Raise your hand if you’ve been washing or sanitizing your hands around 437 times per day. Us too. Quick! Wash your hand; it touched the air!
While ensuring that you thoroughly wash and purify your hands is more important now than ever, it can leave skin dry and cracked, which ironically can allow more bacteria into our bodies.¹ What? No. Wash hands again.
So, the outer layer of our skin contains necessary oils and wax that acts as a barrier against the outside environment and a method of keeping natural moisture in the skin.²
When we wash or sanitize our hands frequently, that barrier gets broken down. While we attempt to rehydrate our hands in between disinfecting sessions, the hydration doesn't always work or last. And it’s likely because not all hand moisturizers are made equally and/or you might have something as part of your hand disinfecting routine that isn't helping either.
The result? Skin that’s dry, red, itchy, chapped, flakey, sore and even cracked. Other than just the way it looks and feels, it’s actually unhealthy for our skin to be in such a dehydrated state.
Luckily, there are a few easy steps you can take to soothe and hydrate your skin at home… especially during this hectic time.
1. Wash With Care
Try switching to a milder, fragrance-free soap and wash with warm (not hot) water.³ You could consider looking for a soap that is thoughtfully formulated for dry hands. Also, be sure to gently pat dry your hands instead of rubbing; rubbing hands dry causes more friction and can actually aggravate the skin.
Also, when considering whether to wash your hands or just use hand sanitizer, always choose to wash, whenever possible. Not only is it more effective at eliminating the microbes that you’re trying to target, but hand sanitizer can be more drying than hand soap due to its high alcohol content... and that's not helping the hydration cause.
2. Hydrate Regularly
Rehydrate your hands using a specially formulated cream immediately after washing (each and every time) in order to benefit from its emollient nature AKA to help lock-in that hydration. While designed for use on the extra thick, dry skin of feet, a few drops of High Dive™ can work wonderfully as a hand moisturizer during the day.
In addition, if your skin is feeling aggravated or extra chapped from too much handwashing or hand sanitizing, mix a drop Rehab™ healing serum into your regular lotion to enjoy its calming and healing properties.
3. Treat Overnight
You can slather on a thick hydration cream like our High Dive™ for an intensive overnight hand mask. We packed 15 of the world’s best moisturizing ingredients in our formulation. And as a bonus, take a pair of gloves or socks and put them over your hands after slathering on the cream. Your hands will say thank you when you wake up.
4. De-Stress
Stress has been linked to inflammation and dry skin, so do your best to relax.⁴ Easier said than done, we know. To be more specific, stress usually causes an increase in adrenaline and cortisol levels, and this can lead to more active sweat glands, meaning your body loses moisture.
Additionally, if you are prone to dry skin already, stress can cause this existing condition to be triggered. We recommend that you chose the activity that makes you feel most relaxed and add aromatherapy as a relaxation amplification tool.
Rub a few drops of Inner Strength™ into dry skin for feelgood hydration at any time of day. The bergamot scent is known to elevate mood and alleviate stress, in addition to giving your nails, cuticles and hands some extra hydrating support with 6 natural conditioning oils.
It’s easy to keep your skin perfectly purified and deeply hydrated with our daily care line. While these products were originally designed for feet, many of them are great for use on your hands and body too.
Do you have any self care tips to share? Or just want to say "hi?" Message us on Instagram or Facebook. We're really nice, promise.
- https://www.uclahealth.org/covid-19-how-to-care-for-dry-hands-after-washing-them-so-much
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/scrubbing-your-hands-dry-soaps-moisturizers-and-tips-to-help-keep-skin-healthy-2020040719449
- https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-to-keep-your-skin-healthy-while-washing-your-hands-often#1.-Wash-with-warm-water
- https://www.healthline.com/health/dry-hands#remedies