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Recent
chilly weather and dry, gusty winds have been hard on
hands, nails and cuticles. That’s typical this time of
year and throughout the winter, when manicures seem to
look haggard just days after a trip to the nail salon.
Besides the weather, the repeated application of hand
sanitizer during cold and flu season makes fingers feel
taut and claw-like all day.
For
expert advice, I spoke with Katie Cazorla, owner of the
Painted Nail salon in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and star of
the TV Guide Network’s “Nail Files” show. She
talked about treatments, products and precautions to
employ during the season of harsh weather, excessive
hand-washing (and sanitizing) and holiday travel.
“We see
a lot of people for manicures this time of year, and the
first thing I notice are the busted-up, dry cuticles,”
Cazorla says. “You can have a great manicure, but
what’s the point when you have bad, dry cuticles?”
The No. 1
offense, according to Cazorla, is cutting cuticles.
Cuticles act as the nail’s protective barrier,
guarding against bacteria and infection. Snipping them
away opens up the risk of infection and the chance that
skin may grow back uneven or ragged.
“A
hangnail or loose skin is the only thing that should
ever be cut. Never cut live skin,” Cazorla says.
“Especially when it’s dry and cold out, you’ll
start to see the cracks and openings. And people tend to
pick at the dry skin, which is the worst thing you can
do.”
Rather
than cutting, picking or biting, ask the nail technician
to push the cuticles back (or do it yourself).
Once
cuticles are intact, Cazorla recommends using a good
cuticle oil. She likes the Painted Nail by Nubar sugar
cookie oil ($12.50 at www.thepaintednail.com)
for its delightful scent and 97 percent organic
ingredients, but she also recommends an easy at-home
remedy made of stuff that’s probably already in your
pantry. Mix a couple of teaspoons of olive oil with a
spoonful of brown sugar, rub it onto the backs of hands
and around the nail bed, then rinse off with warm water.
The mixture is an exfoliant and moisturizer in one. It
works not only on hands but also on elbows and feet.
Use olive
oil or cuticle oil on the cuticles several times a week,
especially during colder weather. This will keep the
area free of scraggly dry skin and help preserve your
manicure. “In the winter, hands get so dry,” Cazorla
says. “Freshen up your manicure by adding a clear top
coat to nails a few days after getting them done, then
rub cuticle oil into the nails and cuticles.”
Paraffin
treatments are an effective way to give hands a serious
dose of moisture, she says, especially for hands that
are cracked or rough. Paraffin treatments are done at
most nail salons. The treatment entails dipping hands
into hot wax, letting them sit for a few minutes so the
essential oils in the wax seep into skin, peeling off
the wax and rubbing lotion onto the hands. Cazorla warns
that salons that have a communal vat of paraffin wax are
to be avoided, because the wax is not hot enough to kill
any bacteria that may form from so many people dipping
their hands into the warm liquid. Look for places that
have single servings of the wax. At the Painted Nail,
hands are wrapped in individual bags of wax and then in
a hot towel.
When it
comes to hand sanitizer, most formulas contain drying
alcohol, which can leave hands feeling shriveled and
parched. Cazorla keeps a bottle of Bath and Body Works
hand sanitizer ($1.50 each at www.bathandbodyworks.com)
nearby at all times because the gel contains little
moisturizing beads that burst onto the skin when rubbed
in. “It has Tahitian palm milk in it,” she says.
“Not only does it smell great and do its job, it
leaves your hands more moisturized.”
Another
of her favorite moisturizing products is Mario Badescu
hand cream ($10 at www.mariobadescu.com),
which has anti-aging properties, is SPF 10 and is housed
in a purse-friendly container with a top that stays put
so you can safely stow it in your bag or take it along
when traveling. She names Eucerin as a great drugstore
option.
“Anytime
you wash your hands or use sanitizer, moisturize right
after,” she says.
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