Pamper your Hands

It's Winter and for me it's 'pamper your hands' time! 

It's often the time when the relatively thin skin on my hands begin to suffer from the harsh and cold conditions and nails are prone to breaking. This year my hands have even been peeling and quite sore.

Over the last few years we're all been we've all been encouraged to use anti-bacterial hand gel far more which has exacerbated the problems!

There's little adipose tissue beneath the skin on your hands so they're extremely sensitive and likely to show signs of ageing long before the skin on your face. Hands become de-hydrated due to lower humidity outside and heating inside, nothing at all to do with drinking water!

Pamper your hands because frequent washing results in the natural oils being drained which can lead to dry, red or scaly hands, brittle nails and dry cuticles. 

Hands are as important as your face

Although few of us afford the same importance to hands as we do the skin on our face, it's almost as sensitive.

And yet we show off our hands every minute of the day and they have to endure so much more hardship! 

A little extra time and effort to pamper your hands will soon pay dividends.

To prevent problems...

• Wear quality rubber gloves as much as possible for household chores and gardening.

• Apply a good moisturizing hand cream regularly to raise your skin's barrier moisture level.

• Apply cuticle oil into the base of your nails every night to moisturize, protect, improve circulation and encourage healthy growth. This will also improve the appearance of your nails, protect your polish and give a lasting shine.

• Always keep a nail file or emery board handy to shape and smooth your nails and file only in one direction, from side to center.

• Exfoliate your hands from time to time just as you do your face, to remove the top layer of skin and reveal the fresh skin beneath.

• Don’t file your nails immediately after washing your hands or taking a shower as wet nails tend to break more easily.

And to remedy...

A lot of common issues can let us down as we age but with a bit of extra care many of them can be eliminated. 

Really flaky skin can be symptomatic of a minor problem with the immune system. Allergies or eczema can produce itchy and painful hands on both hot summer days and in dry winter conditions. 

But most of us who suffer with dry hands from time to time can help ourselves.

• An old fashioned approach but rubbing Vaseline or olive oil into your hands overnight (with or without cotton gloves) will give you beautifully soft skin the next morning and you will soon see visible results.
  

• Weakened or brittle nails will respond to a vitamin rich diet including plenty of leafy green vegetables, protein and whole grains.  
  

• For the ultimate solution you need Bag Balm, a product originally developed for cows udders (!!) and the reviews say it works miracles to penetrate, deep moisturize and revitalize. skin.

Pretty hands deserve to be dressed

Once you've achieved soft and attractive hands and nails it's time to show them off. 

Whether you choose a home or professional manicure it will make you feel more elegant, well groomed and - dare I say it - younger! 

Try using a long lasting gel nail polish that doesn't need a UV lamp like the professionals. It will last longer than normal nail polish. 

• Choose your nail color according to your skin tone - Warm or Cool. It really does make a difference when complementing your skin tone. 

• Dress rings, bracelets, henna designs are all beautiful ways to dress up and pamper your hands.
  

I found this on a children's website!