For silky smooth skin from head to toe, make exfoliating hands part of your skin care routine. While the face gets most of the attention when it comes to exfoliation and sloughing off dead skin cells, you can keep your hands soft and youthful with a little extra care.
Exfoliating Hands Basics
How you exfoliate depends on whether you prefer spa treatments or you like pampering yourself at home. You don't need to spend a lot of money to exfoliate - in many cases, you may have the needed materials sitting in your kitchen pantry right now.
If your hands regularly feel dry and rough, exfoliating several times per week should improve their condition relatively quickly. People with oilier skin will probably find they need to exfoliate less often, while those with dry skin may find daily exfoliation helpful.
Unlike feet, which may have hard, crusty skin on them, the hands are not usually in such rough condition. Your hands may feel dry, however, especially the palms, knuckles and fingertips. Typically, you won't require harsh treatments to get rid of this dead skin.
At-Home Exfoliation
Exfoliating hands is not difficult and it need not be expensive. You'll find a range of exfoliation products. Some will be pricey (depending on the brand), while others can be mixed up in your kitchen. Salt and sugar are two ingredients you may have on hand -- they make wonderful, natural exfoliants when mixed with oils and juices. This is an easy salt scrub recipe you can create yourself.
Ingredients
- One cup sea salt
- One-half cup of oil, such as sweet almond, jojoba or a massage oil
- A few drops of essential oil, such as rosemary or lemon
- Mix the salt and oil together.
- Add the essential oil and mix everything well.
- Apply to your hands, taking care to rub gently in circular patterns.
- Focus on rough areas.
- Rinse well with tepid or warm water.
You can also try this sugar scrub recipe for exfoliating hands.
Ingredients
- One cup brown sugar
- One half-cup of same oils above
- A few drops of essential oils
Add more or less oil to create your preferred consistency. When you exfoliate, try and choose a quiet time when you're not likely to be disturbed. You may find this a relaxing way to end your evenings and perform this ritual right before bed. Or you may like early-morning exfoliations, giving your day a pampering start.You don't have to mix your own scrub recipes if you don't want to. Visit your local health food store, department store, beauty supply shop, cosmetics counter or drugstore, and you'll find a wide variety of scrubs perfect for exfoliating hands or your entire body.
Spa Treatments
If you prefer to have an exfoliating hands treatment at your favorite spa, this is usually a relatively inexpensive procedure. While it's easy enough to exfoliate at home, some people appreciate being pampered. The spa environment and esthetician can provide a relaxing retreat-like environment that you may not be able to duplicate at home.
A spa skin treatment should be calming, stress-relieving and restorative. It may also help you feel rejuvenated. You may ask for an exfoliating hands treatment as part of a manicure, so not only will your hands be silky smooth, but your fingernails will be gorgeous as well.
Regular Skin Care
As anyone who routinely takes care of her skin knows, it can be time-consuming to pamper yourself, but the results are very much worth it. Place exfoliating hands into your regular skin care regimen and you'll have baby soft skin from your face all the way to your feet.
