Take Care of Those Hands!

Hey Loveys,

Today's beauty post focuses on... hands!! Why? Because it is said that hands reveal a person's  true age. I guess you can take the best care of your face, neck, and decolletage to fight or slow the signs of aging, but ultimately, if you ignore your hands, they will "sell you out" and reveal your true age. That is, hands can reveal your true age  as  the skin on your hands loses its firmness over time, and leaves them susceptible to wrinkles, sun spots other signs of aging (I wonder if this is why Madonna wears those gloves all the time? hmmm #FoodForThought).

Here are 5 tips to take better care of hands and nails:

1.  Keep Hands Moisturized and Sun-Protected: To remain supple, your hands (like the rest of your body) needs moisture, so keep them moisturized. Further still, given the fact that sun damage can cause wrinkles and dark spots, protect your hands from the sun's ravaging effects by using a  sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Cheeky side-note to all my chocolate and mocha sisters out there: us coloured girls  need to use sunscreen too! Just cause we're not tanning, or just 'cuz we don't tan, does not mean that we do not need to use sunscreen, we need to use sunscreen ladies. It is an absolute must for every person of every ethnicity,  if you chose to go without it and want to take care of your skin, then, at least avoid, or reduce the amount of time you spend in the sun.

2. Take Care of Your Cuticles: Nails, like hands, need to be moisturized, moisturizing your nails and cuticles keeps those areas more pliable and less at risk for cracking, tearing and hangnails, which can open the door to skin infections.  I will be honest with you, I need to take better care of my cuticles. If you already take care of yours, I salute you, and will be joining you. If you don't, let's start doing this together then! You can moisturize your cuticles by rubbing your hand moisturizer into the base and sides of your nails, including the cuticles. If your cuticles are very dry, you can consider applying nightly cuticle oil to give it an extra dose of moisture.

3. Wear Gloves During Chores: Protect your hands by wearing a pair of cotton-lined rubber gloves when you are doing chores since hot water can strip the skin of its own natural oils (perhaps this is why it is suggested that you immediately apply lotion or oil to your skin after you've had a shower), and some chemicals in certain cleaning products can cause contact dermatitis. 

4. Remove Polish: It's important to remove your nail polish after a week of wearing it rather than leave it on for weeks at a time, and then apply a fresh coat to it when it starts to fade or chip, because an old coat of nail polish (especially if it is a darker shade of polish) can cause your nails to become discoloured and/or yellow, and can also weaken your nails. Side-note: Use a non-acetone polish remover, as it is gentler on your nails that a nail polish remover with acetone.

5. File Your Nails: I've just one tip to share for filing nails, and that is simply, to file nails in one direction only—using a sawing motion can create microscopic tears that make nails more likely to split.

Now, loveys, after all of this talk about nails,heading off to give hands some tender loving care, and hope you will be treating your hands to the same as well. Until my next post,

XX

Malika