Take care of your hands and nails with Pixy and Sally Hansen

I always feel sorry for my hands and nails because they're always the first things that fall to neglect.  My cuticles are always in bits, nails are weak, hands are dry and it's out of pure laziness that this all happens.  Because I work in a hospital, I'm always washing my hands and using alcohol laden hygienic foams to keep them clean and free from cooties.  So they're always really dry and

So I've decided to make a renewed effort to take better care of my paws.  Now that Joanne has moved out, I can't rely on her for some quickie nail swatches when I'm stuck, so it's time for Operation Why Aren't You Taking Care Of Your Hands You Big Lazy Oaf.

I got these products in the post recently and figured it was a sign from the hand Gods (and maybe the PR people) that it's high time I give my hands and nails the love and attention they deserve.

First up is from Irish brand Pixy, who incidentally has a new stand in one of my local chemists woo hoo!  I'll be using the Coconut Hand Cream (€9.99) to help add a bit of hydration into my hands.  First impressions are good folks.  It smells like holidays thanks to the coconut oil and it also has beeswax, cocoa and shea butter for moisturisation along with apricot oil to improve elasticity.  Despite it being a hard cream in the tin, it melts into the skin beautifully and you'll probably see me with hand to nose a lot, breathing in the gorgeous scent.

To go with that, I'll be using the Lemon Cuticle Balm (€5.99).  My poor cuticles (or cooticals as I like to say) are in flitters at the moment.  I have the worst habit of picking at any dry skin I feel in that area and so I'll be keeping this and the hand cream at my desk to stop me from doing that.  Like the coconut hand cream, this has beeswax, cocoa and shea butter along with Calendula oil which penetrates and softens cuticles.  The lemon scent is courtesy of Lemon Myrtle essential oil and makes it a joy to use.  

Now, on to the nails.  My nails are weird.  On both hands, the nails on my thumbs, ring fingers and baby fingers are really strong and sturdy.  My index and middle fingers?  Not so much.  They're so weak they bend, they're prone to peeling and I couldn't grow them long even if I wanted to.  

Enter these guys from Sally Hansen.  The Maximum Growth treatment (€6.25) is developed with a triple-protein and silk formula and promises to strengthen nails in a week.  Sounds right up my street.  The Maximum Strength treatment (€6.25) is formulated with cellulose fibres which gives an invisible layer of support and will help my nails stop peeling and splitting.  Even typing that makes me excited to get started with that one as that's my number one issue I'd like to tackle first.  The length can come later.  I want strong nails that I can drum off the table while waiting for someone!

I'll let you know in a couple of weeks how I get on with the products but if this little preview has got you intrigued, all four products are available in shops now.

What do you use on your nails and hands?