Spotlight on hands

Most of the time we concentrate on our face tending to forget that our hands are on display all the time. Our gestures and gesticulations...

Most of the time we concentrate on our face tending to forget that our hands are on display all the time. Our gestures and gesticulations usually bring the focus on our hands, and the way they look give away our inner secrets. Cared for hands are a sign that the rest of our body is well looked after too, while rough, wrinkled hands and chipped nails can easily shatter the entire illusion.

So there is no doubt that your growing regimes must include your hands as well. The skin at the back of the hands is soft and thin and prone to easy wrinkling, while the skin on the palm is thick and tough and chaps easily. The use of detergents compounds the problem, giving you a pair of hands that you wish you could hide. Prevention through daily care is the only answer.

After your bath or any washing chore, always massage your hands with a lubricating cream, preferably one with lemon and turmeric in it. The lemon cleanses while the turmeric softens the skin. The combination also protects your hands from chlorine and detergent damage. Every night before you turn in, massage a nourishing hand cream. For combating excessively rough skin apply the cream lavishly at bedtime and go to sleep with cotton gloves on. Almond cream with a lanolin base is also good for the hands giving them a mild bleaching treatment and nourishing the skin at the same time. Once in a week apply your favourite face mask to your hands so as to cleanse, tone and smoothen the hands or better still, try and get a specially formulated pack.

Exercise your hands as well to make them flexible and to improve their circulation. If they are tired, give them an instant reviving treatment. Soak them for a few minutes in warm water to which two or three tablespoons of salt have been added. This also helps to get rid of waste debris and scales. Your nails also reveal your personality. While hereditary factors play a major role in the strength and appearance of nails, the condition of your nail plate can be greatly improved with proper care and attention.

Many factors have to be taken into consideration, including diet and general state of health. For optimum skin and nail health ensure that your diet includes plenty of vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin B and minerals like calcium, zinc, iodine, and magnesium. If needed, take nail fortifying vitamin and mineral supplements. Massage nails and cuticles daily with a nourishing cream or oil in order to replace the moisture and elasticity that is constantly lost from them. A tried and true treatment is to smoothen hands with Vaseline, olive or sesame oil and keep them overnight. As part of your hand and nail make-over8217;, treat yourself to a monthly professional manicure or do it yourself.

Home Manicure
Implements you will need: orange sticks, emery board, acetone, massage cream, pumice stone, cuticle cream/ remover, nail file and cotton wood.

Remove old nail polish with a single stroke by soaking a cotton wood pad in nail polish remover.

Wipe away traces of polish around the cuticles with a cotton covered cuticle stick dipped in remover.

Using an emery board, shape nails lightly working from both the edges towards the centre.

Apply a cuticle remover around the nail contours. Using the tip of the cuticle stick wrapped in cotton wool gently pull back the skin. Work away the dead tissue before carefully passing the stick under the cuticles.

Soak hands in warm soapy water for 10 minutes. Brush nails with a soft manicure brush so that the polish will adhere to them properly. Pat hands dry with a towel.

If nails are weak, apply a strengthening or hardening product, paying special attention to the tips.

Apply two coats of polish starting with a single stroke down the centre of the nail, then across the cuticle base and down the two sides without touching the cuticle. Allow each coat to dry.

Finish with a top coat which acts as a shield against chipping and also provides extra gloss.