Many women enter salons with the goal of improving the beauty of their hands and nails. However, the appearance of your hands and nails starts at home with good care and maintenance. If you treat your hands and nails badly at home, even the best cosmetologists will have a difficult time giving you an aesthetically-pleasing result. Here are some tips we have cultivated from the experts to help you with your hand and nail care at home.
Protect Your Hands From The Elements
Lots of women are constantly focused on their faces with regards to moisturizing, protecting their skin from the sun and other elements and proper daily cleansing. However, few people seem to realize that hands need this same type of care. For instance, when it is cold and dry outside, remember to moisturize your hands and use gloves. This is especially important in the time of the pandemic where excess use of rubbing alcohol can dry out your hands more and make them susceptible to being dehydrated and cracking in the cold weather.
Moisturize Regularly
As we briefly alluded to above, moisturizing is an incredibly important part of taking care of your hands and nails. Without regular hydration, your skin and cuticles will dry out and this effect will be especially pronounced in the winter. As a tip, you should apply moisturizer to damp skin after getting out of the shower in order to lock in hydration.
Use Sunblock On Your Hands
Just like you face, UV rays from the sun can prematurely age the skin on your hands. Therefore, it is important to apply sunblock to your hands even if you don’t think you will be exposed to much sun. Hands get exposed to more sun than most of our body and for this reason need extra protection.
Exfoliate The Skin On Your Hands
It is recommended by skin experts that you should exfoliate the skin on your hands at least once a week and a sugar scrub is a great way to do this. Following this rule is a great way to keep your hands smooth and soft.
Get Your Own Cuticle Oil
While your nail technician might use a little cuticle oil on you before your manicure, cuticle oil is not only for days when you are getting manicures. If you invest in some cuticle oil for your home and apply a little every day in the morning, this can go a long way towards keeping you properly moisturized.
Wear Gloves In The Kitchen
Like protecting your hands from the cold, wearing gloves in the kitchen will not only extend the life of your manicure but it will also protect your hands. Extreme heat, grease and excessive exposure to water can all wreak havoc on your hands and nails. So, don’t forget to put on your gloves when it’s time to cook or clean.
File Nails In One Direction
Although the need to file your nails in one direction is disputed by some nail technicians as unnecessary, others say it prevents the edges of your nails from being rough and frayed and, frankly, it doesn’t hurt. So, if you want to go the extra mile for your nails, make sure to only file in one direction.
Do Not Peel Off Nail Gels
One temptation many people have when a manicure is beginning to leave is to peel off the remaining pieces of gel. However, this can actually strip your nails which leaves them extremely weak and fragile. Therefore, if you want to remove the nail polish which remains after a manicure has begun to age, you should do so by soaking your nails in acetone and then using a cotton ball to remove the polish.
Don’t Bathe With Super Hot Water
While it might feel great to take a super hot shower after a long day, excessively hot water can actually strip essential moisture and oils from your hands. Therefore, using lukewarm water is more advisable if you want to avoid drying out your hands.
Conclusion
While many women focus on skincare for their face, few are focused on providing that same level of attention to their hands. However, if you are going to pay for nail polishes and manicures, you might as well put in a little extra legwork to make your hands and nails look as beautiful as possible. Hopefully the tips we have listed above will do just that.