Skin Care Tips: Keeping Your Hands Soft and Smooth in the Harsh Winter
February 24, 2010 by Paul Hanson
Filed under Skin Care
For some people, winter is a time to suffer with red, dry, scaly skin on their hands. Not only is it unattractive, it can be downright painful.
Why does it happen only in the winter months? Wintertime in most places means drier air, and that leads to drier skin, which is particularly noticeable on hands. In addition, people tend to be more aware of sickness, and so may wash their hands more, which strips away the moisture in your skin. It’s made worse by all that hand sanitizer everyone is using these days.
Hand sanitizer, while good at killing germs, may be your skin’s worst enemy. While some do include aloe, this is hardly enough to stop the alcohol they also include as a main ingredient from drying out your skin. If you use hand sanitizer, immediately follow that with a good moisturizer to replenish the oils that the alcohol in the hand sanitizer takes away from your skin.
Sometimes, it can be more than simply unsightly dryness. Some people who suffer from extremely dry skin may actually develop cracks in their skin, which can lead to some pretty serious infections.
One of the biggest culprits in the winter is dry air, in and out. Indoors, with the heat cranked up high, the moisture-sucking air leaves skin vulnerable. One of the best things you can do is keep a humidifier going. This puts moisture back in the air and back on your skin. One night with that humidifier loading moisture into the air, and you’ll see a dramatic difference in your skin.
If you have a wood or pellet stove, your house is going to be even drier, making a humidifier a necessity.
Another key to keeping your hands soft is to slather on a good quality moisturizer several times a day. Look for moisturizers with multi-vitamin and natural ingredients. To keep your hands looking good and healing that dry, rough skin, you must continue to moisturize every time you wash your hands. Otherwise, you are washing away the moisturizer and losing the benefits of the lotion.
While your hands are the first thing you notice when your skin is drying out, don’t forget the rest of your body. Arms and legs can often become irritated because of the dry air, so make certain you moisturize your entire body every day.
Winter can be tough on skin, but if you counter that with some gentle treatment, your hands will survive in style.
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