How to Care for Hands? At-Home Oil Manicure, Natural Treatments & Soaks

Your hands are the showcase of your good looks. Your presence and the impression you make depend on how your hands look. Devote them a little more time and test the best ways to enhance them. Keep them healthy with natural oil manicure, prepare a hand soak or DIY mask!

I'm sure you devote lots of time every day to face care. You patiently add softness, smoothness and radiance to your face with various nighttime beauty rituals. Now think if you take such care of your hands?

Most people don't give their hands as much attention as their hairdos or skin. It's a mistake. After all, we develop the ability to grasp already during the fetal period and our hands work a lot since then. That is why they are incessantly exposed to intensive effect of many factors and harmful substances. Skipping hand skin care leaves hands rough, cracked and dry.

All the things that damage your skin on hands

There are lots of things which harm hands and make them extremely dry - not only detergents. The solar radiation and our negligence must be blamed too. Not caring for hands is the most common cause of poorer skin condition. Few people realize that skin on hands has completely different needs than other body parts.

Note!

Due to little amount of tissue and sebaceous glands, the natural hydro-lipid layer is too thin to keep hand skin from drying.

This is what makes hand care matter. You must support skin which is exposed to so many damaging elements. Take a look at the must-avoid things to keep your hands safe.

• Over-washing with soap which takes away moisture and changes pH.
• Washing hands in hot water, which makes skin lose water.
• Exposing hands to contact with detergents (no gloves).
• Exposure to frost in winter or intense solar radiation in summer.
• Regular use of hand dryers which cause skin dehydration.
• Harsh towel drying.
• Contact with chlorine in water e.g. in the swimming pool.
• Forgetting to regularly moisturize skin on hands.
• Various types of physical damage.

How to care for hands so they're not coarse and dry?

Since we already know what might be harmful for hands and what to avoid to keep them beautiful, moisturised and smooth, it's time to move on to the key hand care rules.

1. REGULARITY. The most important and prior rule says you must condition skin on your hands every single day. Using a hand lotion once in a blue moon changes nothing (or even less...). Only systematic care gives long-term effect so devote some time to hand care every evening before sleep, for example.
2. FULL CARE. Hand care doesn't only mean applying a lotion. You must care for your skin comprehensively, that is protect against harmful elements (already mentioned), ensure sufficient moisture, condition, as well as nourish from within with healthy diet. Only hands getting your full care and attention get a chance to look healthily and beautiful.
3. NATURALNESS. The skin on hands suffers most when it's in frequent contact with chemicals. I don't just mean detergents in cleaning products but also chemicals hidden in many cosmetics. Hand skin looks better when you give it natural care e.g. replace a lotion with 100% organic beauty oil.

Ways to get beautiful hands. Which one to use?

Want to have lovely, neat hands? Not a problem. Regularly care for them using the right cosmetics. Choose between three options: hand lotion, professional salon hand treatments or home therapies using oils and vitamin-rich nourishing products. While making a choice, think of your needs and affluence.

It's a key thing that you provide hands with:

• in-depth hydration and nourishment
• protection against loss of water
• protection against damaging factors
• cleansing and exfoliation

TOP 5 Hand Skin Home Treatments

Hand treatments at home are cheaper and natural, you can suit them to your skin's needs and freely modify. Taking quite lots of time is their downside. Despite that, a few reliable patents are worth trying as the effects make up for all the effort you put while preparing a home hand therapy. How to care for hands at home?

DIY HAND SCRUB

At first, do a scrub - exfoliation of epidermis is of the most important tasks. A mild scrub frees skin from dead cells and other impurities, leaving hands smooth and soft like velvet. It also stimulates blood flow so hands are nourished from within. That is why you should use a scrub regularly.

How to get round to it? Get a ready-made scrub or try easy recipes for DIY scrubs.

Sugar hand scrub

The easiest to make. Mix a tablespoon or two of fine-grain sugar with a similar amount of natural oil e.g. almond oil or argan oil. Enrich it with moisturising honey and lemon juice to whiten discolored skin.

Rolled oats hand scrub

Oat flakes make up a rich source of nutrients so make use of them in your scrub - they have amazing exfoliating power too. Crumble a tablespoon of oats and mix it with carrier oil, honey or aloe gel (or combine them all).

Coffee hand scrub

Coffee-based scrubs are famous mostly for their anti-cellulite effect but feel free to use them to purify the skin on hands. Make a coffee and let the coffee grounds cool down. Add olive oil (or other natural oil), a bit of honey and cinnamon.

Do the scrub at least once a week.

OIL MANICURE

After exfoliation, it's time for nourishing. Because the skin is uncovered and stimulated after a scrub, it's going to absorb nutrients instantly. It's the best moment for oil treatment. Oil manicure gives repair, moisture boost, nutrients and smoothness.

Which oils are the best for skin on hands?

Take a look at the best oils for dry skin that you should reach for. What's important, you can use them solo or as base for a DIY scrub, hand soak or mask.

1. Olive oil has antiaging effect and makes skin soft, smooth and radiant. It has stronger conditioning effect than many hand lotions and shields hands against the loss of water and the sunlight.
2. Coconut oil - its amazing scent isn't the only thing that makes it a good choice. Use it for oil manicure because it strengthens natural hydro-lipid barrier so the skin keeps moisturised.
3. Argan oil is perfect for oil manicure, fulfilling many roles: it protects against the sunlight and heat, enhances repair and cellular renewal, moisturizes, nourishes and has strong antiaging properties and thus delays hand skin aging.

NOURISHING HAND SOAK

There's another option for nourishing and conditioning hand skin which is at the same time relaxing. How to prepare a home hand soak? Make use of various ingredients (such as oils, herbs, seeds) to match the bath to suit your needs.

Herbal hand soak

Herbs, such as pot marigold, help skin repair, have protective effect and soothe irritations. Pour boiling water over 4 tablespoons of marigold flowers, brew, cool down and soak hands in the infusion for around 10 minutes.

Oil hand soak

Moisture-boosting olive oil hand soak is surely the most popular. The oil is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamin E. The treatment is very easy to prepare: slightly heat two cups of olive oil, add juice extracted from half of lemon, a tablespoon each of castor oil and honey. Soaking hands in this warm potion lets you deeply moisturize, nourish and... rejuvenate them!

Linseed hand soak

Linseeds are the treasure trove of valuable ingredients and you should use their potential. Boil 2 tablespoons of the seeds in pure water for around 5 minutes. Then, let the mixture cool down, dip hands in it and keep for 15-20 minutes to present softness to skin and lock in moisture.

DIY HAND MASKS

Homemade mask is another great idea to keep hands nice and neat. Use anything you've got at your fingertips - this way, you deliver a totally different set of nutrients every time. Here are the most popular hand skin treatments and masks.

Potato hand mask

It's extremely easy to use, whitens, nourishes and smoothes skin. You need to boil 2 potatoes, mash them with a fork, mix with two yolks and two tablespoons of warm milk. Apply the pulp to hands, secure with a foil or gloves, leave in for 15 minutes and rinse well.

Hot paraffin treatment

While speaking of hand skin care, paraffin masks are much talked about. Buy paraffin wax at the chemist's, melt it, apply a lotion to hands and dip them in the paraffin. When it slightly hardens, take hands out. Such paraffin gloves work like a compress which intensifies hand lotions, upgrades moisture level, delivers maximum smoothness and nourishment. After approx. 15 minutes, take off the paraffin residue.

Avocado hand mask

If you're wondering how to care for hands, make use of things you have at your fingertips e.g. avocado. This simple fruit is a limitless source of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Mash one avocado and apply the flesh to hands. You may as well choose its substitute, that is natural avocado oil, and enjoy lovely, healthy skin on hands.

AT-HOME HAND MASSAGE

A massage is last (but not least) way to enhance your hand skin at home. Feel free to use natural beauty oils too. Apart from argan oil, try almond, grapeseed, olive or macadamia nut oil. Massaging skin with circular motions for a few minutes makes it softer, smoother and more elastic. That's why, you should do it during oil manicure or right afterwards as it's the best way to intensify the effect of other hand treatments at home.