Relief for Dry Hands

Almost all of us have had the misfortune of having dry hands at some point during the year. My hands are hardest hit in the winter with the cold temperatures. They are also affected by harsh cleaning materials and frequent hand-washing. There are times when my hands are so dry that they develop cracks at the fingertips that never seem to heal.

Here are a few things that can help avoid severely dry hands:

• Avoid the sanitizing hand cleansers if possible, their ingredients are very drying.
• Wear protective gloves when cleaning.
• Wear gloves when going outside in cold weather. 
• Find a good moisturizer and put it on every time you wash your hands.

Despite all of the hints above, I still occasionally get dry hands. I Here are a few things that have helped me:

• Use a moisturizing soap.  I find the handmade soaps work best.
• Use an oil or butter-based sugar or salt scrub to help exfoliate the dry layers. A salt scrub will sting if you have open cuts, but you may find the benefits far outway the mild discomfort.  For severe dryness you might want to try a sugar scrub first.
• Moisturize with a product that contains a high percentage of emollient vegetable butters such as Shea butter and Cocoa butter.  I like to use cocoa butter in the winter because it also provides a barrier that traps moisture under it.

You can find hand therapy kits in stores and at most skin-care sites.  My hand therapy kit, Silky Hands, is a more natural version of many of the commercial kits.  They are just a modification of the Wash – Exfoliate – Moisturize regime.  I like to use that three-step routine at least once a day in the winter.