Hands

Our hands are on display every hour of every day. So their softness and smooth appearance should be an actuality rather than something we are trying to aim for. They are constantly be subjected to abuse through dishwashing, cleaning,shampooing,etc. so it is important to put moisture back in with lotions/cremes when we can.

The back of our hands has sebaceous and sweat glands which lubricate and soften the back of the hand, the palm only has sweat glands. Skin on the palm tends to be drier except when heat or an emotional reaction activates the sweat glands and produces what we call " clammy hands." The skin on the back of the hand sags and ages quickly, so we should always keep them well moisturized!

CARING FOR YOUR HANDS

Always wear rubber gloves when doing house hold tasks! Apart from drying the skin, soap and water on the cuticle around the nail causes it to weaken and split, allowing bacteria to enter. I actually had this happen to me this past year...what an ordeal! It finally cleared up after putting Tea Tree Oil on followed by Neosporin. I kept reapplying these two throughout my day, within 3 or 4 days,I could tell my nail was healing due to both products killing the bacteria. My nail has now grown back as strong as it was before! I can't say enough to dry your hands well every time you wash them!

During the summer, try using a filter creme (sunblock creme) on your hands to protect them from the sun. Also, biting our nails is a big no-no. This, too, can create jagged and uneven growth and makes nails weak and likely to split.When you wear polish, use oil-based removers rather than acetone-based which cause nails to split. You can use cuticle creme to rub around the cuticle to discouage hangnails too!