3 weeks to make my hands and nails look good

[evertonmint]

I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks, will have the opportunity for a posh manicure while there but my hands and nails have been wrecked by the winter cold and weak nails which I've been biting (After 20 years of biting continuously, I now periodically grow then bite them - never quite stopped fully)

What can ISO to sort out my dry, rough skin that is a bit split around the nails? And how can I strengthen my nails so I'm less inclined to bite/pick them.

I want this manicure opportunity to not be wasted on rubbish hands!

ISO? I meant "I do"

I find Sally Hansen maximum growth works brilliantly, strengthens my really weak, prone to peeling nails and can grow them to a decent length in 2 weeks. Also wear rubber gloves for jobs wherever possible and use hand cream after every wash.

Stop biting the nails.
Nails filed short and square.
Hand cream at least twice a day
Nail oil.

Second nail oil, several times a day

Nipple cream. Before bed, with cotton gloves over the top.... Magic

Vaseline. Vaseline. Vaseline.

Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream.

Apply it liberally.

Leave nails and skin alone.

In going to rummage in my drawer and see what I can find - I suspect there is hemp hand cream and poss nail oil too.

Will get file out now and neaten my nails up.

Hand scrubs? Is that worth doing?

Thank you for the ideas so far!

Going to see if we have rubber gloves too and put them by the sink so I can't forget them.

Would you not consider getting acrylics done. I swear by them.

Soap and Glory Scrub of your life- I love using this on my hands! Followed by Clarins hand cream!

Cotton gloves (£ shop)

Scrub - either a face or body scrub or sugar+oil

Vaseline round your nails, heavy duty hand cream then the gloves overnight.

File your nails then use a nail buffer (I have a Leighton Denny one from M&S)

Keep a file with you all the time so your not tempted to bite any rough bits.

Avoplex from OPI (oil) they do the bottles and a brush pen for on the go.

Right, nails filed and oiled. Hemp hand cream liberally applied. Will go and have a look at Sally Hansen stuff tomorrow.

Is it crazy to be worried about making my hands nice for a treatment that is supposed to make my hands nice?

Yup. It's like cleaning before the cleaner comes :)

Go to a salon and have a paraffin wax treatment with a manicure.
The will sort out all your dry cuticles and exfoliate etc and then the paraffin which feels amazing will deeply moisturise your hands and nails. My hands were noticeably smoother for weeks after one.
Then at home use hand cream and cuticle oil every day.

I've noticed how bad my hands are this Winter and I'm convinced it's the cheap hand wash I saved money on. Just ordered my favourite L'Occitane sweet almond hand wash as I'm convinced that's why they were so good last Winter. I wash my hands a lot and never remember to use hand cream.

Invest in a moisturising hand wash OP.

Good idea, picastyle.

I really massaged the hand cream in last night while watching telly. My hands felt so soft :)

Yes good handwash and nipple cream is amazing I use it and I have horrible dry hands works wonders

Yes to nail oil, use it just before you go to sleep. All the hand cream recommendations are great, I think frequency is the key.

What manicure are you going to get? I love a good shellac. A crappy shellac is a disappointment, don't remove it yourself, I have done and done such damage to my nails.

Anyway. Good luck. Hope you have a fab holiday. Where are you going?