Hint: not diamonds. But my 5 time-tested and no-brainer rules for obtaining gorgeous, silky smooth hands!
Since they say that hands (and neck, but that’s another story) give away your age, I was pretty happy with the condition of mine and assumed that it was in the genes or something. Women kept complimenting me and asking what magic hand lotion I would use, and were visibly disappointed when I said “none particular?” One day then, having watched others go about their life and do this and that and comparing them to myself, epiphany stroke me: I simply protect my hands more than most people do! Let me share with you, how 🙂
NB: All five rules are obvisouly fab for both men and women!
RULE #1
Always protect your hands. Wear protective/rubber gloves when dealing with water, solvents, detergents, soil, dyes, chemicals, dirt, motor oil… you name it. Wear warm gloves in autumn and winter, wear lace gloves in summer, wear sports gloves, biking gloves, motorcycling gloves, convertible gloves… Wear satin gloves when you put on your finest lingerie. Well, you get the idea.
RULE #2
Use (non-toxic) sunscreen on your hands when going out. This will help prevent sun damage and brown spots later; also the added perk of the mostly “heavy” sunscreen formulas is that they create a thin protective layer on the skin. (My favourite sunscreen is almost perfect – but it contains beeswax, so it isn’t vegan.)
RULE #3
Everything is flowing… Wash you hands as often as you need to (particularly beneficial during them flu months) but get a mild liquid soap your skin loves. Why liquid soap? Look it up -> here!
RULE #4
Find a hand lotion that’s right for you and… don’t use it.
Surprised? Well, obviously you should use it from time to time, just don’t make it a daily habit – your skin can get “used” to lotions and stop regulating itself (the chapstick effect).
A hand massage feels just great and refreshes the mind after you’ve kept your hands clenched, hovering over your laptop – but your hands will love a few drops of a nice virgin oil a lot more.
I think it’s really hard to recommend a hand lotion because our requirements differ quite a lot. Let me just name my criteria:
1. vegan & cruelty-free,
2. palmoil free (read here, why),
3. certified organic AND without ugly chemicals/toxins sneaked in;
4. no wheat protein (check out this post on wheat allergy and cosmetics);
5. no Retinol or other drying ingredients;
6. not too greasy.
RULE #5
And the ultimate beauty secret for soft hands is: forget the fuss and get your overnight treatment!
From time to time, really maybe every couple months, I treat myself to a little hand massage with oil (brokkoli seed for me please), slather on a mix of my fave hand lotion + a few drops of Vitamin E from capsultes (drugstore or pharmacy) and slip on my pink cotton gloves.
All those 5 rules are super easy to follow, but of course nothing beats a healthy diet and a good state of health when it comes to great skin. A fact no beauty blogger should forget to mention! 😉
Have a healthy end of the week, Adventurers!
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brilliant tips. exactly what i need. xo thank you
gone shopping for gloves, huh? 😉
yep!
I really, really need to start using gloves when I do the dishes. Great post as usual chica! 🙂
yes, and your hands will love you for doing it!
I do wear gloves, most of the time, but probably I need to wear them ALL the time because my hands do still get dry.
I swear by cotton gloves overnight!
Yes, that does work very well; if I remember to do it!
you have to try vitamin E capsules, if you’re not allergic to it. there are capsules that contain pure plant-derived vit E – it’s very oily and smells (well, to me) like a cucumber that is wrapped in algae, but it works wonders on chapped hands and fingers 🙂
Ah; I was using organic rosehip oil by Trilogy.
that beats E capsules by far. luxuriös!
Oh I am pleased to hear it 🙂
luxurious (german autocorrect is german)
🙂
Good advice. Very good even. Love the part about NOT using the hand cream. I think years ago there was a talk show that discussed the use of Chapstick actually drying the lips because the lips would get used to the constant smothering. That made a lot of sense to me. Overdoing anything to our skin is a no-no. Yet so hard to resist those deliciously-scented lotions & potions! Now I have incentive to buy some awesome looking multi-purpose gloves, so we’re good 😉
yup, you’re right, that makes sense. because our skin is an organ and normally *NEEDS* only the supply we give our other organs – food, water…
and hey, isn’t “deliciously scented” the first symptom that actually says “please check my ingredients, stat!” 😉
well, p r e t t y sure it doesn’t come under #kindtotheplanet but we had a most glorious (free) handcream from Bulgari *gasps* in the very Nice satin wrapped business class Pouch that they gave us on Emirates.
*spoiledrotten*
but the hands are very s m o o th.
bulgari are pretty strongly rooted in the luxury travel, aren’t they? 😉 I actually used to love hotels that had bulgari beauty… on display… in the marble bathrooms…
sort of wrong and decadent and not quite suitable for these times of austerity but yes – d i v i n e all the same.
I am all for decadent – just for the “right” decadent 🙂 if I can support a wonderful business today and not tomorrow, I do! like with the 7 virtues, or our The Good Shopping event. would totally like your personal & professional opinion 🙂 *points out to yesterday’s post*
coming to visit right now!
satin gloves with lingerie? umm love that you included that! I think our BAH characters should adopt that trend too 😉
oh! good idea! will fit it into the story… *draw*screech*
As per usual, totally common sense and yet, do I do these things? *sadly, shaking my head no* And I need to. When we were travelling like crazy, I really tried to cover up and protect my face and chest especially. But unless you wear gloves (something that is not so appealing when it is 40°C out), hands are hard to hide! So they really took a beating. Le sigh. And I wash my hands a kajillion times a day because of the dogs. With…the dishwashing soap on the counter. *Put that shoe down! Don’t throw it at me!!!* So I guess I have some rethinking to do…
*raises brows*
dish.
washing.
soap.
*gasps*
that’s what my mom keeps doing and then asking me how to get the hands smoother. as you see in this post, dear Heather, it’s not a matter of time- or cost-intensive treatments, it’s only about treating your hands with respect for what they do for us and not adding on harmful stuff 🙂 besides, I have one liquid soap dispenser in the kitch, right next to the dishwasher liquid 🙂
I am soorrryyy! I will change!!!!
*bisous* 😉