Cuticle Transformation

Transform your cuticles!

I found I was gazing longingly at the lovely cuticles of The Polish Addict. She has beautiful hands! Mine looked so dry and calloused, so I decided it was time to do something about it. This was two days after I started my experiment, which was showing little to no effect. (I'll still review it, as promised.)

I noticed a difference in my fingertips and cuticles after doing this only once, and saw a wonderful difference after several days. See the before and after pictures at the bottom of this post!

To transform, you will need:

1) Soaking agent
2) Scrub
3) Moisturizer
4) Some kind of oil (I suggest using safflower or cuticle oil.)
5) Consistency

1) Good Soaking Agent:

To transform my hands and cuticles, I used a lot of products made for feet. My hands were not as rough as feet tend to get, but I had it on hand (Haha! Get it?) and figured if it works for feet, it surely must work for the softer skin on hands.

Bath and Body Works: True Blue Spa Collection

This soak is very nice, in my opinion. It is the color of blue raspberry Kool-aid and has a pleasant, fresh scent. BBW often runs a buy two, get one free sale, and that's when I snagged it. It claims "This super-fizzy spa bath is like champagne for your feet." I don't know that I'd go THAT far, as it doesn't fizz at all.... The granules dissolve quickly and leave a thin white froth at the top of the water, reminiscent of the foam on a latte. When I think of something that is "effervescent," I think of Airborne. This does not fizz like that at all.


I soaked my hands in this for as long as my attention span allowed (so, probably about 2-3 minutes).

Rinse.

2) Scrub

I used another BBW product here. I have several sugar scrubs that I like a lot, but I decided to go more hardcore and use a walnut concoction. Why not?

Bath and Body Works:
True Blue Spa Collection

I picked this up at the same time as the soak above. It doesn't feel as coarse as some of my "gentler" scrubs, surprisingly enough. I like the consistency of this, and it has a bright peppermint scent to it.

Scrub hands, especially around cuticle areas, for at least a minute.

3) Moisturizer

There are tons of great moisturizers out there, so I would just use whatever you prefer. Plenty are marketed specifically for softening hands and cuticles, and have received fantastic reviews. I didn't have any of those, though, and didn't want to spend money on them, so I used a very floral souffle I got on sale at Victoria's Secret last summer.

Victoria's Secret: Summer Freshes
Vibrant Peony

I like how soft this makes my skin, but it is a bit too smelly for me so I usually reserve it for body parts that are FAR away from my nose, like my calves and feet.

It kind of gave me a headache.

4) Some kind of oil

Safflower oil is great for your skin. I always use it post-waxing and am thrilled at how soft my legs are once it is all soaked in/rubbed off.

Cuticle oil is made with a variety of things, depending on what type you buy. It often has avocado, tea tree, almond, or jojobo oil in it. Manufacturers may also add vitamins.

Massage oil onto cuticles, nailbeds, and tips of fingers throughout the day.

Keep in mind that topical oil often merely acts as a barrier, locking in moisture. A good way to use this strategy is to do this before bed, put on a pair of cotton gloves, and go to sleep, essentially soaking your hands overnight.

5) Consistency

As with any beauty or health regimen, this is the most important ingredient. You can vary your beauty products, diets, exercises, etc, but if you are not consistent you'll see little to no results. Anything worth having takes work!

I suggest, depending on the harshness of your product choice, doing this 1-2 times a day.

• You probably don't want to exfoliate more than once a day max, though. If you have sensitive skin, don't exfoliate more than a few times a week. 
• You should moisturize several times a day.  I live in Colorado and it is very dry; I use lotion and oils as often as it crosses my mind. Sometimes I put on lotion 15-20 times a day. 
• It will also help to take B12 vitamins, drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated, and eat your veggies! :)

Before and After Pictures:

Before! Ahhh!

Bit blurry, but you can see definite improvement.
This is after one session.

Happy Painting!