How To Have Soft, Pretty Hands
Your hands can become your signature feature when you plan a maintenance and care routine that helps to protect and preserve them.
Even in death, hands play a key role in creating a final image of someone we care about. Clasped in prayer, grasping a favorite object, or folded peacefully, hands are an important part of who we are. Shaking hands, holding hands, and clapping hands are classical ways of using these valuable appendages as a means of self-expression or developing relationships.
To have attractive hands that help to complete your overall image, here are some tips to consider:
1. Keep them clean. While it may sound obvious, it doesn’t hurt to keep in mind that clean hands are more attractive than dirty ones. Cooking odors, household dust, and schoolroom chalk can leave telltale prints on your fingers and palms, while oil and grease can deposit hard-to-remove stains. Make a point of thoroughly scrubbing your hands each day, using a reliable cleansing soap. Use a small brush to reach under your fingernails if necessary. A quick rinse with lemon juice or lemon-scented soap can help to remove strong odors like fish.
2. Use moisturizer. Daily moisturizer use helps to keep the skin on your hands supple. Cracked, dry hands are unsightly as well as unattractive. Use a moisturizing soap and rub lotion on your hands morning and night in dry climates or weather. You may want to apply a heavier cream at night, and a lighter one for daytime use. You don’t have to buy top-notch brands, though. Anything that you can buy over the counter at a pharmacy or drugstore and offers a hydrating effect should work.
3. Get regular manicures. Whether you do them yourself or have them done professionally, have your hands taken care of on a routine basis. This includes trimming and filing the nails, pushing back the cuticle, removing hangnails, and treating calluses or warts. Soaking your hands in a gentle solution helps to clean and hydrate them as well as prepare for polishing or other decorous treatments. You’ll love the way your hands feel after pampering them with special treatments.
4. Consider polish. Whether you like nail polish or not, applying a coat of color to your fingernails helps to protect them from chipping and breaking. Use a clear coat if you don’t care for colors. Or experiment with a variety of shades and hues to match your wardrobe or cosmetic dÃÂcor. Use two coats or more, and touch the underside of each nail with polish, for long-lasting preservation and an attractive finish.
5. Wear gloves. When the weather turns cold, put on warm gloves. Your hands will be more comfortable, and they won’t get that raw, red look that can be difficult to repair. Simple wool or synthetic gloves are fine, although mittens actually keep your hands warmer because the fingers draw heat from each other. Consider wearing light cotton gloves in the summer, at night after applying cream, to help your hands retain and absorb moisture.
Hand care is not especially difficult or time consuming, and the results can be fantastic. Invest a little time into making your hands look and feel their best, and then reach for the stars.
Written by Debra Johanyak – 2002 Pagewise
