Women's Beauty Secrets

Chapter 11: Caring of Hands

Your hands are in action almost all day long and are relied upon to perform many different tasks. They are an important medium of self-expression and can be the focal point during a conversation so it is necessary to take good care of them, to keep them healthy and attractive, and to avoid unsightly problems. Few women have the elegant hands that they would like but it is possible to make the most of the hands she has by giving them a little regular care and attention.

Washing

Always remove jewelries before washing your hands. Discolored areas can be treated by rubbing a cut lemon over the skin. All-over grease and grime is better removed with a heavy duty cleanser. Careful drying is important as hands left wet can become chapped and are open to infection. Always apply a hand cream after washing.

Hand Care

If hands remain in water for long periods, or if they are subjected to immersion in very hot or very cold water, much of the natural oil in the skin is sapped away and dehydration results. For this reason, rubber gloves should be worn whenever possible. Since the rubber makes the hands sweat, it is important to choose gloves with a cotton lining, or to wear rubber gloves for short periods only.

Some women find that a barrier cream containing water-resistant silicone helps protect their hands if applied before some household jobs.

For "dry" jobs, cotton gloves may be worn. They allow the skin to breath naturally and if you apply a little moisturizing cream before putting on the gloves, your hands can have a beauty treatment while you work!

Always wear special gloves for gardening; they keep the hands and nails clean and protect them from cuts and scratches.

It is important to establish the habit of applying hand cream morning and night, and after washing. A jar of hand cream by each sink and wash basin is a useful reminder. If your hands are exceptionally dry, you may like to apply a richer moisturizing cream at night when it has several hours in which to restore softness to your skin.

Warts

These small hard growths are fairly common on the hands. They are possibly caused by a virus. Warts often vanish without treatment but if they are large and unsightly you may wish to use a wart-removing solution or to have them removed by your doctor.

Rough Hands

Severely roughened hands can be treated by immersing them for a half hour in warm olive oil. Alternatively a moisturizing face mask may be used.

Calluses

These are areas of skin hardened by friction. You can smooth them away by rubbing gently with a pumice. Afterwards rub in lots of hand cream. Repeat this treatment daily until the callus has disappeared.

Elbows

These are possibly the most neglected parts of the body; we rarely catch sight of them, ourselves, but to the onlooker our elbows speak eloquently of age and neglect. The thin skin quickly becomes rough and wrinkled, and because we frequently rest them on a hard table-top grains of dirt become embedded in the wrinkles, settling to flakes and eventually to calluses.

Scrub the elbows daily with a soapy pumice stone or bristly brush until all ingrained dirt has disappeared, then beach the reddened skin with lemon juice and massage with a good moisturizer. If you must sit with elbows resting on the desk, cup them in two squeezed-out lemon halves to soften and bleach the skin.

Hand Massage

Every time you apply hand cream you are massaging your hands. The vigorous action stimulates the blood flow to the skin and this is as important as the softening qualities of the cream itself. From time to time you can treat your hands to a full-scale massage.

Warm your hands by shaking them gently. If they are very cold, try immersing them in warm water.

Apply cream to the palms of the hands. For a night time massage choose a rich moisturizing cream; for daytime a barrier cream containing water-resistant silicone may be more suitable. Rub the cream well into both palms.

Now rub the cream into the backs of the hands. This is generally the driest part as the skin is most exposed.

Imagine that you are putting on a pair of gloves and work down each finger slowly. Concentrate on the joints and the sides of the fingers.

Massage the whole of the hands with smooth downward movements from the fingers to the wrists. Relax your hands and feel the tension easing from them.

Hand Exercises

By practicing these exercises every day you can help make your hands more supple and expressive, increase their strength, and improve the circulation.

·         Clench both fists tightly, hold for a second, then open out your fingers as wide as possible. Repeat 6 times.

Put your hands palm down in front of you with the fingers straight and pressed tightly together. Then spread your fingers, as in the previous exercise. Repeat 6 times.

Allow your hands to dangle loosely from the wrists. Keeping the hands and wrists relaxed and limp, lift up the arms from the wrists. Drop the arms and repeat the movement six times.

Stretch out your arms in front of you and rotate your wrists 10 times outwards. Then rotate them 10 times inwards.

Spread your fingers and using your thumbs, make a wide circling movement. Repeat using your forefinger and then with each finger in turn.

Nail Care

Whether you wear your nails short or long, varnished or plain, it is important to keep them looking their best at all times. Protect them with gloves from excessive exposure to cold, wind, water, detergents and other chemicals; concentrate on the cuticles whenever you apply hand cream; and include a regular weekly manicure in your beauty routine. A nail grows at the rate of about 2 millimeters each month and can take more than 6 months to grow from root to tip. For this reason, any damage to the nail bed or matrix will be obvious for several months in the growing nail. Similarly, treatment to improve the condition of the nails will show results only gradually.

Nail Problems

Included here are the causes of, and treatments for some common nail problems:

·         Ridges – Ridges on the nails are usually the result of damage to the matrix or nail bed caused by rough treatment of the cuticles. More rarely, they can occur after a blow to the nail. If the cuticles are left alone the ridges should grow out.

White Spots – These are normally the result of a bang or knock to the nail bed. They too grow out in time.

Cloudy or Stained Nails – Leaving polish on your nails for long periods, or the prolonged use of an alcohol-based polish remover are the most common causes of this problem. Let the nails go free of polish for a while, and massage them with a special preparation containing lanolin and protein.

Splitting and Brittle Nails – A problem for many women, brittle nails are usually caused by dryness. Wear rubber gloves when you can to protect your nails from water and detergents, and apply a hardener to the nails to discourage splitting.

Cracks – These appear if you file the nails too low down at the sides. A commercial nail repair kit can be used while the cracks grow on.

Hangnails – these unsightly slivers of hard skin or nail are caused by cutting or pulling at the cuticle or biting off bits of skin surrounding the nail. They can be quite painful. Hangnails should be trimmed carefully with cuticle clippers or scissors. Avoid them altogether by releasing the cuticle from the nail; push the skin back gently as you dry your hands. Apply cuticle cream regularly to keep your cuticles supple.