photo by bfcfranco
Hey Courageous Homekeeping readers!! Sorry its been a while since my last post. My family got the stomach flu (or the plague…as I lovingly refer to it) and have been majorly under the weather. Now that we are all healthy and the sun is out its got me thinking about Spring and wanting to look my best. Now when I say look my best I DO NOT MEAN head to the salon and splurge on 200.00 highlights or hire a personal trainer. As much as those things would be nice, I have very little time and am on a budget…as most of you can relate to! This post may seem a little odd…but its dedicated to our hands and how to keep them in tip top shape.
Our hands are pretty important. They cook the meals, hug the kids (well the arms help with this one too), read the Bible, apply our make-up, wash the car, yada yada yada. I’m sure you get the gist…hands rock! I’m becoming increasingly aware of the condition of my hands as I get older. I feel like there are VERY few things that give away a person’s age faster than their hands! Lets face it, we take care of our skin. We wash it, lotion it, and try our best to protect it…but our hands get the shaft! I wanted to give you all some practical tips for things that we can do to protect the delicate skin on our hands and help keep them looking younger longer.
Step 1- GIVE YOURSELF A MANICURE!!!!!!!!!!!! Now when I say manicure I DO NOT mean that you need to paint them bright pink, or red, or any color for that matter because they do tend to get chipped quickly when we are wiping butts and snotty noses and taking out the garbage all day. (ahh the glamorous life of a Mama 
) A manicure can be the most basic of things. You will need the following: Nail file or emery board, cuticle trimmers or cuticle remover gel, 3 way buffer (these ROCK…you can get them at Target), hand lotion, olive oil (yes you read that right). Now I’m sure most of you ladies have done your nails before so I’m not gonna get OVERLY specific but I am gonna tell you what order to use these amazing tools in. Ok here we go…1) Clip and file your nails, push back your cuticles (a popsicle stick works well for this), trim your cuticles or use remover gel, wash hands, use 3 way buffer(these are usually numbered 1,2,3…start with 1 and work your way up to 3 and you will have a glassy shine that lasts for WEEKS), apply olive to your cuticles and nail beds…it works great at keeping them soft and healthy and you already have it in your kitchen. Next throw on some hand lotion and voila…gorgeous nails! Plop that hand lotion on your night stand after your done with your manicure and vow to apply it nightly…it’ll make a HUGE difference in your hands and nails and you won’t end up smearing it all off doing housework!
Step 2- Protect the skin on the tops of your hands. You know…the skin the gets AGE SPOTS???? Ya that’s the skin I’m talking about! You all know how dark and wrinkly the tops of our hands get as we age? Well even though I consider that a badge of honor for a life lived to the fullest…I’d still like to prolong the saggy hand skin as long as possible. This is my method…there is no rhyme or reason to it and I have absolutely NO proof that its doing anything yet…so check on me in 20 years and we’ll see 
. I put on my face moisturizer in the morning and when I’m done I rub whatever residue is left on my fingers on the backs of my hands. THAT’S IT! I’m simply making use of what I would normally just smear on a towel to help keep my hands looking younger longer. See…I told you it wasn’t scientific…just practical!
Step 3- Use hand lotion
Now I know what you are all thinking. (insert eye roll…Um…I’M a Mom and I’m busy…I chase toddlers all day….I have my hands in nasty dish water and toilets all the time…I DON’T have time for hand lotion!!) You would be right! Did you hear that? I agreed with you! I don’t have that time either…and even if I did as soon as I put it on I would have to wash something off my toddler’s hands and it would all wash off. My solution to that is to do it at night before I go to bed ( as previously mentioned ) I keep that trusty bottle of hand lotion (I use the original Eucerin cream) on my night stand and right before I go to bed I apply some. That way my hands can just relax under the covers and soak it all in. When I get up in the morning they feel and look so much better! It really works.
Ok ladies. I know this post was very basic…please forgive me…but I feel that a “back to basics” approach is refreshing sometimes and it’s good to be reminded of the things that we often overlook in our busy lives! So take good care of those hands…we only get one…err two…or should I say one set? You get the idea!
Kelsey
Welcome back Kelsey and thank you!! I have already implemented some of your other very useful tricks into my daily routine and I love them. Thanks for the simple and easy to follow post today! =)
Great post, Kels! My hands are so dry right now because of all of the hand washing since they flu hit our house. I could totally use some lotion. Great, practical tips.
*the flu
A comment via email from Fiona:
Thank you so much for this Kelsey!
I do enjoy your emails. I’m originally from Scotland UK. living for the past ten years in Cairo Egypt. We all moved here with my husband’s job, and we’ve settled pretty well, with our four children attending an American international school and/or university. We presently have 2 now at university, and 2 elementary/middle school students. Homeschool is a virtual impossibility here in Cairo, as the youngsters need the social contact with others of the same age and background. The political situation her is not yet stable, and we may eventually have to return temporarily to Scotland.
My six year-old son is quite observant and complimentary. and appreciates high heels and my favourite Clinique perfume (just like his Daddy).
The other day. we were getting ready to go out the door and I noticed that his shirt buttons were not done up properly. When I bent down to do them up, he touched my hand, and said, “Mummy! You’ve got Crocodile hands!” I made a quick dash for the Vaseline Intensive care!!
This post made me chuckle, and remember that it is often the most important little things that other people notice, and we tend to overlook.
God bless, keep these posts coming!
Fiona.
Fiona thanks so much for your sweet comment!! I’m so glad you liked it! Your son sounds adorable…you are obviously doing a great job as Mama!
If you have any questions about any of my posts you can ask them here and I will be more than happy to answer them for you! God bless and have a great weekend!