Many teens do not value the beauty of their hands. Your hands are used for so many things, such as washing and cooking, and in the future, it is home for a wedding band. If you have hands that are cracked and hardened and fingernails that are dirty, people will look scornful at you and no one in their right mind would want you to take care of their baby or cook their food.

Although you may not think too much of your hands, it’s always important to take good care of them. Nothing looks worse than hands that are uncared for. Follow the steps below and make them weekly treats to get softer hands.

1. Take precautionary measures to protect the skin on your hands. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning the house or doing the dishes. If you are a ‘flower-power’ person, when gardening, ensure that you use special gardening gloves to protect your hands and nails.

2. Wear sunscreen. Just as the sun can damage the skin on your face or other parts of your body, it can damage the skin on your hands. Be sure to apply sunscreen to your hands 30 minutes before going in the sun. This is to keep them soft and prevent them from becoming like dried raisins. Rub the sunscreen into your hands as you would rub lotion, until all of it is absorbed into the skin.

3. Keep them moisturised. Rub lotion into your hands several times a day if possible. It helps to carry a small bottle of lotion with you. Whenever you feel your hands getting dry, just slather some lotion on it. Apply petroleum jelly to your hands before you go to bed at night. Make sure you apply a generous coat and then put on cotton gloves. This is to ensure that you don’t make a mess of your sheets or yourself. If you don’t have cotton gloves, then cotton socks or a plastic wrap will do just as good.

4. Massage your hands. This increases blood circulation to the skin. Massaging your hands also doubles as a great stress reliever. Place some lotion or even a teaspoon of olive oil on the palm of one hand and rub softly. Use the thumb of the opposite hand to massage the palm in a circular motion. Do these while keeping your fingers interlaced. Repeat with the other hand. Turn one hand over and massage from the wrist to the fingertips, gently pulling on them as you finish. Use a circular motion, and then repeat with the other hand. Make sure to massage around each cuticle and nail.

5. Remove any nail polish you have on your nails. Soak your hands for 5-10 minutes in a bowl of soapy water to soften the skin. Afterwards, massage an exfoliating hand scrub into the hands. Rinse and dry gently with a clean towel.

Be sure to try these methods consistently over a period of time and the benefits will be hard to miss.