Get Gorgeous Hands

While there isn’t much you can do to change the shape of your hands, you can definitely improve their appearance with regular care and proper grooming. If you do nothing else, be sure to moisturize your hands and fingernails several times each day with a high-quality moisturizer.

Steps

Caring for Your Hands

1. Know what causes damage. These are some of the most common things that can cause damage to your hands:
   • Dry air sucks the moisture out of your skin. This occurs during the winter months in dry climates, or in air-conditioned places such as airplanes and shopping malls year-round.
   • Water removes the skin’s natural oils. People who wash their hands a lot — for example, those who work in the health and hospitality industries — will often struggle with keeping their hands well moisturized.
   • Chemicals dry out and damage the skin. Hair stylists and people who work in cleaning jobs will often have dry, chapped hands if they don’t take the necessary precautions (the main one being wearing gloves).
   • Some types of soap (particularly old-fashioned bars and commercial soaps) can disrupt the skin’s pH balance and cause dryness and cracking.
   • Medical conditions such as psoriasis and eczema as well as particular allergies and medications can lead to dry, chapped hands.
2. Moisturize your skin. Because of how often you use your hands, you need to moisturize them more often than once or twice a day. Aim for 5 or 6 applications each day. This is the No. 1 most recommended thing you can do to improve your hands.
   • Experts recommend applying moisturizer preventatively, before your hands become dry.
   • Use a moisturizer with a built-in sunscreen if you’ll be outside for a while. This will help protect your hands from discoloration such as sunburns or age spots.
   • Drinking water is not enough to keep your skin hydrated: you need to apply moisturizer directly to your skin to reap the full benefits.
3. Keep a good-quality moisturizer close-by at all times. This will help you remember to use it more often. For instance, keep one in your bag, one at your desk, and one at your bedside.
   • A good-quality moisturizer must contain emollients and humectants. Emollients like lanolin, jojoba oil, squalene, and isopropyl palmitate lubricate and smooth the skin. Humectants like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and urea transfer moisture from the environment to the skin.
4. Use heavier moisturizers for really damaged skin. If your skin is cracked, chapped, sore, and/or bleeding, regular moisturizers might not be enough. A great remedy for this is the following overnight treatment:
   • At bedtime, apply a lot of petroleum jelly or another heavy moisturizer containing dimethicone, cocoa or shea butter, or beeswax to your hands. Then, put on a pair of cotton gloves and leave them on overnight.
   • Coconut oil and aloe vera are great natural moisturizers. With coconut oil, slather it on to your hands and then put on a pair of gloves. Aloe vera is less oily and more suitable for healing any cracks or sores you may have on your hands.
5. Know how to wash your hands. Use warm — not hot — water and a mild cleanser to wash your hands. Avoid soaps that contain fragrances, preservatives, and sulphates, which are drying. A mild, moisturizing, soap-free cleanser would be ideal.
   • To dry your hands, pat them gently with a towel or paper towel, and then apply moisturizer immediately after. Avoid using a hot-air dryer as this could further dry out your hands.
   • Some experts recommend that people who have to wash their hands more than 12 times a day alternate their hand-washing with moisturizing hand-sanitizing gel or wipes. The alcohol in the sanitizers can be drying, but not as drying as regular soap and water sessions.
6. Wear gloves. Wear gloves or mittens when you go outside in the winter if it’s for more than a few minutes. Wear rubber gloves when you wash dishes or clean the house.
   • If you dye your hair, garden, or do anything else that can dry out your hands, make sure that you wear gloves.
   • If you have eczema or sensitive skin, you can benefit from wearing cotton gloves when doing household chores like folding laundry or dusting. You can cover these with neoprene or lined vinyl gloves if you need waterproofing.
   • Avoid vinyl gloves, which can dry out your skin. The best options are cotton or leather or, if you must wear waterproof gloves, disposable vinyl.
7. Use a humidifier. A humidifier will not only help moisturize your hands, but also your skin and lips. It can also help with a plugged nose. Be sure to clean it regularly to avoid filling the air with bacteria and mould.
8. Have an oat bath. This is particularly good if you have dry, inflamed, red, and/or itchy skin. Grind oats (quick or old-fashioned are fine) down using a mixer or a mortar and pestle, then sprinkle them into the bathtub as you fill it with warm water. Soak for at least 15 minutes.
   • If you don’t have time for a bath, you can soak only your hands in a tub of warm water and ground oats for at least 15 minutes.
   • You can also mix ground oats in a basin with warm olive or jojoba oil, and then soak your hands in that for 10 to 15 minutes.
9. Exfoliate your hands (optional). Do not do this if your hands are severely dry or chapped. This is more for if you have relatively healthy hands that just look a bit dull. Do this up to four times a week, being sure to moisturize immediately afterwards.
   • Pay close attention to how your hands respond to the exfoliation. If your hands become worse, decrease how many times you exfoliate them each week. If they don’t improve, discontinue exfoliating all together.
   • A natural exfoliant you can make with ingredients in your pantry comprises 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar (avoid the coarse raw stuff) mixed with olive oil.
   • If your hands are particularly dry and calloused, you might need to use something stronger than an exfoliating cream — for instance, a pumice stone.
10. See a doctor. If you’ve tried everything and your hands are just not improving, consider seeing a doctor to rule out any health issues that you may have.

Caring for Your Nails

1. Keep your nails clean. Make sure that you regularly wash your nails when washing your hands. Use a soft-bristled nail brush to gently clean around and underneath your nails.
   • If you have stubborn dirt under your nails, you can gently scrape it out with a metal file. Just be careful that you don’t damage the skin between your finger and your nail while doing so.
2. Know how to file your nails. Get a smooth, fine file — a rough, coarse-grained one will only break and tear your nails. In addition, file your nails in one direction only. Sawing back and forth at your nails can cause them to fray and break.
3. Don’t cut your nails too often. Cutting your nails regularly can put physical stress on your nails and cause them to break or have growth problems (e.g. ingrown nails). It’s better for your nails to file them regularly instead of cutting them.
   • If you must cut your nails, aim for straight or curved edges to reduce the risk of growth problems.
4. Don’t cut or push back your cuticles. Your cuticles help prevent fungus and bacteria from getting into your nails. When you cut or otherwise manipulate them, you not only break that barrier, but you also risk your cuticles becoming inflamed or ragged.
   • It can be tempting to push back your cuticles in order to make your nails appear longer, but don’t do it! If you regularly get manicures, ask that your aesthetician leave your cuticles alone, too.
5. Don’t forget to moisturize your cuticles and nails. When applying moisturizer to your hands, be sure to work it into all parts of your hand, including your cuticles and nails.
   • Cuticles and nails can become dry too, so be sure to keep them well moisturized so that they look their best.
   • Putting oil around the cuticle is a great way to keep your cuticle and nails looking great. You can use household oils like olive oil or coconut oil, or invest in a cuticle oil, which you can find at most drugstores.
6. Don’t overuse nail hardeners. Nail hardeners can make your nails more brittle and prone to breakage. Unless your nails are very flimsy, fragile, and weak, you don’t need to use a nail hardener.
7. Don’t use acetone-based nail polish remover. Research has shown that acetone strips the nails and causes them to become brittle. It may also irritate the skin of your hands.
   • Opt for removers that say “acetone-free” on their labels. These are generally not as aggressive as acetone-based removers, but they’ll still get the job done over time.
8. Try a ridge-filler. If you want to put something on your nails, try a ridge-filler. This can help make your nail polish go on more smoothly. It is preferable to a nail buffer, which will remove ridges but will also weaken the nail over time.
9. Paint your nails. When painting your nails, start with a protective base coat (there are ones that also contain ridge-fillers). After you’ve painted your nails, follow it up with a top coat, which will help lock in the color.
   • Experts recommend using nail shellac instead of nail polish. Shellac lasts longer and helps prevent brittle nails by boosting their hydration.
   • Be aware that nail polishes can contain toxic chemicals that will weaken your nails or worse. Try to find polishes that don’t contain toxic chemicals. Even then, give your nails a paint-free break once in a while.
10. Fake a french manicure. You can fake a french manicure by running a white nail pencil under the rims of your nails to make the tips of your nails look white.
    • Just be careful not to damage the skin between your nails and fingers while you’re doing this.
    • Massage cuticle oil into your nails before applying the pencil to give them a healthy-looking glow.
11. Skip the manicure. Getting regular manicures and pedicures can actually worsen the appearance of your hands by increasing the risk of infection. In addition, hands and nails can become dry from the chemicals used at the salon.
    • If you don’t want to give up your manicures, consider bringing your own tools to the salon to lower the risk of infection.
    • If you must get fake nails, choose tips instead of ones that fully cover your actual nails. This will minimize the risk of damage to your nails.
12. Try biotin supplements. Taking biotin supplements has been scientifically proven to improve the thickness of your nails. Try taking 2.5 mg of biotin each day for several months, and you should see a difference.

Tips

• If you dislike the shape of your hands, there isn’t much you can do to change them. Try to accept your hands and love them for what they can do for you (e.g. draw, play music, type, touch). Chances are, your hands aren’t even half as hideous as you think they are.
• If you use tanning lotion, be sure to wear gloves while applying it, as it can leave you with dark palms and/or a weird ring around your hands. Once you’ve applied the tanner to the rest of your body, remove the gloves, wash your hands, and then apply some tanner to the backs of your hands using a cotton pad.
• Nail products that contain silicon and MSM can help strengthen your nails.
• If you’ve made a lot of changes and are still struggling with rough, dry hands, think about what other products you use every day that may be coming into contact with your hands. Shampoos can cause damage by stripping fats and oils from your skin and nails.
• You can make your own cuticle-moisturizing nail treatment by melting 2 tsp of beeswax and then combining it with 2 drops of lemon essential oil and 2 tbsp of sweet almond oil. Allow the mixture to cool and then store it in a jar. Massage it into your nails day and night.

Warnings

• Foaming and antibacterial soaps can strip your hands of their natural oils, leaving them more prone to damage. Avoid these if you can.
• If your skin is very damaged or you suffer from eczema, don’t wear waterproof gloves for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time.
• Contrary to popular belief, gelatin — both the supplements and the soak — will not increase your nail strength. In fact, soaking your nails in gelatin and water can actually weaken them over time. Studies have shown that calcium, yeast, and fluoride supplements are also not effective nail strengtheners.
• Fake nails can cause fungal and/or bacterial infections to your nails that can lead to permanent damage. Try to avoid these if you can.
• The liquid acrylic nail compound MMA (methyl methacrylate) has been named hazardous by the FDA. It can cause allergic reactions and serious damage to your nails. If you get nail enhancements, make sure that your salon isn’t using MMA.

Related Articles

• Take Care of Your Hands and Nails
• Wash Your Hands
• Keep Your Hands Germ Free
• Look After Hands and Nails This Winter

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by SuperPrincessjo

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