Give Your Beauty Routine a Helping Hand
Hands and Nails Letting You Down? Treat Them to Some TLC.
Aug 30, 2009
Taking care of hands often comes way down on the list of beauty priorities, but why let dry skin, ragged cuticles or sun damage let the rest of your grooming routine down? After all, they're on show every day.
If your bathroom shelves are home to long-forgotten tubes and bottles of hand cream, keep one on your desk at work or on your bedside table to encourage you to get into the habit of applying it every day.
Soothe, Soften and Tackle the Signs of Ageing
If your hands are in need of an intensive moisture boost, try L’Anza Healing Moisture Moi Moi hand treatment, £18.50, from LookFantastic.com, a hydrating cream designed for dry, chapped skin using an exotic blend of Polynesian botanicals, or Lavera Neutral Intensive Hand Cream, £8.30, with primrose oil and shea butter.
When you need more than just a rehydrating formula, because the hands are one of the first signs to show the signs of ageing, turn to MD Formulations' Vit-A-Plus Hand and Body Creme, £29, which contains Alpha Retinyl Complex, a special combination of AHAs, Vitamin A and antioxidants that work beneath the skin's surface to diminish the signs of skin aging and helps to improve texture and firmness.
Darphin’s Aromatic Hand Cream, £20, is a light, absorbent formula, enriched with plant extracts and vitamins that not only leaves skin soft and supple, but helps combat the early signs of ageing. It smells absolutely divine too! and Aveda’s Hand Relief, £16.15 which softens and soothes as well as increases elasticity in the skin with continued use.
If age spots and crepiness are an issue, Elemis’ Pro-Collagen Hand and Nail cream, £29, is formulated with powerful anti-oxidants to protect against external factors which dry the hands and cuticles, working on sun damage, strengthening and conditioning cuticles and nails and re-establishing the skin’s moisture barrier.
You may have a diamond or two twinking on your fingers, but you can use them to bring back the dazzle to your hands too.
Celebrity manicurist, Leighton Denny, who has tended the talons of stars including Kate Moss, Penelope Cruz and Jade Jagger has created Diamond Skin Like Silk Hand And Nail Scrub, £10, from LookFantastic.com which contains real diamonds, yes really! Well, you are worth it!
Diamonds have unique polishing traits and the scrub also contains rich hibiscus and natural loofah for their anti-oxidant properties along with avocado and grape seed oils for improved exfoliation and hydration.
It removes dry skin cells and deeply moisturises to improve texture, appearance and softness. Massage beads, lipids and internal warming agents enrich skin, cuticles and nails to keep them supple and healthy.
Give Nails a Helping Hand
Don’t forget that your nails come under daily attack, whether it’s being plunged into the washing up basin, tackling DIY or tip- tapping away on a keyboard.
Tame ragged cuticles to instantly transform the look of your nails. Although don’t be tempted to cut them, instead, gently push them back with a hoof stick after bathing and paint on a product like on Boots’ Expert Cuticle and Nail Moisturiser, £4.50, to strengthen and protect.
Nailtiques Nail Protein Formulas, from £6.95, treats specific conditions such as peeling, weak or thin nails or put your hands in the care of the Nail Doctor range, from £6.99, which claims to cure all complaints, from boosting strength to sorting out splits.
