Get Beautiful Hands

Around thirty our skin and nails begin to have trouble recovering from damage and we began to look noticeably older. This process can be most obvious in our hands because the skin there is thinner and thus more easily subject to damage. Some easy steps, however, can help to maintain our hands for years, slowing signs of aging.

Steps

Establishing a Routine

1. Keep products on your bathroom counter. Keeping moisturizers and hand creams on your bathroom counter can be the first step to maintaining your hands. Hopefully, this step will remind you to apply your products on a regular basis.
2. Carry products with you during the day. Moisturizing and using protective hand cream throughout the day can do a lot to keep your hands in good shape. This is especially applicable to hand creams that protect you from UV Rays. You will want to reapply these several times a day to protect your skin.
3. Establish a nightly ritual. Getting into the habit of daily care is important. Typically, a nighttime ritual is particularly favorable. You won’t be rushing off to work and moisturizers should have plenty of time to soak in.
4. Use gloves when you wash dishes. This will protect your skin and your nails. Your nails absorb water, causing them to expand. This process of contraction and expansion can weaken the nail.

Maintaining Your Skin

1. Use a moisturizing soap when washing. A moisturizing soap like Dove Beauty Bar will protect your hands from becoming overly dry. It also will not strip your skin of natural, protective oils, as many soaps do.
   • It is also better for your skin if you wash with warm, rather than hot, water.
2. Moisturize frequently. The key to good skin care is frequent moisturizing. Any moisturizer that you use for you face will work equally well for your hands. There are a great variety of creams available and little consensus as to which is best.
   • Although they can be expensive, many people now suggest creams that have anti-aging chemicals thought to promote the formation of collagen. Examples include Regenskin, SyCream, Neocutis Bio-restorative Skin Cream, SkinMedica TNS Recovery Complex. The efficacy of these products has not been scientifically established, and the scientific community is split as to the likelihood that they work.
   • For a natural solution, try mixing equal parts olive oil and sugar. Apply the solution to your hands
3. Use protective hand cream. Find a hand cream that has an SPF rating of at least 25 to protect your hands from the elements. Many offer additional benefits as well. Apply several times throughout the day.
4. Treat spots. Over time UV light can cause liver spots to appear across your skin. There are ways, however, to treat these. Apply Roc Multi-Correxion Night Treatment before going to bed to eliminate these blemishes.
5. Try a wax treatment. Home paraffin wax units can be used to coat and moisturize your hands. Dip your hands in warm – not hot – wax to create a thick coat of wax around your hands. Place your hands in gloves and allow the wax to harden. After the wax has cooled completely, break off the coating to reveal a fresh set of hands.
   • Companies that market such products include HoMedics, Therabath, and Artemis Woman.

Maintaining Your Nails

1. Rub cuticle oil onto your cuticles. Cuticles are the pieces of skin that surround your nail. Purchase a cuticle oil at the store and rub it around your nails. The oil should come with stick. Use this stick to push gently against the cuticles, allowing the oil to reach underneath them.
   • Other moisturizers should work, but might be hard to get underneath the nails.
2. Apply moisturizer to the nails. Moisturizers that contain urea, phospholipids or lactic acid can help prevent cracking.
3. Keep your nails healthy. Massaging fingertips one a day will increase circulation and prevent cracking or peeling. Eating foods rich in calcium, like dairy products, will also keep you nails in good condition.
   • Some experts now also recommend taking supplements of the vitamin biotin, but the science is still out as to whether or not this will make you nails stronger.
4. Trim and file your nails. Experts now recommend using toenail nippers rather than traditional clippers, because they make it easier to see where you cut. Beginning at the corner, cut in an oval shape using multiple cuts. Use a file to even out the nail afterward.
5. Apply coats. Begin by applying 2 coats. Then apply a nail polish of choice. Apply the top coat and then nail enamel.
6. Refrain from biting your fingernails. This will be bad for your nails and possibly even your teeth. If you find it hard to quit, talk to a psychologist to determine if there are underlying anxiety issues that they can help you with.

Warnings

• Keep nail polish away from children
• never inhale nail polish

Things You'll Need

• Nail polishes
• Top coat and base coat
• Baby wipes or makeup wipes
• Nail polish remover and q tips
• Nail clipper and nail file
• Hand cream
• cuticle oil

Related Articles

• Get Beautiful, Glowing Skin
• Get Healthy, Clean and Good Looking Hands and Nails
• Have Super Soft Hands (Overnight Method)
• Make Your Feet Beautiful

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by cutepolish

See also

• Care for Your Face (Males)
• Heal Raw Skin
• Use a Glycolic Acid Peel
• Know if Sunscreen Has Expired
• Heal over Exfoliated Skin
• Wear a Face Shield
• Stop Hard Water from Ruining Your Skin
• Choose a Natural Sunscreen
• Wear Makeup when You Have Eczema
• Make a Charcoal Peel‐Off Facial Mask

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