Hands Please!

 by Deneise Ramsey

“...Give me your tired, your poor...”, this is not Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, The New Colossus, which is inscribed at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, but rather the call of all manicurists anxious to get and keep your hands and fingernails in optimum condition during this, the coldest part of the winter season.  Be kind to your hands and fingernails because the fierce cold in the months of January and February can render them dry, peeling and extremely brittle.  Just looking at them too long can cause them to break during these months!  Really, I’m serious.  Okay, you’re too savvy to fall for that line but let me offer you a scenario that can serve as a manicure standard bearer.  This will give you enough information to find a quality manicure professional and get you through the rough winter weather with soft, smooth hands and strong, beautiful fingernails.  But first, allow me to extend to you a thought you may consider long after reading this article.  A kindness to yourself warms your heart; this warmth enhances the delivery of goodness to all you touch.

There is an enjoyable way be kind to yourself and at the same time minimize the damage of the winter cold to your hands and fingernails.  Get a spa manicure done by a licensed manicurist.  I’m not referring to a quick fifteen or twenty minute procedure. This treatment would be forty-five minutes to an hour of sheer bliss.  Read the following,  visualize each step, and immerse yourself in the exhilarating experience!

A disinfectant is applied to your hands so that surface bacteria and germs are removed.  A fine buff to rid the nail of ridges is done.  The cuticle is gently pushed back with close attention to hangnails, which are removed.  The hands, lower arms and elbows are washed in warm water with a disinfecting hand wash.  The careful and gentle application of an exfoliant that contains alpha-hydroxy acids is applied to the hands, lower arms and elbows.  The exfoliant eliminates dead skin cells and reduces visible signs of aging.  The hands and elbows are then dipped into paraffin wax, wrapped in plastic, and then put in heated mitts.  The heat from the paraffin wax allows deeper penetration of the exfoliant into the skin.  After five to ten minutes in the heated mitts, fingernails emerge free of all excess cuticle and dryness, hands are supple, looking at least five to ten years younger and those elbows are ash free.  What a look!  Wait, it’s not over yet because now comes the massage.  The lower arm, hand and fingers are manipulated so that blood flow energizes and warms your extremities while relaxation and calmness overcome your tired being.  What a feeling!

With this kind of manicure, that you have been kind enough to allow yourself, visualize this:  A weathered and tired person at the end of a hard days work, having not experienced physical contact with anybody, comes to you.  And you, with your warm, supple, calm hands and energized spirit reach out and touch them...!  Enough said.

Deneise Ramsey is the nail technician extraordinaire at Palazzolo Salon in Royal Oak, Michigan.  She has conducted advanced nail training seminars and judged nail competitions for  licensed nail technicians throughout the United States.  She can be reached at (248) 545-0060.