Your nails take a beating in summer. Make sure you care for them properly and they’ll look positively gorgeous. Pedicure of summer! In the buff: Hard skin builds up quickly on your feet in summer because they’re more exposed than in winter. Using a pumice stone every night in the bath or shower will prevent your heels from cracking and needing more drastic action. After using a pumice stone on stubborn areas, rub over your feet with an exfoliator and apply a nourishing foot treatment cream to keep skin soft. Bright nails look lovely in summer, but if you can’t maintain them, rather use a buffing kit that makes nails look pretty with minimal effort. Buffing also removes the orange stain that nail polish leaves behind after it has oxidised on the nail plate.

Go for bright: As soon as summer sandals come out of your cupboard, so should pretty nail polish, at least on your toes. Make sure that your nails are well prepared by smoothing any ridges with a buffing kit or a ridge filler. Keep toenails short to prevent the tips from chipping and apply a topcoat every two to three days to protect the colour. Fast-drying formulations tend to chip more quickly than regular nail polish, so if you plan on walking barefoot on the beach, take the time initially to apply a regular nail polish rather than having to redo the whole process because it’s chipped so quickly.

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page

Some interesting facts about our age and our hands.

In your 20s: Prevention is better than cure.Get into the habit now of applying sunscreen to the back of your hands after you’ve applied it to your face. When you’re driving, your hands are constantly exposed on the steering wheel, because UVA penetrates through glass. By protecting your hands now, you’ll prevent pigmentation blotches later, which can be time-consuming and costly to erase.

In your 30s: Beautiful hands in a hurry.Keep a tube of hand cream next to your hand basin, next to your bed and in your car ? and apply it often. But if your hands seem beyond repair, book a specialised manicure: Warm oil is massaged onto your hands and then they’re dipped in paraffin wax to boost the effect (your hands heat up in the wax). It’s the best way to get beautiful hands… fast.

In your 40s: Banish blotchy pigmentation.Regular exfoliation will keep your hands looking smooth and youthful. It removes dry skin, and also improves the appearance of superficial blotchiness caused by pigmentation. A hand cream that contains antioxidants, retinol or hydroxy acids will also help, but it needs to be applied regularly. Cape Town dermatologist Dr Ean Smit recommends microdermabrasion to treat pigmentation. IPL is another option. You should see results after the first of these non-invasive treatments, but subsequent treatments might be necessary if blotches are large or numerous. It is very important to apply a sunblock after IPL or microdermabrasion to prevent pigmentation from returning or intensifying.

In your 50s: Help for bony hands.With age, the layer of dermal fat that gives the skin its cushioning diminishes, so hands and feet look bonier and blood vessels become more obvious. Fat can be injected into the hands to soften the boniness, but respected South African plastic surgeon Dr Gavin Morrison recommends caution. ‘One needs to be careful with hands, as their primary purpose is function. Also, because fat takes best where there is some subcutaneous tissue in which to site it, the risk is irregularity.’

For any enquiry or if you would like to get your nails groomed, give us a call or visit our salon! Our details can be found on this web page - Manhattan Nails Contact Page