Best Care & Lotion For Dry Hands
Your hands do a lot for you. Be sure you're caring for them all the time, and not just when they feel dry.
Hands are sometimes the most difficult to keep hydrated, after all, we are washing them constantly and they are frequently exposed to temperatures and the elements. One thing we all learned from the pandemic is that most people weren’t washing their hands as often as they should.
When hands begin to crack or get irritated, we wash less often. This can put us at a greater risk for spreading germs. Not to mention dry skin is a vicious cycle and we all know what that looks like. Make it easier to wash your hands as frequently as you should by keeping your hands in good shape.
During the day, use a good hand lotion that will absorb quickly so you are more inclined to use it often. Try to put on hand lotion as soon as you can after washing, and try to keep the temperature of the water you wash with warm or lukewarm. Heavily scented lotions may irritate red and dry skin but if it will encourage you to use it more often, it may be worth it. At night, slather on the strong stuff to help your hands recover overnight.
You can even use soft cotton gloves for a boost. Still need more? Read on for our tried-and-tested 30-minute technique to jumpstart the healing.
Dermatologist-Recommended Tips for Faster Healing & Moisture:
1. Layer Your Skincare!
My dermatologist gave me this little tip: layers! She uses a lot of different hand lotions just like the rest of us, but she has a few bottles of inexpensive hyaluronic acid, squalene, or other rich serum she slathers on her skin with her hand lotion.
Not only will it help everything you put on after it absorb better, you’re likely getting more hyaluronic acid on your skin this way than from lotions that only contain it in trace amounts. Yep, many of those lotions that brag about all their beneficial ingredients rarely have high enough amounts of the touted ingredient to be effective.
For evenings, use a few drops of squalene serum, like this delightful formula from Biossance.
2. Use Power Tools!
If you don’t want to sleep overnight with gloves/goop on your hands, invest in a hand massager with heat for an extremely effective at-home deep hydration treatment. These are essentially compression devices that inflate and deflate and treat your hands to heat. DO NOT use these with freshly applied lotion unless you have a glove on or they will get gross in a hurry. Just apply the hand lotion, a glove, and then slide your hand into one of these little devices for a few cycles to soften up your hands and jumpstart the healing.
Our favorite is the Comfier Wireless Hand Massager because we can just set it on the desk, arm of the sofa, or anywhere, really. It recharges fast with USB-C and comes in 2 colors. I can get a few good cycles out of it on one charge.
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Our Top Rated Hand Lotions:
O'Keeffe's is the gold standard. The newer formula in the tube absorbs quicker than the tub of balm you may have tried before. This is one of the most effective hand creams we have ever used. We like both the night and day cream formulas, but the lighter formula for the day cream absorbs faster. There is also an eczema formula. Bonus? You can get this for your poor dry feet too, and O’Keefe’s sells two packs with both feet and hand cream.
Gloves in a Bottle has been tested in the ER with one of our testers who has to wash her hands as often as every 15 minutes in a shift. It creates a barrier on your skin that some might find too heavy during the day.
/Skin Regimen/ is a delightful natural woodsy-smelling cream that's mild. Not the nasty patchouli stinky stuff you smell in the hippy section at the natural grocery store- it's a high quality formula made by Comfort Zone, one of our favorite European natural skincare brands.
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Remember to always apply hand cream after you use sanitizer or opt for a moisturizing sanitizer. Antimicrobial sanitizers strip moisture like nobody’s business.
Stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic or a long commute on the train? Keep a bag of rich cream in the car or your bag, and give yourself a hand massage to soothe your hands and your stress level. Learn to use reflexology points on your hands as you moisturize for even greater health benefits.
If you’ll be heading into the sun, apply sunscreen with your lotion. Like hot showers? Always moisturize right away afterward to lock in the moisture, especially on those hands.
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