Saturday, November 24

Trading in My Ugly Hands for Feminine Ones...

Today, while I was lying down with my little one, she took a very rarely used tube of lotion from my nightstand and started playing with it. I opened it for her and put a dab on her soft little hands and showed her how to rub it in. She totally loved it! After she moved on to play with something else, I absentmindedly began to inspect my own hands and nails. To say that they are ugly is an understatement! My nails are pretty short and uneven (due to hastily trimming them with a toe-nail clipper rather than using a nail-file) and the skin is rough to the touch and very dry.

As a wife, mother, and homemaker I am constantly using my hands in caring for my family, cooking, and tending our home. My hands touch the skin of people I love and are visible to everyone from the checkout clerk at the grocery store to other mothers on the playground. I have seen women who do the same things (and more!) that I do and can maintain pretty nails and soft skin... I am going to turn over a new leaf and start caring for these hands so that I can stop being embarrassed about them!

To start with, I am going to try to use the cream on my nightstand each morning when I wake up and each evening before I go to sleep. I will also try to pick up a little manicure kit at the store next time I am there.

Is there anything that you have been neglecting with your appearance lately? If so, post about it and let us know how you are planning to remedy your situation!

11 comments:

Mrs. H said...

One thing I have found that is nice is buffing my nails. I have a little four sided buffer that does the trick. It looks like you have clear finger nail polish on. :) I do not have the time to paint my nails, and it would never hold up and I prefer to have mine short . . . but the buffer really helps me feel like I'm well-groomed. . . when I take the time to do it that is. I'm looking at my own nails and they need a little TLC. :)

Mrs. H
a regular reader who is finally leaving a note :)

Mimi said...

I know what you mean. My sister in law works hard for her family and her home, but she takes time to keep her hands pretty. They are, I think, one of her best features.

I, on the other hand, need to give mine some more care. And, I must get into the regular habit of using gloves when I work around the house. I keep forgetting to do that. It's funny that I had just thought of that before sitting down to read your post. This morning, as I did a quick tidy up, I used a strong household cleaning spray without gloves, and, try as I might, I can't get the smell of it off of my hands. I dread to think what the strong chemicals are doing to my skin.

Having said that, I bet your hands are lovely! I read a charming story one time about girls who were in a contest to see who had the loveliest hands. They were competing against one particular girl who was very vain about her perfect hands. This girl came from a wealthy family, and she avoided any work or activity that might damage the way her hands looked.

The girls asked their teacher to settle the matter. She chose a girl who didn't even pretend to have pretty hands. The girl's mother was a widow with a large family and the girl willingly worked very hard to help her mother.

The students were amazed that the teacher picked this girl. Her hands were clean, but they were somewhat reddened and worn from her tasks.

The teacher said something like, "When I look at those hands, I see hands that help. I see hands that ease a tired mother's load. I see hands that a rock a baby's cradle. I see hands that pick beans...etc. I see hands that love.

So, even if you do need to care for your hands a bit more, I'm sure that your family and friends look at your hands and see hands that demonstrate love.

Courtney said...

I've definitely been neglecting my hair and eyebrows! I need to do something about them before our Christmas pictures, though.

Our little guy likes to use lotion too. He thinks the pump is the neatest thing ever! :-D

Anonymous said...

Ditto! My hands and feet are ragged and rough after 7 weeks abroad on a hectic adventure in a colder climate. I'm off to rub olive oil into my feet and put on my softening socks.

I love the nail buffing idea. I don't like to spend time painting toxic chemicals on to porous surfaces of my body. But buffing gives a nice finish without the toxicity.

Tammy said...

My hands are on the ugly side as well. They get so dry in the winter time, it is hard to keep them nice! I'm going to give it a little extra effort though!

Genuine Lustre said...

I am a farmwife with rough hands. I'll join you in your pursuit.

This weekend I did something else nice for me - bra shopping. My bras have been giving me such grief lately - sliding straps and pokey wires. I tried on a more expensive brand in 2 cups sizes bigger - voila! what a difference. I am truly a racerback person. It's hard to feel pretty and graceful and hospitable if you can't get your mind off the straps down at your elbows.

Leeann said...

This post was so timely! I was looking at my hands on the way to church this morning and mentioned to my husband that they need some TLC. He stated that he loved my hands, but then I think he had to say that, didn't he? Anyway, I have my dad's hands...smaller but the same short, fat fingers and square nails. I love having long nails but I don't have a dishwasher and have my hands in water a lot plus I am hard on my nails. I just use lots of lotions and I may just give myself a manicure tonight. Thank you for the inspiration!

Miss Julianne said...

Try rubbing oil into your nails/cuticles before you go to bed at night, or sometime when your hands are not going to be occupied. (I bought actual cuticle oil at the drug store, but it's pretty much the same thing as baby oil.) I take a Q-tip, dip it in the oil, and rub it all around my cuticles and nails. Then I just let my hands rest until it all soaks in.

I never used to care about my nails, but a few years ago I started doing that. After doing that for a relatively short amount of time, people started complimenting me on what pretty nails I had! It kind of makes them shiny, glowing, and healthy-looking.

(Thanks for the reminder. It's been quite a while since I've taken care of mine!)

Mommy Bee said...

Have you seen that Neutrogena Daily Nail Enhancer pen? I love it! It's about $7, but it seems to last forever. It's clear & leaves a nice shine on nails without having to buff. And the best part is that it dries instantly. It only takes about 20 seconds to do all my nails, and it stays on all day until I take my shower at night.

Kimi Harris said...

I use coconut oil and Shea butter on my hands. The shea butter I have is a little greasy but works well when they are really bad.
By the way, I am sure that your "ugly" hands are very beautiful in the sight of our heavenly Father who sees all the hard work you do for him (through serving your family). :-)

Anonymous said...

Once the weather turns colder, there is simply no hope for my hands. They end up snagging everything, splitting, itching, red, scaly. It's terrible. I have gone through bottles and bottles of lotions and creams, even using pure oil on them and sleeping with cotton gloves on - nothing seems to help. My hands are in water so much is part of the problem. My nails, and cuticles are just terrible because of it too.

I'm still looking for my magic potion to turn these rough hands into soft ones!

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