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[ahkil]

Nail Maintenance
(Hands & Nails)

Hands never lie: they can reveal one’s age faster than a birth certificate. Take care of them and they’ll be your lifelong ally. Please resist the urge for long, dagger-like false nails; they may be fashionable but they hobble you too much by making you use alternative motions for day-to-day functioning. Also, long nails are not compatible with good lovemaking.

Always moisturize your hands after washing, and try to void hash soaps. Penny Island, Shiseido, Nivea, and Kiehl’s make hand creams that don’t give you that greasy feeling. Once a week, give yourself an overnight treatment: rub petroleum jelly or your favorite hand cream all over your hands and put on white cotton gloves. (This is especially effective with chapped hands.) The gloves feel odd at first, but the way it heals your hands the next morning will be worth the awkwardness.

CUTICLE MAINTENANCE

1) Soak cuticles in a solution of strong chamomile tea. Chamomile calms irritated skin.

2) Clean ragged cuticles by mixing two teaspoons pineapple juice, one egg yolk, and 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Soak nails for twenty minutes before pushing back cuticles with an orange stick. Rub equal parts odorless castor oil and white iodine into your cuticles nightly

NAIL MAINTENANCE

Warm a cup of whole milk in the microwave until warm but comfortable to the touch (about 30 sec). Soak your hands for five minutes to strengthen nails and hydrate skin. Milk is loaded with lactic acid, a natural alpha-hydroxy acid that
gently exfoliates dead skin, and its high calcium content will strengthen fragile
nails.

DAMAGE CONTROL:

Hang nail: Gosh, I hate this name. It’s so misleading. It has nothing to do with your nail!
This is a sliver of skin that partially breaks from the cuticle and is ugly. These occur when you don’t pamper your hands. Repair this by softening the cuticle for one week: massage a cuticle cream into the skin and push back with an orange stick.

Pitted nails:
This is a symptom of poor nutrition or it can indicate psoriasis. Smokers often have pitted nails. Eat more vegetables and see your doctor.

Ridges:
If ridges appear at the base of the nail and move outward, your manicure may be too rough and you could have a damaged nail bed. Be more gentle and the ridge will grow out. If you don’t have manicures, the ridges can indicate anemia. See our doctor.

Pale nail bed:
You probably have anemia. Eat more spinach and see your doctor.

White spots:
This can be a bruise from a too vigorous cuticle maintenance, or it could indicate poor nutrition. Eat more vegetables and see your doctor.

Peeling nails:
You could be using too much antibacterial soap. Use an oil-rich soap, like Camay, and moisturize.

Paper cuts:
Dab some petroleum jelly to ease the sting