Dry hands: The best care tips

Our skin is sensitive – especially where it is exposed to a lot of stimuli. Dry hands, for example, are a big problem for many people. The skin can then become tight, itchy and even form so-called hand eczema – this is a chronic skin inflammation. With the right care, sensitive hands will quickly become soft to the touch again!

Causes of dry hands

The general one The cause of dry hands is a disturbed fat and moisture regulation of the skin’s protective barrier, which arises for various reasons. Dry skin can be caused by genetics, but in most cases various factors are responsible for the skin being overly stressed. These include, for example:

In addition, dry hands are also promoted by that the skin of the hands is generally rather thin and only has a few sebaceous glands. Their job is to produce so-called lipids, which strengthen the skin’s natural protective acid mantle. There are generally only a few lipids in the skin of the hands and these are literally washed away every time you wash your hands, which promotes dry skin.

Dry hands: quick SOS help

The signs of dry skin such as tightness and itching on the back of the hand are often very unpleasant. This is another reason why the right care strategy helps to support the protective layer of the skin and make the hands supple again. The most important thing in proper care is the perfect cream – this can be particularly rich in oil if you have problem skin. Provide immediate assistance Products containing the urea ureaglycerin and nourishing oils.

Applying cream to the face is probably part of the beauty ritual for most women. But it is at least just as important to apply lotion to your hands regularly. Because: The hands naturally produce less oils than the face. That’s why it makes sense to always provide your hands with enough moisture. Be careful when purchasing a hand cream Anti-aging ingredients such as Q10, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants and retinol.

And: The hand cream should definitely be one, at least in summer UV protection include. This protects the skin from drying out and prevents pigment and age spots.

This extra care ensures permanently supple hands

For extremely brittle skin, moisturizing creams alone often do not help. Also pay attention to long-term extra care – especially in winter. Then we sweat less, and because sweat transports oil from the skin, the dry feeling increases. It is therefore advisable to take a special treatment once a week to combat dry hands.

Our DIY tip: For the treatment, you can use home remedies to easily make a hand peeling and then a nourishing oil bath for your hands yourself. With the peeling you free the skin of loose skin cells, which makes it more receptive to subsequent care. On top of that, you prevent brittle, dry hands and cracked cuticles. This is how the hand peeling works:

Now this follows Oil bath. This consists of warm water and olive, almond– or Jojoba– or Coconut oil:

With the Care combination of peeling and hand bath You support the formation of a healthy skin protective barrier – so cracked and rough skin areas become permanently supple!

Important: Ingredients in hand creams

Some hand creams from conventional cosmetic production contain so-called mineral oils. They ensure that the skin is literally sealed. They are actually supposed to protect against moisture loss. They are also one of the least irritating ingredients in cosmetics.

Your big disadvantage: The creamed layer does not allow the moisture of the skin underneath to circulate. You have the feeling that when the cream layer is washed off, your skin is drier than ever and you have to reapply it even more often. Questionable ingredients include paraffins, fragrances such as Lilial or preservatives such as parabens. It is better to exclude such products from your daily hand care routine.

To be on the safe side, you can certified natural cosmeticsset. It contains no hormonal or carcinogenic ingredients. However, natural essential oils can also irritate the skin – try out what works for your skin. Products from our own production are also a good alternative – you can find out how you can make your own hand cream here.

Better skin protection: What you should avoid if your hands are dry

Do you generally have a tendency to have dry hands? These mistakes often cause skin irritation and should be avoided:

1. Too much hand cream

Applying cream to your hands regularly is the be-all and end-all. But: In winter, creams with a high water content are the wrong thing for very brittle skin – they can even promote drying out and in the worst case, trigger hand eczema. Due to the cold temperatures, dry heated air and sharply fluctuating temperature differences (between inside and outside), the skin cannot store water. As the skin barrier function is weakened, already dry skin will lose even more moisture. And: In the worst case, the water it contains can even freeze in sub-zero temperatures and cause frost damage to the skin.

2. Constant hand washing

Don’t wash your hands too often! Of course, washing your hands is generally useful and can prevent infections. But the water and especially the soap can attack the acid mantle of the skin. Therefore, do not clean your hands excessively and if you do, only use lukewarm water and one skin-friendly liquid soap to use. This can be recognized by information such as “pH skin-neutral” or “pH 5.5” on the product packaging. And: Avoid using disinfectant every now and then and apply cream to your hands afterwards so as not to attack the skin barrier unnecessarily.

Tip: Do you have to wash your hands frequently because of your job – for example because you work as a doctor – and therefore suffer from hand eczema more often? Then you can have it diagnosed as a disease by a dermatologist. If you have work-related hand eczema, you are entitled to treatments that statutory health insurance companies do not normally cover. This applies, for example, to the additional payment for special skin care products or medication.

3. Avoid gloves

Never clean without gloves! The chemicals contained in detergents and cleaning products attack the sensitive skin on the hands. In fact, the skin is deprived of moisture every time it comes into contact with detergent etc., which not only causes dry hands but also causes redness and cracks in the skin. And they are dangerous because they make it easier for germs to penetrate the skin.

4. Constant repainting

Frequent nail polishing promotes dry hands! Painting your fingernails regularly is not harmful in itself, However, the associated removal of the paint is very difficult. The ingredients in nail polish removers dry out sensitive cuticles. That’s why it makes sense to give your fingernails a little break from painting every now and then.

Reading tips: Would you like more help with good skin care? Then you can read here how to create the perfect skin care routine, what helps against dry lips and how you can clean pores.

Sources

Bridget