Dry, rough, cracking, and irritated skin of hands. It’s a problem each one of us has encountered at least once in their lifetime, e.g. in the winter. What are the causes of this issue? How to moisturize dry skin on your hands? Here’s a brief guide for all of you who struggle with dry skin.
Dry and cracking skin on hands doesn’t look good. The main troublesome matter is an aesthetic matter. But not just that! It is worth knowing that dry hands are signals that may mean health problems. Decreasing skin condition on your hands (and not only) may be an indicator lamp that our organism lights up to say “hey, we have a problem”. What kind of? For example, a deficit of vitamin A, but not just that.
The reasons for hands dryness
Why do hands lack hydration? What are the reasons that day by day your hands become drier and drier? Often the condition of the skin on hands is caused by a few factors so you shouldn’t look for one specific reason.
Dry hands – the reasons:
- the deficit of vitamin A or anemia,
- kidneys or thyroid disease,
- dermatological issues, e.g. eczema or psoriasis,
- often contact with detergents,
- washing hands with soap and not using hand cream,
- external factors, e.g. freeze and dry air.
How to moisturize dry skin?
The simplest method is to eliminate the reason behind it – if you have dry hands because you do not use moisturizing hand cream, you should better start doing it, see a dermatologist and together find a treatment that suits you. The ground rule that you need to keep in mind is that you need to find the cause because only then what you use for it will be able to help.
There are various methods to moisturize dry hands – starting with creams and hand masks to professional treatment. In general, those are divided into at-home and professional treatments. However, before you go for expensive treatments for hands, you should start with the more affordable versions that will only require some time and commitment.
Quick methods for dry hands
1. Oat flakes exfoliator
Oat flakes help restore skin with suppleness and smoothness because those have exfoliating properties. That’s not all! When soaked in water for 15 minutes they will give away precious substances and vitamins B. Just dip hands in the mix and gently massage them with soaked flakes to provide the nourishment. Oat flakes exfoliator helps to retain hydration in the skin for longer and in particular when you use grinned flakes.
2. Flaxseed gel
The perfect replacement for hand cream can be flaxseed gel. You can prepare it at home – you just need to add a teaspoon of flaxseed to half a glass of warm water and set aside for 30 minutes to boil and cool down. The gel created this way can be drained and used along with the seeds (it all depends on our preferences), apply it every day on the hands. Flaxseed is rich in nutrients, calms irritations, and takes care of skin hydration by creating an occlusive layer to strengthen the hydrolipid coat of the skin.
3. Honey and olive oil
For dry hands great can be home-made two ingredients mask that you need only olive oil (high quality, cold-pressed and unrefined) and honey. The honey is a humectant which means that it binds water particles and delivers them to the deeper skin layers. On the other hand, olive oil prevents water loss, makes skin smooth, and nourishes the skin. Such a mask should be applied to wash hands for at least 15 minutes – it is good to protect it with foil gloves, plastic wrap, or by wrapping hands with a cotton cloth.
You do not want to have dry hands? Towel dry them after washing!
Lastly, something interesting for you. Did you know that not towel drying the hands after you wash them can contribute to moisture loss? Sounds irrational but just a minute of thought is enough to understand how it works. When there is water left on hands after the hand wash, it dries faster because water starts to evaporate along with the one that is in your skin. It’s dangerous, especially in the winter that is why it is important to never go out with hands still wet and you should always use thick creams for protection.
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