Those days are long gone when taking care of the looks was considered a thing only for the women. In today’s world, men too need to be presentable not only to succeed in their personal life but also to excel in their profession. So, if you think taking care of your hands and nails are not so manly, you are under a completely wrong impression. Taking care of your hands and nails is important, irrespective of your gender or age. It is only a part of self-care that can give you a well-groomed look. Dirty, dry hands will never add anything to your image but having those well-groomed hands and nails can certainly make you more presentable adding to your personality.
Taking care of your hands and grooming your nails does not necessarily mean spending hours on them, you can take care for them on your own without even spending much time or money. All you need, is some extra effort and moreover, the will to care for yourself. Here are some tips that can be most helpful for men to take care of their hands and nails,
Maintain proper hygiene
Maintaining the right hygiene for your hands and nails make the first step in taking care of your hands. You really need not to cut your nails very short, to make your hands look manly, but make sure that your nails are small enough to not to prick anything. Long nails might not actually look manly enough. Keeping your nails short is not the only thing you can do to maintain the best hand hygiene, make sure that your nails are properly cleaned. There should not be yellow patches or dirt under your nails, which is sure to spoil the total look.
So, cut your finger nails regularly and if needed use a new toothbrush with a mild soap to clean the dirt from under the nails. While cleaning, make sure that you do not hurt the underlying nail bed. Always wash your hands, focusing on your nails after having a meal with your hands, to ensure that there are no yellow stains left. Maintaining the right hygiene in the right way can do a big part in taking care of your nails and hands.
Scrub your hands
Only cleaning your hands with soap is not all, you need to scrub your hands at least 2-3 times a week to ensure that your hands are free from any dead cells and debris. Scrubbing is a simple process that can do a lot of good for your skin and can actually transform it quickly. After you have washed your hands clean, use a gentle scrubber on your hands in a slow circular motion. Make sure, that you are using a body scrubber and not a face scrubber for the purpose. The face scrubbers are milder and are more suitable for the sensitive skin of the face, but for the hands, you actually need a body scrubber that can do the scrubbing efficiently.
Before you use the scrubber, make sure that your hands are clean and apply the scrub to the wet hands. Scrub the skin of the hands with the scrubber for 2-3 minutes and then let it stand for 1 more minute before washing off with warm water.
Moisturize regularly
Moisturizing your hands and nails make one of the most vital parts of the hand and nail care tips. Moisture is necessary for the best health of the skin and also for the nail bed. If your nails are dry there is maximum chance that they will be brittle, which is sure to spoil the total look. Brittle nails are certainly not a sign of manliness but of lack of care. So, after you have scrubbed your hands, apply a moisturizer to your hands and nails, focusing on the nail beds and cuticles particularly. Massage the moisturizer lightly so that it is absorbed into the skin.
You should moisturize your hands and nails everyday. It is best to use the moisturizer every time after you have used soap on your hands, unless you are using a really mild soap.
Stay away from harmful chemicals
Do you know it is the chemicals of soaps, detergents and cleansers that harm the nails most? These chemicals make the nails brittle and are one of the major reasons of hand dryness. In order to take care of your hands and nails, make sure that you are not using these harmful chemicals very frequently. If you have to use these, opt for a milder alternative. Otherwise, make it a point to wear gloves while you are using these chemicals to keep your hands and nails safe from the damaging effects of these chemicals. Always follow with moisturizer application after you have used these chemicals.
Check your diet
In order to ensure that your nails are in best of health it is important to check your diet. You should opt for a diet that is rich in minerals which work as the building blocks for the nails. The right diet can really show the difference on your nails. Protein, biotin and Omega 3 fatty acids are some of the other compounds that can be best to ensure your nail health. So, include more of lean meat, poultry, nuts, seeds and fishes in your diet to get all the nutrients your body needs for healthy nails.
Stop using your nails as tools
If you are serious about taking care of your nails, first, stop using them as tools. Nails are soft and they can be easily damaged when used to open a hard lid or to scratch the paper. So, stop these common habits and keep in mind that your nails need more care than you might have thought before.
Leave the cuticles alone
If you go to the parlor for a manicure, the stylist will surely try to clean out the cuticles first but according to the skin specialists, using any harsh physical means or chemicals for cleaning the cuticles of the fingernails can do more harm than good. First of all, the fingernails of the hands usually have less cuticles and meddling with them can result into weakening of the nails. So, it is best to leave them alone and just to use normal scrubbing procedures if there is any excess of cuticles covering up the finger nails.
Filing your nails frequently is not a good idea
If you think that to take care of your nails, you need to file them routinely, you are on the wrong path. Filing your nails regularly is not necessary particularly when you have smaller nails that suit the men best. However, you will need to use a filer right after chopping of the extra nail length but make sure that you use the filer in the right way. Always file your nails in one direction; filing it in two directions only makes the nails more brittle.
Oil treatment for your hands
In case there are wrinkles on your hands or they look more aged, trying out some oil treatment can be a very good option. An overnight oil treatment can show the results within a week and you can continue it for as long as you wish to get well-groomed and beautiful hands and nails. Before going to the bed at night, wash your hands clean with a mild cleanser or cleansing milk to get rid of the dirt and sweat and then follow with the treatment.
Prepare the oil treatment by mixing 5 drops of carrot oil with 10 drops of cold pressed evening primrose carrier oil. Apply this mixture onto your clean hands, massage it lightly and let it soak for 20 minutes. Take a soft wet cotton cloth and wipe the excess oil lightly from the skin before going to the bed. Wash the oil with water only while bathing in the morning. This oil treatment will take care of your hands and nails in the best way.
Nourishing fruit pack for beautiful hands
If you are in a mood to pamper yourself, you can also use this nourishing fruit pack to bring back glow to the skin of your hands. You should wash your hands clean before applying this pack. Prepare the pack by mixing 1 ripe banana with 4 spoons of tomato pulp and 2 spoons of pomegranate juice. Apply the pack onto the hands and let it set for 20 minutes. Remove the pack and wash off with plain water. You can easily follow this treatment once a week and enjoy beautiful hands.
Whitening the nails
If you think that your nails have got some stains even after taking care of them in the best way, you can easily use a whitening treatment at home once a week to erase any yellow stains from your nails. Take warm water in a bowl and add the juice of half of a lemon in the water. Dip your finger in this lemon water for 10 minutes and then wash off with normal water. Follow with a light moisturizer to banish any dryness.
