Recently, I did a little hand model interview with Yahoo Beauty about how I got started hand modeling and my hand care routine. Check it out here! We all remember the hyperbolic glass dome worn by David Duchovny’s “world’s greatest hand model” character in Zoolander. And while real-life professionals do indeed take great care of their hands and nails, the lengths they go to aren’t so extreme — and they’re actually easy to emulate at home. “I know of a few hand models who do wear gloves all the time, but I’m personally not that radical. I do try to be very careful, especially when cleaning my apartment,” says NYC-based hand model Susan Schell, whose portfolio includes a plethora of work for clients like Paintbox, Vogue.com, Refinery29, and Ladurée.
The 23-year-old says she had no knowledge of proper hand care when she first began modeling, but that she quickly gleaned a lot from other girls. The most important tip? “Not to cut my cuticles, [because] cutting them improperly can make the skin around your nails grow back thicker and more jagged.” Cuticles are like the root of the nail, she says, so like the roots of our hair, they are very important. “Biting or cutting cuticles improperly can also lead to infections. If you have a hangnail of course it’s OK to cut off, just make sure you aren’t digging into your skin.” But cuticle care isn’t the only key to getting model-status hands. “I use moisturizers daily,” says Schell. “Nothing too fancy, just really hydrating stuff. I love Trader Joes’ Coconut Body Butter — it’s super cheap, smells great and works really well.” She is also a proponent of both cuticle creams and oils, using them all the time. “I think a healthy cuticle makes for a healthy nail,” says the model whose go-tos are Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme ($6) and Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil ($20). Critical to keeping hands in picture-perfect shape is hydration, and also exfoliation (she uses Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with Orange Extract ($35) on her sensitive skin), especially in the winter. Additionally, she swears by paraffin wax treatments. “You can get this done at certain spas or use an at-home paraffin bath and do it yourself. When your hands crack or peel due to dryness, it’s fun to dip your hands in the warm wax and it soothes sore cracks as well as leaves you feeling really moisturized,” she says. Occasionally the night before a shoot she’ll “slather my hands in lotion or hand salve and wear cotton gloves to bed to give them some extra hydration.” Plus she wears SPF whenever she’s in the sun, to avoid sunburn and sunspots. As far as her nails go, between jobs — she’s worked with top manicurists including Madeline Poole and Jin Soon Choi — she pushes her cuticles back, files her nails and paints a clear, protective topcoat on herself. On a job — as you should at home — Schell always asks for a base coat under pigmented colors, because she’s been stained before by bright red polish. The model’s parting advice? “Keep a bottle of lotion next to your sink—it will remind you to moisturize after washing your hands and help keep them from drying out.”
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I often get asked all about how I got into hand modeling so I figured I would share my story with XOJane!
Check out the full article here: http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/how-to-become-a-hand-model It is a weird job but I'm making it work! This was really exciting! I got to share the story of how I became a hand model and some FAQs with MTV! You can check out the full story over on their website here! By Susan Schell Hand modeling is not something I ever expected to be doing—it is something I happened to fall into. Typically people don’t even realize that hand modeling is a legitimate job, let alone how often hand models are used in advertisements or editorials. I certainly had never met a hand model before becoming one, and I didn’t know it was a real profession until I saw the viral hand model lady video on Youtube. However, since working as one, I find myself noticing how many ads on TV or in the subway feature hand models, and at this point, I can even identify fellow hand models by their hands in certain images. Hand models are utilized in campaigns that can range from diamonds to diapers, so I never know what to expect when I arrive on set. It truly is a strange job, and it can be surprisingly demanding physically. The work can vary in difficulty from simply resting your hands on a table to contorting your body into painful positions to get the perfect angle and shot of just your hands. Nonetheless, hand modeling can be genuinely fun and entertaining work—it involves many free manicures, often with intricate nail art, and I am fortunate to work with some of the industry’s most creative and talented people. One of the most intriguing aspects of my job is that it can be quite anonymous—I can be in an ad or editorial without anyone else knowing that it’s a picture of me. It seems worth mentioning that I did not move to New York City to become a hand model. I actually moved here to study jewelry and fine arts at Parsons The New School for Design and I have since been working as a jewelry and accessories designer at Bobby Pin Jewelry for the past few years. I began considering hand modeling because I managed Bobby Pin’s social media accounts, and I would frequently post pictures of my hands wearing rings and bracelets. I started noticing that people would often comment on my nails or my hands in addition to the jewelry. Eventually, I got thrown into a jewelry shoot for TWELV Magazine at the last minute, and that is how I got my first official hand modeling pictures. I decided to send those images into a parts modeling agency to see if I was hand model material, got signed on with them, and have been working ever since! It all happened pretty quickly, and I suddenly found myself being asked by friends and people that I meet a lot of questions about hand modeling. So, here are some of the most frequent questions I get asked: Are your hands insured? Definitely not! I’m not even sure how to go about getting them insured. It does not seem necessary to me for the time being. I am not insanely obsessive about my hands, but I do make an effort to keep them camera-ready. I try to keep them very moisturized and cut/bruise-free, but accidents do happen from time to time. I just try my best to be careful and I use copious amounts of cuticle cream. What makes a good hand model? I would say the most important thing is healthy-looking nails and hands with long, straight fingers. Some hands are just randomly incredibly photogenic! Of course, there are different types of hand models—for example the everyday hand (think dishwashing commercials or chopping food), the glamorous hand (long fingers and nails typically used for beauty shots or jewelry), or the unique hand (someone with tattoos or a distinctive feature.) Is it an easy job? It can be, but it can also be really challenging, sometimes painful, and often incredibly time-consuming. It can require being very still in awkward positions for long periods of time, so being steady and patient are pretty important for a hand model. Patience is essential on any photo shoot—I’ve had days where I had to be on set all day long, but I was only needed for maybe 20 minutes. And steadiness is paramount as a hand model must because a trembling hand will photograph blurry. Do you go on hand castings? Surprisingly, yes I do!…And I’ve booked jobs this way. It is exactly like normal model castings except for your hands. What are hand photo shoots like?
Hand shoots are often a lot like normal photo shoots except, obviously, all of the focus is on your hands. Since it’s all about the hands, it often involves a lot of ducking or leaning out of the way to hide the rest of my body. From time to time, I’ve been on shoots where I got to hold something like a bag or a bouquet of flowers in front of my torso, so poses like that are much more natural and less uncomfortable over time. It is kind of funny that I have had to learn to pose my hands—there are elegant hand shapes and poses that tend to be more flattering and make for better pictures. Have you seen Zoolander or the episode of Seinfeld where George becomes a hand model? Yes, I have! And no, they did not inspire this career path. You can check out more of Susan’s work on her website and be sure to follow her on Instagram! I was recently given the opportunity to share some of my hand care routine and tricks with online beauty magazine Byrdie! Check out the article on Byrdie.com here! 1 of 5: Ditch the Cuticle CuttersMy number one most important hand-care tip is to ditch the cuticle cutters and use a cuticle cream or oil. Cutting your cuticles can make them grow tougher and more jagged if not done properly. The cuticle is like the root of your nail—if you want healthy and long nails you need to start taking care of your cuticles. All you need to do is use cuticle oil or cream and gently push back your cuticles. I personally love to use Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme and Deborah Lippmann’s Cuticle Oil. 2 of 5: DIY Overnight (Hand) MaskMy next tip is a hand-model favorite for getting your hands extra moisturized: The night before a shoot I generously slather my hands in lotions, as well as the all-important cuticle oil, and then slip my gooey hands into cotton overnight gloves. This retains moisture all night and you wake up with incredibly soft hands. I like to mix it up with a Burt’s Bees Hand Salve or the Burt’s Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream—they are both super-rich and pretty sticky so they work best with the glove technique. 3 of 5: Try Paraffin WaxIf your hands ever crack or get especially dry in the winter you might want to look into a paraffin wax treatment. My mom introduced me to this and I actually really like doing it: You dip your hands (or your feet) several times in melted warm paraffin wax, let the wax harden around your hands, and then slip on these towel-like mittens to keep in the warmth. After about 10-15 minutes, or when the wax has completely hardened and cooled, you just crack off the wax and your skin feels crazy soft and rehydrated. 4 of 5: Remove Glitter PolishThis is a trick I picked up from manicurists on set when they were removing a bright polish, a complicated nail art design, or even a glitter polish. If you soak cotton balls in nail polish remover and let them rest on your painted nails for a little while it will loosen the polish. Then when you squeeze the cotton balls down and pull them off the nail, the majority of the polish should come off. Sometimes rubbing off dark polishes can stain your skin or even push pigment under your cuticles so this is great solution. 5 of 5: Buff Away StainsNow this tip might seem a bit obvious but I cannot stress this enough: ALWAYS use a base coat when painting your nails anything colorful. Unfortunately, this is something I learned the hard way. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting for weirdly stained and nasty looking nails to grow out. I like to use Sally Hansen’s Double Duty Base Coat and Top Coat because it is two-in-one and doesn’t chip. I also use this as a clear coat because it feels like it makes my nails a little stronger. If you do accidentally stain your nails, there are a few things you can do to minimize the damage. First, lightly buff the surface of your nails with a fine grit nail buff to help remove the stains—typically stains are only in the superficial layers of your nails so buffing them can make a big difference (just remember buffing can also make your nails thinner and weaker if do it too aggressively, so go easy!). After gently buffing, scrub your nails with a soft toothbrush using a mixture of peroxide, baking soda, and lemon juice, to help clean out any residual stains. A great way to “cheat” whiter edges on your nails is to use a whitening pencil—this is not permanent but it is a helpful quick fix.
Every now and then while hand modeling I have had to get a lot more than just my nails painted. Having your hands painted is not only a little strange, it is also quite challenging - you can't touch or move anything! While it can be a little difficult to get around on set, the pictures from these kinds of shoots tend to be really cool and completely different from your typical beauty or nails hand shoot. These are a few behind the scenes shots of my hands covered in paint and one in glitter. Glittered up hands have an equally cool effect but the glitter tends to get stuck everywhere so it is even messier.
While I really liked all the shoots that I have been painted on, I have a had a few issues with paint either irritating my skin or staining me. The best paints to use are obviously body friendly ones, acrylic paints look good but feels pretty bad and made my hand turn red even though the clean up was pretty easy. For some reason this week has been extra rough on my hands. I broke two nails and cut myself all in the span of one day. Thankfully my nails were really long so I was able to salvage them and they still look decent. The cut was pretty clean and not too deep so I think it will heal just fine. I used to think it was crazy that hand models would wear gloves all the time but I suppose it actually makes sense when your paycheck depends on you hands looking perfect. I think there is a lot of pressure in parts modeling to truly have flawless "parts," or hands in my case, so the upkeep is kind of intense. I have never really been that into moisturizing but I've started to embrace certain lotions and oils. In particular I think the number one hand care essential product is a good cuticle cream. I never cut my cuticles unless they are crazy dry or I have random hang nail. I'm not certain that this is medically accurate but I think cutting your cuticles can make them grow back more jagged and hardened. Product wise, I like anything Burt's Bees, in particular the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and Hand Salve. The cuticle cream is an instant fix for dry cuticles and the hand salve is the most moisturizing thing I own. I like to do a combo of the two products and if I have a shoot the next day I'll put them both on and wear some overnight lotion gloves for extra softness in the morning. For just a good general lotion I really like Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter or St. Ives Collagen Elastin. These are both great for normal everyday lotion and for hands. Another super important thing that I had to learn the hard way - ALWAYS use a base coat when painting your nails anything highly pigmented...there is nothing worse than waiting for your stained and nasty looking nails to grow out. I like Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base Coat and Top Coat because it is two in one and lasts a long time. Here is a natural nail shot I did with some amazing Ladurée Pastries!
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AuthorSusan Schell is a working hand model in Paris and NYC. Archives
September 2020
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