Your hand & feet are beautiful : Care for them | Health Tips

Hands and feet are often the most neglected areas, yet the way they look gives our inner secrets away. Cared-for nails are a sign that the rest of our body is well looked after too. Vitamin deficiencies show up as weak and splitting nails; insecurity appears as nail biting; stress can slow growth; Spend a little time and effort sorting our dry, flaky nails, and hard, rough skin, and thanks to the latest technical advances in nail care, a perfect set of strong, healthy nails in now within reach.




Home Manicure


Remove old nail polish with a single stroke by soaking a cotton wool pad with nail polish remover. Wipe away traces of polish around the cuticles stick dipped in remover.


Using an emery board, shape nails lightly, working from both edges towards the centre. Avoid moving the board back and forth quickly, which produces heat that dries out the nail and leads to splitting. Try holding the emery board at a single angle under the nail. Don't file down the sides- the nail tip needs the sides as support, otherwise it will weaken and nicks form.


Apply a cuticle remover around the nail contours. Using the tip of a cuticle stick wrapped in cotton wool, gently push back the skin. Work away dead tissue before carefully passing the stick under cuticles.


Wash your hands in warm soapy water, and brush nails with a soft manicure brush so that polish will adhere to them properly. Pat hands dry with a towel.


If nails are weak, apply a strengthening or hardening product, paying special attention to the tips. Allow to dry.


Apply a protective base coat, covering the entire nail but stopping short of the cuticle.


Apply two coats of polish, starting with a single stroke down the center of the nail, then across the cuticle base and down the two sides without touching the cuticle. Allow each coat to dry.


Finish with a top coat for extra gloss and the shield against chipping.


For optimum skin and nail health, check that your diet includes plenty of vitamin A, E and B complex, and the minerals calcium, Zinc, magnesium and iodine. If need be, take nail-fortifying vitamin and minerals supplements.





Thirty-minute pedicure


Clean toenails and remove all traces of polish with a conditioning remover, as described for the manicure.


Cut toenails using a nail clipper and file into the desired shape using the rough side of an energy board. Hold the board slightly angled down over the edge of the nail. Smooth the edges towards the center with a light motion; don't cut or file them always as this weakens the nail and can lead to in growing toenails.


Lightly massage the nail contours with a cuticle oil or cream.


Place both feet in a bowl of warm water into which you have added a handful of bath salts or a few drops of pure essential oil such as peppermint. Soak feet for five to ten minutes.


Dry feet thoroughly with a towel and apply a drop of cuticle remover to the nail contours. Leave it on for a few minutes while you smooth away any hard skin or calluses on the soles of your feet using an exfoliating cream. Then gently 'roll' the cuticles back with a manicure stick covered with cotton wool. Massage hard skin again with the scrub, then rinse off in the warm water.


Rinse your feet in cold water to boost circulation. Dry them again with a towel, paying special attention to the skin between your toes.


Clean your toenails again with a cotton pad soaked in remover to take off any oily film.


If required, apply a hardening formula to the toenails, taking care not to let it touch the cuticle or the surrounding skin.


Apply a base coat, followed by two coats of polish, ans finally a top coat, as described for the manicure. Placing cotton wool between your toes separates them to make applying polish easier.


The cuticles on toenails are so tough, it's important to work on them with a cuticle remover at least once a month, paying particular attention to the little toe, which usually suffers the most. If you have a dry skin on your feet, the best way to remove it is with a scrub cream, which will leave your feet smoother and well conditioned, or best of all, use pumice stone for smoothing those rough patches.


For lovely hands always use gloves for washing clothes and utensils.

Soak hands in a bowl of warm water to which 1 tsp of corn starch has been added for 5 minutes daily after finishing the house-hold chores.



Massage hands once a week with olive oil and a little table salt added to it.


Remove ingrained dirt from hands with a 10 minute massage of sugar' and butter.


Glycerin, rose water and lemon juice rubbed on the hands every night during winter months keeps them soft and prevents ugly cracks forming.





For chapped hands in winters, wash with lukewarm water (before going to bed), apply milk-cream and put on a pair of gloves; wash hands the next morning.





To remove stains from hands ' rub with a slice of lemon or a raw potato. For nicotine stains, apply lemon juice and leave for 10 minutes before washing.





A drop of Witch Hazel in the palms is an effective antidote for hands that perspire a lot.


To keep hands clean and soft, soak 250 grams oatmeal in 11-12 cups water and leave overnight. Strain it through a thin muslin cloth the next morning and add 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp each. of olive oil, rose water, glycerin and diluted ammonia. Bottle and apply on hands 3-4 times daily.





Knees, Heel and Feet





Keep knees smooth by rubbing them occasionally wit. fresh lime juice or massage with a nourishing cream.





The winter itch that cracks the skin of the heels due to excessive dryness or the use of an alkaline soap can be treated by washing the feet at night in warm water and mild soap and applying a lanolin rich cream or mixture of glycerin and rose water.





Tired feet should be soaked alternately in hot and cold water.





Before applying paint on your toe-nails, cut triangular shapes of sponge and place then between toes to keel them separated, and save the hassle of cleaning the skin on the toes.