Windy weather, lower air temperatures, and frequent use of sanitizers all have a negative effect on the skin of your hands.
In this article, we will talk about the nuances of hand skincare.
General Tips
Hand care starts with daily care.
Wash your hands right
When coming from the outside, do not try to warm your hands in hot water when washing them. Just use warm water. A sharp temperature drop leads to vasoconstriction and a slowdown in blood circulation, which ultimately disrupts the nutrition of the skin and nails. After washing, dry your hands with a soft towel.
Use a moisturizing or nourishing hand soap. The main difference between moisturizing and nourishing soaps from ordinary soaps lies in the caring components like oils, vitamins, and extracts that help keep the skin hydrated.
Avoid using electric hand dryers. Although this is one of the most hygienic ways to dry your hands in a public place, the intense flow of warm air makes the dryers very dry. Better to use paper towels or napkins.
Use gloves
In the cold season, one of the most effective ways to protect your hands from hypothermia and chapping is to wear gloves.
However, not only weather conditions can negatively affect the condition of hands skin, but also the household chemicals that we may use during cleaning.
Rubber cleaning gloves can protect your hands from harsh chemicals that do more harm, including allergic reactions and irritations.
Air humidification
Sometimes dry and flaky skin may be the result of banal dehydration. Therefore, it is important to remember to observe the water regime even in the cold season. But it is worth considering not only the amount of liquid consumed but also the level of humidity, which, at a rate of 60%, greatly decreases during the heating season. Air humidifiers fight dry air most effectively, which are relevant not only with the arrival of cold weather but also in summer when we use air conditioners with might and main.
Hand care products during the cold season
Nourishing hand cream
The nourishing cream is basic hand care that is relevant not only in cold weather. Unlike the face skin, hands have practically no sebaceous glands, so they are not able to cope with drying out on their own. Nourishing creams containing different plant oils create a lipid film that nourishes the skin, heals it, and protects it from moisture loss. Therefore, they can be used not only in cold weather but also all year round, especially if the hands’ skin is thin and dry.
To keep your hands smooth and soft, it is best to apply hand cream several times a day. Especially after contact with water and before going outside.
Scrubs and peels
Exfoliation is important for the skin of the hands. During the cold season, it is especially important to choose delicate peeling products – soft scrubs or peeling rolls that do not injure the skin.
To keep the skin soft and smooth, it is enough to peel once every 10 days.
Hand masks
The hand mask is an express hand care product. A hand mask is a pair of gloves made of material, inside of which there is a special serum or cream.
Gloves prevent evaporation of the care composition and slightly steam the skin of the hands so that the beneficial components nourish its deeper layers.
Oil for hand skincare
The oil is an intensive care for the skin of the hands and body, containing many caring and nourishing ingredients. You can use oils: grape or apricot seed, almond, avocado oil, etc. But due to the fact that they are absorbed for a long time and have not always pleasant flavor, many users prefer to use universal cosmetic oils that are suitable for both the face and for the body.
They smell nicer and are absorbed faster into the skin.
Massage candles
Massage candles are essentially solid cosmetic oil in a metal container. After a few minutes of burning the wick, the oil melts and becomes liquid. After extinguishing the candle, the melted oil is poured onto the hands and rubbed into the skin with massage movements.
This procedure is not only good for the skin but also very pleasant.
Paraffin therapy at home
Another effective treatment for hand skin is paraffin therapy. Once upon a time, this procedure was carried out only in beauty salons. Paraffin therapy has nourishing and healing properties, helps to get rid of peeling and microcracks in the skin, and also slows down the aging process of the skin.
Hot paraffin therapy
For a “hot” procedure, you will need cosmetic paraffin, a paraffin bath, special paraffin therapy bags, and terry gloves, as well as soap, scrub, and oil or nourishing hand cream.
First, you need to melt the paraffin in an electric bath. While the hot paraffin wax cools down to a comfortable temperature (about 10 minutes), you need to prepare your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap, exfoliate and apply oil or cream. Then we lower our hands into the cooled paraffin, raise our hands over the bath so that the paraffin hardens slightly, and repeat this action several times to make the paraffin layer thicker. After that, we wrap our hands in plastic gloves and put on terry or woolen mittens on top to keep warm. After 10-15 minutes, remove the gloves, remove the frozen paraffin.
Cold paraffin therapy
An alternative option is cold paraffin therapy. In this case, you do not need to melt the paraffin, but you can use the ready-made composition in exactly the same way. Preparing hands:
- Clean
- Scrub
- Nourish with cream or oil
- Apply cold paraffin to our hands
- Hide our hands in polyethylene, and then insulate.
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Photo by ian dooley