Grooming your skin is a long and delicate undertaking.
You will need all the help you can find to do things correctly.
In most cases, your best friend is your second hand and you should try to integrate it into all your grooming techniques.
I use my second hand in four different ways:

Most places on your body are reachable with both hands.
It makes lots of sense to be competent with each of them.

When grooming, you naturally tend to use your writing hand.
This is generally the best practice.
However, in many situations, your other hand would be a better choice.
Even if there can be a great difference in the ability and sensibility of your non-writing hand; your efforts to overcome these deficiencies will be well rewarded.

If you place the nail of a right hand finger in the wing of your right nostril; it fits perfectly, and you can groom this fold easily.
But, if you place the nail of your right hand on the wing of the left nostril: it doesn't fit and grooming is difficult.
Sorry, you're better off using your left hand to groom the left nostril.

There are two main reasons that explain why one hand is better suited for a particular task: finger angle and finger strength.

When grooming the vertical center line of your body, both hands have equal access.
But, when you groom an area on your right or your left side; the fingers on one hand will be straight, those on the other will be curved.
When the fingers are straight, you have to push to apply pressure.
When they are curved, you pull.

Pulling is much easier and you can put more force.
Both angles have their advantages and inconveniences.
Often, using one hand to groom a specific location will result in an uneasy or uncomfortable position.
Try your other hand.

Grooming is a physical effort.
It takes its toll on the limbs that perform this task.
The pressure you put, the repetitive movements and the awkward positions all contribute to your discomfort over time.
Using only one hand, your forces would weaken after a while.
Simply alternate your work in two different areas, each accessible with the other hand.

Two-handed grooming is covered on the pressure and superficial grooming pages.
Please follow these links:

Two-handed pressure grooming

Two-handed superficial grooming

Grooming with both hands at the same time is an extension of ambidexterity.
This time, both hands work simultaneously.
Most of the time, one hand mirrors the actions of the other (symmetrical), but sometimes, each hand can act independently.

One interesting aspect of symmetrical two-handed grooming is that you can feel the differences in skin condition between your left and right sides.
• Place one finger from each hand at corresponding locations on the right and left side of your body.
• Groom synchronously.

You can spot some problems this way.
If a crossing or fold has grown abnormally, the same location on the opposite side may or may not present a similar transformation.

The idea is to use your non-grooming hand in support of the on-going action.
The helping hand can contribute in two manners:
• Holding and positioning a limb or an area,
• Stretching the skin.

The area you want to groom may not be easily accessible.
Some body part may need to be raised, turned, held in place, ...
Use your other hand to bring forward and hold the limb you're working on.
For example, when grooming your foot; one hand should hold it up into position so that the other can operate freely.
You may have to raise the whole leg.
Your helping hand should also open up hard to reach places like between your toes, the base of your nose, the back of your ears, ...

You can groom some areas easily because your skin is already held tight to whatever is beneath it.
However, when you try to groom regions where the skin is loose or where it covers a thick layer of fat; you'll find that the skin’s flexibility prevents proper grooming.
Your nail caves into the skin, as it moves along with it.
Whenever this is the case, use your other hand to pull the skin tight.

• Place the nail of your helping hand's finger close to the grooming location.
• Apply some pressure, then slide your nail back so that it pulls on the skin and stretches it.
• You can now groom the stabilized skin with your other hand.

You can change your pulling angle continuously in your quest to keep the skin from moving.

Each finger on the helping hand can have its own action.
Some may just hold the skin in place, while others may be pulling on it.

If you use two fingers to pull in opposite directions, you can stretch the skin on both sides of your grooming finger's location.

It's too bad that such an important technique is found here, at the bottom of this page.
But, where else?

You use underpinning in your everyday life when you put something hard beneath a material you want to work on.
This is necessary because the material lacks the rigidity needed to resist your moves.
Putting a mass behind it makes working on it possible.
You resort to grooming underpinning when the skin you want to work on has no rigidity; because of its location or body fat.
You put a finger from your other hand beneath a flab of skin that serves as a work table.

• Place the finger you want to use for underpinning a quarter-inch to an inch below the location you wish to groom.
• Press it into the skin, with a slightly upwards motion, so that it produces a solid workplace.
• Put a finger from your other hand where you want to groom.
• A piece of skin is trapped between the fingers of each hand.
• Your grooming hand can now put pressure and work.

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