Our hands are great as long as they work on demand without requiring too much maintenance. When our hands go without basic maintenance care for too long, they become dry, chapped, and often tinge with occasional pain. If left unmaintained for extended periods of time our hands fail us and develop into worse conditions requiring medical solutions.
Hand remedies have evolved into specialized care products capable of delivering desired results when used regularly. Maintaining the hands is designed for comfort, health, and personal visual aesthetics. Our seasonal hand remedies guide offers various solutions of different textures for the best possible personal hand care outside of spa and medical attention.
Balms + Butters
Used for serious dryness and skin in need of deep concentrated therapy and protection. The combination of essential oils, waxes, and plant or animal butter, balms can be customized to address many types of topical and therapy issues. Applied directly to skin, balms restore the skin’s moisture barrier. The best time to apply balm to hands in need is before bed time. Over applying balms leaves the skin with an oily finish. Apply a small amount as needed. Balms may be applied as a topical layer in a layered therapy application to hands with serious dryness conditions.
Creams
Heavier than a lotion and lighter than a concentrated balm, creams offer intense moisture relief for dry and chapped hands. If your hands are chapped and dry, do not use perfumed or synthetic fragrance creams as they may agitate the existing condition. Unscented or medicated creams are solid solutions for extreme dryness and chapped hands conditions. Apply a small amount of cream at a time and as needed. Over applying a cream may result in an oily finish. Applying hand creams before bed is an optimal time due to lack of necessary daytime activity.
Lotions
Used for light moisture therapy. If your hands are chapped and dry, do not use perfumed or synthetic fragrance lotions as they may agitate the existing condition. If your hands require moisture therapy find a lotion without added fragrances. A medicated lotion may offer extreme hand conditions and optimal care to recovery.
Oils
Used for concentrated deep moisture therapy. Oils are unique in that they are a pure form of conditioning therapy and they can be infused with vital therapeutic ingredients. Using the wrong pure or infused oil on dry hands may be painful and worsen an existing condition. When applying oils directly to dry hands use a minimal amount to prevent over use and an oily hand finish. Apply oils as a focus moisture solution or as a base layer in a multiple solution regimen.
SPFs
Often overlooked, our hands are exposed to all elements, regularly. Since we must rely on our hands to help us move, produce, and communicate at a moment’s notice, staving off harmful sun rays helps preserve the natural order of daily life. Apply SPF products to conditioned hands before exposing your hands directly to sunlight. Sunlit times are not the only times the sun shines strongly; apply SPF products to hands before going outside on cloudy days, too!
Spritzes
Used for light and refreshing concentrated moisture therapy. Generally, hands in moist condition are in need of a pick-me-up reach for misting liquids and lightly spritz all over hands. Pure vital ingredient extracts in light liquid form produce immediate therapy to hands in need. Spritzing the wrong extracts onto dry hands produces painful results and may worsen an existing condition. Layer spritzes as a first solution in a therapeutic recovery regimen.
Layering Remedies
Exfoliation. Gently exfoliate rough skin textures before moving into any moisture therapy. Extreme dryness conditions may not allow exfoliation. If you are not able to exfoliate due to extreme dryness conditions, move directly into a moisture solution regimen.
Spritzes first. Due to the sheer liquid texture of skin care spritzes, apply them first to hands in need. Allow the spritz to work its way into the skin by gently rubbing hands together and working the liquid into all areas of the skin. The skin’s surface should be balmy before moving into the next phase of layered treatment.
Oils second. Apply a sheer layer of care oil to moist, spritzed hands. Work into the skin fully and allow the oil to set into the skin. Gently blot any excess topical oil. Pure or infused oils offer great therapy options to condition and protect the hands. Pure oils such as sweet almond oil and olive oil provide therapy with no synthetic scents or painful fusions.
Balms second or third. Balms can be pure ingredient moisture miracle producers for dry hands. Layer over fully set spritzes and oils. Apply a thin layer and allow to set fully into dry hands. Blot off any residual balm after setting the moisture for about 10 minutes.
Creams fourth.
Apply creams to hands on top of well set lotions or balms, as a final moisture solution layer. When layering conditioning, all products must be used in order to achieve optimal results.
Usually a popular single moisture solution, creams produce an intensely rich amount of moisture to dry hands. Minimal applications are required for optimal results, so do not apply too much cream. Even dry skin takes in only so much moisture and non-absorbed cream makes hands greasy and unmanageable. Blot off any extra cream on the skin’s surface after setting for about 10 minutes.
When to Apply
Optimally, maintaining moist hands is the goal when approaching daily hand care. In reality, this does not always happen and the only time many hands receive care is when extreme dryness conditions appear. For daily maintenance, apply a minimal amount of moisture therapy onto hands after washing and task work. Monitor the condition of your hands regularly for the best course of care action. Apply solutions as needed.
Mask or apply a deep conditioning moisture treatment as the weather changes or in extreme weather conditions to maintain healthy hands. When masking, blot off any residual moisture on the skin and allow the hands to set for at least 10 minutes before moving into exterior elements or task work. Remember, healthy hands give us great mobility in life.
Exfoliate First
Applying care products to non-exfoliated hands may not produce desired results. Product applied to non-exfoliated skin sets on top of the accumulated skin, defeating the purpose of applying the product. Gently exfoliate the hands with attention to the full hand including nail beds, fingers, between the fingers, the tops of hands, the palms of hands, as well as wrists and lower arm areas. You may not need to exfoliate every time you apply hand moisture.
Topical peel products without acids as well as lightly beaded exfoliating products produce good results. Before applying beaded exfoliating products moisten hands with water. Topical peel products can be applied directly to dry skin before setting and peeling off. Salt and sugar scrubs mixed with light oil and essential oils also work well to remove dry surface and accumulated cells on skin. If your hands are chapped, do not use exfoliation products until your hands are fully conditioned and healthy. Maintain a solid exfoliation and moisture care regime if your skin tends to be dry.
Sources-Kaboom Pics., Purnamawati, S., Indrastuti, N., Danarti, R., & Saefudin, T. (2017). The Role of Moisturizers in Addressing Various Kinds of Dermatitis: A Review. Clinical medicine & research, 15(3-4), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.3121/cmr.2017.1363, ChatGPT, Elizabeth Iris from Pexels,
