Show your hands some love too

Poor hands. They do everything. And they are said, alongside the neck, to be the first place that shows your age. I know you see it advertised everywhere, but jettison the antibacterial handwash. These are pimped up soaps that do not do anything extraordinary. For one, it is a normal soap with one extra ingredient — triclosan — which is meant to kill bacteria. But, hold that thought.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “there isn’t enough science to show that over-the-counter antibacterial soaps are better at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water. To date, the benefits of using antibacterial hand soap haven’t been proven.

In addition, the wide use of these products over a long time has raised the questions of potential negative effects on your health.” Note that this, FDA’s final rule, only applies to consumer antibacterial soaps and body washes used with water.

“It does not apply to hand sanitisers or hand wipes.” Or any of the antibacterial soaps used in health care settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. So far, animal studies have indicated triclosan affects how hormones interact in the body. More research is needed for humans. Arm yourself with hand cream. Your handbag needs to have room for a tube of hand cream.

There is an array of hand creams in the market, some even have sunscreen to separate day use from night use. I say whatever you apply to your face, apply it on your hands. When you apply anti-ageing cream, sunscreen, night cream, retinol, face oils or any other unguents, rub it on the back of your hands and massage it into your fingers.

Buying more products

You do not need a separate hand routine that sucks up your time. Not only will this practice keep your skin supple, but it will also eventually start to pay off the same way these ingredients work on your face. Do not be tricked into buying more products. That being said, with the number of times we are washing our hands quadrupling, you definitely want to carry hand cream with you everywhere you go.

Look for hand creams that have glycerin and urea. They draw moisture from the air around you. We take the time to exfoliate our faces and even bodies, but how much time is spent deliberately scrubbing the hands? You know those granulated scrubs that are still popular as facial scrubs? Use them on your hands. Massage it into your plain fingernails and fingertips.

Use it on the back of your hands and palms. Be thorough about it too. Homemade scrubs that will do wonders for your hands include salt and sugar scrubs. It will leave your hands soft and smooth. Rinse, and then moisturise.

 Do this before you go to bed at night. Then treat your hands with your facial products. Let repairs take place as you sleep. A big advantage when it comes to using facial products on your hands is that you will not be treating inflammation or reactions your face has to your hand cream.

Especially if you tend to fall asleep on your hands.Hands don’t have to look gussied up with nail polish to be attractive. Nude, pale pink shades that look like your nail bed and even clear polish can do wonders for your hands.

All you need to do is identify the shape of your nails, and file them gently along those lines. Your natural nail shape will not go out of style. Not all of us want stiletto nails. Not all women wish to have the classic oval nail either; square tips can still work just fine. To discern your nail shape, look at the natural curve around your cuticles.

Try as much as possible to match it with your nail tips. This, however, is not mandatory. You can play around with trends. If you don’t know how to, go to the salon and have them show you how. Nail length is a matter of personal preference. I won’t decide for you whether you want to keep them long, short or medium. Get yourself a bottle of cuticle oil.

Cutting off cuticles

Apply it around the cuticle every time you get a chance. It could be when you are working from home and typing away, or when you moisturise your hands during the day, or just before bed when you massage your nails. You could use your facial oil, but those tend to be expensive, and cuticle oil comes with a precision brush.

You could also get a cuticle pen and raw around your cuticles. Do not develop the habit of cutting them off either. They are meant to be pushed back. The trend of cutting off cuticles should be dead by now. They never caused any harm to your fingers, so why are you slicing them off? Never wash your hands with scalding hot water.

 It only makes them dry and dehydrated. It doesn’t kill germs faster or anything that magical. Instead, use lukewarm water if you’re looking for a warm temperature. If you tend to use hand sanitisers with 70 percent and above alcohol bases, then you will need to first wash your hands before you apply hand cream.

Don’t layer your hand cream with sanitiser. And be sure you don’t have any nicks on your hands or the sanitiser will sting like you won’t believe. If you carry hand sanitiser, look for something gentle. It can still have the alcoholic content of course, but it can also have calendula and chamomile. If detergent causes your hands to turn dark and feel itchy, you have two options.

Change your detergent to something gentler on your hands or wear rubber gloves. Detergent can cause contact dermatitis even though a number of manufacturers swear their detergents are tough on clothes and gentle on the skin. Do what’s best for you.