Dear Mary,

- Jess

Hi Jess,

We often give attention to our nails to make sure that they are well groomed and cared for, but how much attention do we give to our hands? As with the feet, the skin on the hands is very prone to becoming dry and irritated. Because of our many daily activities, our hands sometimes suffer undue abuse. To better care for your hands, try the tips below.

When you wash your hands after cooking with raw meats, gardening, using the restroom, and so forth, cleanse them thoroughly. Wash them in warm water with mild soap for 15 to 20 seconds, and then thoroughly dry them with a soft towel.

If your hands become dry, moisturize them with a quality lotion or hand cream. These products not only add moisture to the skin, but they add a protective barrier to fortify them against the elements, such as the cold and wind. It is also a good idea to exfoliate the hands from time to time to remove old dead skin cells and allow new skin cells to surface. You’ll notice an amazing difference afterward in the smoothness and softness of your skin!

It is also a good idea to use a dish soap with a moisturizing agent when washing the dishes. Or, as an alternative, you can add a teaspoon of almond oil to the dish water, which will help to seal the moisture into your skin. Wearing rubber or plastic gloves also helps to protect the hands from the effects of extended exposure to water.

If you have an abundance of hair on your hands, you can remove it by waxing or hide it by bleaching. One or two stray hairs can also be plucked, though plucking can sometimes irritate the skin, so this method, if used, should be done with caution.

For those of us who spend a lot of time typing on the computer, it is particularly important to take good care of our hands to avoid problems such as carpal tunnel and tendonitis. To help prevent these problems, take brief breaks throughout the day and take the time when needed to gently massage your hands and fingers. To do this, firmly press the skin on the back and then the front of the hand in small, circular motions, moving slowly toward the wrist. Then individually massage each finger with the thumb of the opposite hand, this time moving from the nail inward. Again, use gentle, small, circular motions. Then massage the tendons between the fingers. After you have finished the massage, add moisturizer to you hands.

And lastly, to protect hands during the harsh winter months when hands often get an especially bad beating, apply moisturizer regularly. In addition, wear protective gloves when doing outdoor recreational activities or chores, such as scraping the windshield or shoveling the walk.

Your hands will be with you for a long time, so make the effort to take good care of them now. After all, you deserve it!