Hand and foot care

Your hands are on the go as much as you are. From opening a jar to pecking away at your text messages, they’re working for you. You expect your hands to perform for you on demand. There aren’t many daily activities that don’t involve them. Even hands-free headsets are designed not to give your hands a rest but to free them to do something else while you talk on the phone. On top of all this work, you want them to look their prettiest. After your face, they’re the part of your body people notice most. Here are some hand-care tips to help repay them for their hard work and keep them looking as young as you do.
Your hands are easily overlooked when it comes to sunscreen. Get in the habit of good hand care by putting sunscreen on them the same way you protect your face. If you find yourself forgetting the sunscreen, choose a moisturiser for your hands with an SPF of 15 or more. Age spots or liver spots—brown spots that appear as you age—might make your hands look older than you are. They’re caused by sun exposure, so prevent them with sunscreen. If you already have liver spots, you can lighten them with products that bleach the skin.

Exfoliating is as important to your hand care as it is to your face. The skin on the back of your hands is very thin and doesn’t have much fat underneath. As you age, the small amount of fat that’s there decreases, which is why your veins and bones become more prominent and your skin can appear loose as you age. Exfoliating won’t bring the fat back, but it can help keep your skin fresh and glowing.
For hand care, lotion is crucial—washing your hands frequently dries out your skin. A light, water-based, fast-absorbing lotion is a good choice for daytime use. For night you might prefer a heavier oil-based cream that can soak in while you sleep, leaving your hands soft and hydrated in the morning. If your work is hard on your hands or you’re tackling a lot of housework, start and end your day with a heavy hand cream for extra protection. The 52 bones of a pair of feet is 25 per cent of the body’s total number of bones. Together with 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles of each foot, the feet absorb about five times the body weight in pressure everyday. Typical foot problems include sores, athlete’s foot, cuts, ingrown toenails, bunions, calluses and plantar warts. To avoid most of these problems, good foot care should be a habit, including but not limited to daily inspection of the feet, toes and toenails.

This is especially true for people with diabetes, because the nerve damage and compromised blood flow may keep them from discovering cuts that could develop into serious wounds and perhaps amputations because they also do not heal as fast. Other diseases will manifest in the feet as well, including arthritis, nerve disorders and circulatory ailments. The first measures to be undertaken for preventive foot care is the selection of shoes, socks and stockings that fit well. Some feet do not match in size so if this is the case, buy shoes that will fit the larger foot. Women are four times more likely to develop foot problems, due in part to the use of high heels, so avoid wearing them as much as possible or remove them at every opportunity to prevent sore feet. Put feet up whenever possible to keep the blood flowing and wriggle toes for up to five minutes, much like toe crunches. Walking is considered good for the feet as well as for general health, provided proper shoes and socks are used.

Purchase socks that absorb sweat away from the feet to keep from developing sores as well as fungal growth (athlete’s foot) and change socks every day. Choose footwear made of leather or canvass that will allow the feet to breathe and shoes should be changed at intervals. Foot powder can also be used to minimise sweating. Avoid hot or cold for your feet, and avoid the use of electric blankets and heating pads which may burn your feet inadvertently.Wash feet daily, rinse and dry thoroughly, especially between the toes. Nails should be trimmed straight and not too near the nail bed to prevent infections. Avoid digging out and cutting at corners; this could result to ingrown toe nails. Remove rough skin gently by first soaking feet in warm water then gently scrubbing with a small towel or loofah, but scratch it if you are diabetic and you have a wound in your foot, soaking will make it worse. Indulge in feet massage as regularly as possible, and have a pedicure about once a week to keep toes pretty but make sure the implements used are clean. (dailyglow.com) (dailyglow.com)