Our hands and nails tell many a secret about our lifestyle. Whether they are being held or doing the holding, been waved around to bring excitement to a story, clapping for joy or being bitten during a tense moment our hands help us to communicate so much. They also help us to do so much too and all this doing, working, weeding, cleaning and typing takes its toll. So in appreciation for our very busy digits this month, I’ve compiled some tips and recipes to keep those hands a walking and a talking in style…

• Exfoliate for shine! Whether you just add a little sugar to your hand soap or whether you use your face scrub, exfoliating your hands with help remove any dead skin cells to leave your hands glowing. If you have any rough patches, brush your hands with an old toothbrush to help remove the dead skin.
• Dry your hands thoroughly after contact with water. Water can dry your hands and nail out. In fact when nails are exposed to water they swell and then shrink back as they dry and this contributes to brittle nails.
• Massage for health! When you put cream on your hands, don’t just slap it on – massage it into your hands with your thumb. It feels great and it helps increase blood flow and circulation.
• Don’t skimp on gloves. If it’s cold, wear gloves so that the elements can not dry out your skin further. It is also a good idea to invest in a pair of gloves for gardening and cleaning.
• Protect your hands from the sun. Cumulative sun exposure is the biggest cause of premature skin aging. Apply an SPF lotion to your hands every day. This is especially important when you are driving your car. The sun causes 90% to 95% of the wrinkles, lines, discolorations and more to our bodies and hands. Keep some sun block in your car.
• Give your hands extra nourishment at night. Apply hand cream before you go to bed – if you leave some hand cream next to your bed this will become an easy habit to adopt.
• Before digging in the dirt, scratch a bar of soap with your nails. When you are done working, cleaning your hands will be so much easier.
• For a more even skin tone or for stained nails, rub your hands with a piece of lemon once a week.
• Keep your cuticles neat. Cuticles function as barriers to bacteria and fungus, but they can often overgrow. Use a wooden cuticle pusher after a shower to keep them in line and NEVER cut your cuticles.