CARE FOR YOUR "Hands and Feet"

You might not think you need to care for them, but she does. Here's how to do it

1. Pay attention to your socks
Men have sweaty feet, which has a lot to do with the socks they're wearing, says Pirooz Sarshar, cofounder of the men's-only spa the Grooming Lounge in Washington, D.C. Avoid nylon and opt instead for high-quality cotton or even cashmere socks, which breathe better.
2. Creams alone won't cut it
Don't just rely on over-the-counter creams to kick athlete's foot. While they do help suppress it, the key to eliminating fungus is better grooming. I see guys who use those creams forever, says Sarshar. If you're not also taking care of your feet, the fungus may come back. During your morning shower, wash your feet with whatever nondrying soap you usually use. Pat them dry afterward with a towel and apply a thick lotion containing peppermint or eucalyptus (try Bodyshop.com). Both ingredients help kill fungus, which could be why your shoes smell like ripe Roquefort cheese. And on the day you exfoliate with a grainy body exfoliant (you do exfoliate, right?), use some muscle to slough off dead skin on heels and toes.
3. Get the right tools
Because toenails grow slower than fingernails, you need to cut them only every two or three weeks with a good pair of clippers. Also, get a cuticle pusher (buy one online at Drugstore.com). Pushing back the cuticles on your toes helps ward off fungus.
4. And if you don't want to do it yourself…
Seek professional help—as in a pedicure. Once a month, hit up a man-friendly establishment like Truefitt&Hill (Truefittandhill.com), the Grooming Lounge (Thegroominglounge.com), John Allan's (Johnallans.com), or even a local spa, where, for about $50, a strong-handed woman will do the dirty work and give you a foot massage. Not enough to convince you? How about this: Women notice feet. And scraping her legs with scaly heels ain't going to get her in the mood.
Hand to Hand
Who looks at your hands? The woman who bought you that wedding ring. The woman looking for a wedding ring. Glove salesmen, cashiers, watch enthusiasts…They all notice your wares, not to mention your hangnails, your raw skin and your chewed cuticles. But rest easy: There are things you can do to maintain your meat hooks.
Cold air, wind and water all work to strip your skin of moisture, leaving your hide redder than a sunburned teamster's. Prophylaxis is the key here: Wear gloves as often as you can and use lotion to restore lost nutrients. Anything with aloe, lanolin or glycerin will do. Secondary ingredients, like calendula, avocado and oatmeal, are also helpful.
You may be clean and you may smell nice, but if you have the crud-filled nails of a third grader, all your efforts are for naught. Buy a cheap drugstore nailbrush and use it. If you're an inveterate nail-biter, stop it. (Purchase a foul-tasting ointment like No Bite, if you must.) And keep your nails trimmed; that cokehound pinky isn't impressing anyone, Scarface.
Happy Feet
By all accounts, you're a good guy: You give up your seat for the infirm, you tip well, and you mean it when you say Have a nice day. Why, then, are you so damnably cruel to your feet? They're such delicate creatures—twenty-six bones; thirty-three joints; more than one hundred ligaments, muscles and tendons but you treat them like burros, stuffing them into shoes, commanding them to cart your poundage. You're a podiatrist's dream. Which is why we're staging this little intervention.
Men's feet are more vulnerable to…communicable difficulties. And nothing helps feet pick up nasty little friends better than heat and moisture. Unless your name is Starshine Hackysack, you probably wear clammy shoes and socks on a regular basis. Bet you shower at the gym, too, which is like standing in a soup stock stirred by every guy who raised a sweat that day. So think of your feet as two petri dishes with VIP seating for athlete's foot, plantar warts and nail fungus. To bar the door, New York podiatrist Stuart Mogul, D.P.M., recommends wearing slippers or thongs (we call them flip-flops, so as to not feel like bikini models) when using communal showers. If you still end up itchy, don't fret; athlete's foot can be treated with prescriptions or over-the-counter preparations. According to Dr. Mogul, though, the protein in your shoes often keeps athlete's foot alive. So you should treat the shoes with an anti fungal spray.