I have been doing my own nails since the closing of the Lounge this past July and they have never looked or felt better. My husband, who has been part of my quality-control testing squad, was left with his own DIY nail care, and from my frequent side-glances, it’s not quite as successful as my own.

Of course I’ve offered, cajoled, and sometimes even begged to give him a manicure, but he declines with concerns that I might be either too tired or have too much on my plate. He is a sweet, gentle, and considerate man. I’ve watched him pick and tug at his cuticles while he’s on the phone or stopped at a red light in the car and my heart sinks with every dry, forlorn cuticle that appears on his thumbs.

A few days ago, I innocently said to him, “I want to do a blog post on a manicure, will you please be my hand model?” Of course, when it involves my work he will always oblige with a huge smile of relief.

Set up  that resembles nothing of the occasion… pure practicality….

Here is the before picture.

And this is how you can take care of your Valentine’s hands…

Trim his nails. Gently file the nails into a round shape and buff off the excess debris.

Slather La Mer Hand Treatment on his cuticles.

Since my husband’s cuticles are outgrown and he has really thin skin, I use an orange stick to gently push back his cuticles. To do this on your special someone, just follow that groove around his nails and you should see dead skin coming off. They were climbing up my husband’s nails like ivy. Make sure to do another round on each hand.

Wherever you see loose skin, trim it away with a nipper or a nail scissor (loose skin should be the only thing that is trimmed).

Massage cream into his hands and give some loving.

“Wow, these are my hands….they look amazing….wow…thank you…thank you…” my husband said with deep admiration after I was done. The next day, whenever I caught him looking at his nails, my heart simply melted. I know the feeling, since I thank myself every time I look at my cuticles and nails for vigilantly caring for them.

On this Valentine’s Day, let’s get away from all the clichéd trimmings and obligatory irksome trinkets. Forget about your relationship status and expectations of a globally marketed you-must-have-a-romantic day. Give your hands or someone else’s hands the tender loving care hands deserve—to me, it’s more meaningful then the ubiquitous red flower deliveries.