Keep Your Hands Healthy

- Wear sunscreen: Hands incur sun damage just like faces do.

- Exfoliate: Use a grainy scrub on backs of hands twice a week to expose glowing skin.

- Keep cuticles neat: Cuticles function as barriers to bacteria and fungus, but they can often overgrow. Use a wooden or metal cuticle pusher after a shower to keep them in line.

- Liberate tension: Most of us hold tension in our necks and shoulders, but we can also carry the stress of the day in our hands. Give yours a daily self-massage to keep them tension-free.

 - Share facial treatments: Vitamin C, retinol, and alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids benefit the skin on our hands. Apply a bit of treatment whenever you use it on your face.

- Seal cuticle tears: Tiny hangnails and bitten edges can catch on almost anything, turning into deep tears and possibly leading to infection.

 - Keep them covered: Covered them by applying a liquid bandage product as soon as tears develop.

 - Keep nails short: Long talons tend to look garish, and invite breaks that can be painful. File nails to a quarter-inch above your fingertips.

 - Give nails breathing room: Specialist suggests you take a one-week break from polish every month.

- Tap, tap, tap! Believe it or not, tapping your fingernails on a hard surface excites nail health and growth.

- Get a manicure: Sure, doing your own nails is economical and practical, but a professional manicure every two or three months is a welcome bit of pampering. What's more, pros can deal with tough problems like calluses and flaking cuticles better than you can at home.