Make sure you trim your nails regularly.

is there really a relationship between nails and hangnails?? besides them growing in the sides, which seems like a slightly different issue.

check this out:
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/47/70.cfm

There are many other sites if you Google a bit (which maybe you have).

Probably very important is addressing the cause, or stopping a cycle - like picking at them can create more of them.

I've been told that they are stress-related, and I've also heard that besides plain dryness that they can indicate deficiencies. After a little Googling, I found: "Frequent hang nails usually indicate an inadequate intake of vitamin C, folic acid, and protein." I also saw ZINC listed on many sites, and Vitamin C was in a few places. I'm no scientist, but it's a thought.

Thanks everyone for the answers. I take a multi-vitamin every day, so I think I have that covered. And like I said I moisturize every day, often. And I trim my nails regularly. I think I'll try a different moisturizer and try to keep my stress down and see how that works.

Get worry beads, and try wearing gloves to sleep after applying a gooey hand lotion.Not romantic, but will keep you from picking.

Ha! I always thought a hangnail was a piece of your actual nail! Fotr those who were in the dark like I was, here is both the definition and some tips for stopping them.

A hangnail or agnail is a small, loose strip of torn skin near a fingernail or toenail. Hangnails are usually caused by dry skin or (in the case of fingernails) nail biting, and may be prevented with proper moisturization of the skin.
When attempting to remove a hangnail, additional skin may be painfully ripped off if its attachment is not broken properly. This may lead to a painful infection called paronychia. Therefore, hangnails should usually be cut using nail scissors or a nail clipper; biting them frequently makes it worse. People with a hangnail should be careful to cut it all off and rub hand lotion into the cuticles two to three times a day. [1]
The term "hangnail" is misleading, as a hangnail is not an actual piece of nail. It's dead, dried skin, not nail, the latter being made up of mostly calcium and a fibrous protein, known as keratin.