My hands take a beating all year round, with cleaners (even homemade ones), scrubbing, showers, dishes, you name it. I must quote Water Boy here and say that Water Sucks in this case because it kills my poor hands.
After the last cleaning binge I had, my poor hands looked just terrible.
My hands were in a bad place and I didn't want anyone to see them. With winter coming up, they can get that bad and worse. So I thought...hmm I wonder if anyone else has this same problem and thought I would share what I do to help them out and tips to protect your hands.
The first thing I do is use a hand scrub. I offer a sweet orange version on my website, but I also make a quick one for when I don't want a scented hand scrub or need a quick body scrub. Fill a small jar 3/4 of the way with sugar, pour a thin layer of oil over the top of the sugar (I use olive oil, but whatever you have will work), then fill the jar the rest of the way with dish soap ( I use Dawn, but any kind would work, if you have one that has a moisturizer in it, that is even better). Then stir the items together and add additional sugar if the mixture is too loose. I like mine on the dry side, but this is preference. Then take a scoop of it out, rub it over your hands and rinse off in warm water. Try not to make the water too hot as this will dry your hands out more as well.
After using a scrub on your hands (you should do this at least once a week), make sure to apply a nice lotion or salve to your hands and allow it to soak in. I use my own All Purpose Salve (available on my website at daniandskye.wix.com/danishomemadeproduct). I like the salve better than lotion since it soaks in pretty fast and doesn't give me the greasy feel lotion does (I seriously feel like I need to wash my hands again after putting lotion on so this would defeat the purpose of the moisturizer).
If your hands are really dry or cracked, it is a good idea to moisturize over night as well. To do this, I put on a thick coat of my all purpose salve (use what you prefer but I swear by my salve for many different things), then put on a pair of gloves (I have a fabric pair that I bought for this purpose or sometimes I just put on a pair of latex gloves I keep on hand for meat cutting, or even a clean pair of socks will work), and then go to bed. That simple. By morning, the salve has soaked in and softened my hands a great deal and it is much easier to moisturize them with a thin coat of my salve throughout the day.
My hands were in pretty bad shape so I did the scrub and moisturize routine for a couple of days but here is what they looked like after the couple of days.
Big improvement, but not quite fully repaired.
Some tips to protect your hands:
1. Moisturize. You should apply some kind of lotion or salve to your hands at least 4 times a day to help retain moisture and prevent chapping.
2. Temperatures. Watch the temperature on your water when you wash your hands. It should not be either too hot or too cold, both will strip moisture from your skin. Make sure to dry your hands completely (don't forget in between your fingers) after you wash them and apply lotion or salve to your hands.
3. Gloves. When washing dishes or cleaning, protect your hands with gloves. Gloves can even be used for over night moisturizing when your hands are really dry or cracked.
4. Cleaners. Chemicals can be harsh on the skin (just check out the pics of my hands above). When possible, choose a mild cleaner or soap to keep from tearing up your hands. Some body soaps can be full of chemicals as well so go homemade or mild whenever possible.
5. Exfoliate. Use your favorite hand scrub to help remove the build up of skin cells. Don't forget to moisturize afterwards.
6. Protect. Protect your hands from weather, both sun damage and winter cold damage. This will help keep your hands looking youthful for many more years.
After taking care of my hands, I don't worry about showing them off. Which is a good thing since I tend to gesture and talk with my hands and they are always visible. I certainly don't want people to be able to guess my age by the looks of my hands, even if my polish wears off quickly. How do you care for your hands? Leave a comment below.
No comments:
Post a Comment