Well-groomed hands are as important for a woman as her face. But if we devote a huge amount of time to a person, then we often leave our hands unattended. Or limited to a moisturizer and manicure. For many, such a careless attitude to hands becomes a fatal mistake. Today we’ll talk about what includes professional hand care, how to take care of hand skin at home.
Features of hand aging
Withering of the skin begins earlier than we are all used to thinking. Visual signs of this process on the hands appear much faster than on the face. At the age of 25-27 years old, the aging mechanisms in the woman’s body start: the synthesis of collagen and elastin fibers decreases, the processes of skin restoration and renewal slow down, and “skin respiration” is hindered. All this leads to the formation at a young age of a fine network of wrinkles in the hands, pronounced venous and dry skin. Violation of the production of melanin can cause the formation of age spots. In addition to the natural processes of aging, in everyday life we add to our hands problems with the help of aggressive household chemicals, neglect of sunscreen in the summer and gloves in the winter.
In order to avoid premature aging of the skin of the hands, it is necessary to ensure their proper daily care.
Basic rules for daily hand care
Daily hand care involves following a few simple rules:
- You need to wash your hands with water at room temperature. Hot water leads to dehydration. This makes the skin of the hands dull and ugly.
- After each hand wash, apply a moisturizing or nourishing cream.
- All housework that involves the use of household chemicals must be done with special rubber gloves.
- Cosmetic hand care procedures, which we will talk about later, should be carried out regularly.
Hand hygiene
Probably, each of us in childhood repeated the golden rule that hands should be washed every day. Hand hygiene is important not only for our health, but also in order to maintain their beauty and youth for a long time. Therefore, we will devote a few lines to how to properly wash your hands, when you need to do this.
To begin with, as mentioned above, you need to wash your hands every day and more than once. Here are the points after which hand washing is a must.
- Before you start cooking.
- After contact with raw meat and fish.
- After the toilet.
- After contact with dirty objects: garbage, dirty linen, etc.
- Before you touch your face.
Hand washing should last about 20-30 seconds using water and soap. Preference should be given to liquid soap or a grade that foams well. It is best for the soap to contain betaine (a natural moisturizer), various oils and other moisturizing ingredients. Antibacterial soaps are best avoided. Our task during the processing of hands is to remove dirt, and not to destroy the microflora of the skin of the hands. In addition, antibacterial soap can be aggressive, additionally dry the skin. After washing, apply a moisturizer for hand care.
Features of hand care at different times of the year
At different times of the year, the skin of the hands requires different care. This is due to changes in both weather (winter frosts, summer heat) and our lifestyle (in spring and summer we are more active than in winter and late autumn).
In the spring, hands need extra nutrition. To fill the deficiency of nutrients, a fat cream is used. Hand baths are recommended once a week. It can be both bath products from a series of professional hand care products, as well as a usual infusion of chamomile and calendula herbs. Various peeling masks based on natural oils can help remove peeling at this time of the year.
In summer, the skin of the hands is exposed not only to dust and dirt, but also to active solar radiation. Therefore, hand cream should contain sunscreen factor SPF. Relaxing baths with oils are well suited for this period. And most importantly, avoid hand products that contain alcohol. They strongly dry and dehydrate the skin.
The basic rule of the fall / winter period is to protect your hands from frost. Do not neglect gloves or mittens. Hand cream must be nutritious. And it should be used after every contact with water. It is better if the cream is from a series of professional hand skin care products. It’s better not to save on your beauty and health.
Professional hand care
Beauty salons and spas offer their visitors many upscale hand skin care treatments. Consider the most popular and effective ones.
- Hand massage. Hands, like other parts of the body, need to be relaxed. Massage is perfect for this. It can go as an additional service to the spa care complex, or be an independent procedure. Acupressure is especially helpful. Thanks to the delicate effect of the master on certain points, not only the hands relax, but also a healing effect on the whole body.
- Paraffin therapy for hands. Many have heard of her. But not everyone knows what it is for. Thanks to this procedure, the skin becomes softer and velvety. The issue of cracks and peeling of sensitive skin is being addressed. The maximum effect of paraffin therapy is visible after a course of 10 procedures. They are held every other day. During the procedure, professional hand cosmetics are used. Paraffin therapy is carried out in five stages. First, the client’s hands are treated with a cleansing spray, after which the master performs the procedure of hand peeling. The main task of peeling is to remove all dead skin particles. Thus, the effect of the procedure increases significantly. After cleansing, an emulsion containing 3% elastin and 5% collagen is applied to the hands. After applying it, a layer of paraffin is applied to the hands. With such a compress you need to sit for 10-15 minutes. After this, paraffin is removed. A special milk is applied to the hands. Paraffin therapy is a very useful and enjoyable procedure. She works especially well in the offseason. When the skin of the hands needs additional care.
Mesotherapy of hands
I want to say a few words about hand mesotherapy. This is a popular and effective hand rejuvenation technique. It fights against age-related changes such as pigmentation, fine wrinkles, uneven skin texture, etc. It is carried out by injecting a special cocktail under the skin. The preparation contains vitamins, hyaluronic acid and other active ingredients. The recovery period after the procedure takes from 3 to 7 days. The result is visible immediately after recovery.
Additional Hand Treatments
- Peeling. This procedure is constantly used in professional hand care. Thanks to peeling, the skin of the hands becomes smoother, the color evens out, and age spots become less noticeable. It can be of two types: mechanical and acid. For aging skin, the use of glycol peeling is recommended. It makes the skin softer and firmer. This procedure is best done in combination with a hand massage. So the components can penetrate deeper, and the effect of such procedures will be more noticeable.
- Baths for hands. This is a very simple and effective procedure. Most often, baths are made on the basis of natural oils or herbal decoctions. They help relieve fatigue, fight irritation and dry skin.
Differences between professional hand cosmetics and home care products
The modern cosmetic industry provides us with a huge selection of diverse cosmetics for hand care. It can be both expensive professional series, and high-quality budget products. Before talking about cosmetics, let's look at how professional hand cosmetics differ from ordinary ones.
- Packaging. Jars with professional products are characterized by a simple concise design and convenient packaging. The fact is that they are designed to work in beauty salons, where colorful inscriptions do not interest anyone. And the packaging of products for home use, on the contrary, should be beautiful and attract attention.
- Volume. Professional cosmetics is always available in bulk. It is designed for customer flow. Sometimes such products can be found in small packages. But the price will be slightly different from traditional tubes.
- Structure. Professional hand care cosmetics may vary in composition. For example, the acid content in professional peeling will be much higher than in a home product. Such products require compliance with the instructions for use. The misuse of such products can be harmful instead of beneficial.
Now consider the most popular hand skin care products.
Peels and hand scrubs
These products are intended for deep cleansing of the skin of the hands. They differ in composition. Scrubs contain solid particles. It can be crushed fruit bones, dry herbs, polymer granules, etc. Peels work with various acids: lactic, almond, hyaluronic, etc. Such products are found in almost all lines of cosmetic hand care products. It is also easy to make a scrub at home based on natural coffee, salt or sugar.
Hand masks
Masks are an excellent cosmetic product not only for the face, but also for the hands. They deeply nourish and regenerate the skin. Regular use of masks allows you to improve the visual condition of the skin, rid it of irritation and peeling. Modern masks are very easy to use, and the result is noticeable almost immediately.
Hand masks can be produced both in ordinary tubes (which is very economical), and in disposable sachets. To make the effect of the procedure more noticeable, after applying to your hands, it is better to wear special gloves. In the budget segment, we advise you to pay attention to products of the brand "Velvet pens." These products are additionally enriched with vitamins for the skin of the hands. This makes the product truly effective.
Bath solutions
For those who do not like to make herbs and mix various oils, manufacturers of hand skin products have launched ready-made bath formulations on the market. They are sold in all cosmetic stores. The composition of such baths may include various oils, extracts of medicinal herbs, various soothing and moisturizing components.
Before you purchase such a tool, carefully read their action and composition. Sometimes the components that make up these products can cause allergies. If the composition contains salt, then it can not be used on damaged areas of the skin.
The contents of the vial must be added to the heated water, and the pens should be lowered into this solution. Such baths are good to do before bedtime. They have a pleasant relaxing effect.
Creams and their benefits
Cream for hand care is the tool that needs to be applied daily. It prevents dry skin and performs protective functions. Hand cream can be moisturizing and nourishing. The choice of product depends on the season and skin condition. For example, in winter, the skin needs intensive nutrition, and in the summer, hands need additional hydration.
When choosing your product, pay attention to the velvet hand cream moisturizing hand cream. This brand has proven itself over many years of work. There are a large number of positive reviews about this cosmetics for hands.
As Coco Chanel said, the woman’s hands are her calling card. Therefore, do not be lazy, give them at least 15 minutes a day, and the result will not be long in coming.