How To Toughen Your Hands

Having worked not only as a carpenter, but also as a paper-pusher, I've discovered the downside of having this fair Saxon skin -- mostly in the form of splinters and paper cuts. However, there's an easy preventative that will not only toughen the skin, but also leave it feeling soft and smooth.

What you need: two large salad bowls (big enough to fit both hands in up to the writst), and a large (~20 oz) tumbler.

The procedure:

Fill the tumbler with ice. Then fill one bowl with hot water, as hot as you can comfortably stand it. If it causes pain, it's too hot. Fill the other with cold water; again, as cold as you can comfortably stand it. If it causes pain, it's too cold.

Start by immersing your hands in the hot water, swirling them around for about two minutes. You should feel the hear all the way thru to the bone. Then remove your hands from the hot water, shake the water off, and immerse them in the cold water. Go back and forth, ending in the hot water. You should have your hands in the hot water five times and four times in the cold water.

When finished, take your hands out of the hot water and shake them dry. DO NOT RUB THEM WITH A TOWEL; just let them air dry. If you really need to, you could put on some lotion containing aloe vera. Never use lanolin!

In just a few days, you should notice a difference. After a couple of weeks, you should notice a really big difference. Your hands will be soft and smooth, but your skin will be tougher.