The chances of getting dry and chapped hands are at an all-time high, especially with the weather and other elements outdoing themselves. The climate has changed so much that it tells on your skin all year, especially during dry and cold weather. However, there is no need to fret. If your skin keeps losing moisture and natural oils, natural ingredients are lying around your kitchen may bring it to a halt. You may not always need to draw up a luxury budget to cater to your skin when there are an array of home remedies to choose from.
This article looks closely at ways to care for your dry, chapped hands using ingredients and materials readily available and often found in the home.
10 Ways to Care for Your Dry, Chapped Hands
1. Using Aloe Vera:
Aloe Vera is loaded with many benefits for your hair and skin. Its benefits are enormous such that skincare, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food giants worldwide use this natural soothing gel in a lot of their products.
How To Use –
- Carefully cut out a leaf of Aloe Vera.
- Press the leaf gently to extract the gel.
- Gently apply the gel all over your dry hands. The Aloe Vera gel contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants (1)
- For a better effect, you may apply it in the morning and the evening and put on a glove (2). This way, the nourishing, moisturizing, and soothing properties of Aloe Vera get to work more on your skin with visible changes as the days go by.
You may leave the applied aloe vera gel on your skin for as long as possible. If you opt to leave it on for a shorter period, wash it off after a few minutes of application. Most importantly, the naturally resourced aloe vera gel can get absorbed into the skin in no time without that greasy feeling certain products give.
Also Read – Try These Glycerin Masks for Dry Skin to Get a Soft and Healthy Glow
2. Using Olive Oil to Pamper Your Hands:
Olive oil is a beauty ingredient that rounds in many skincare products. Used in ancient times to lubricate the body, heal bruises and other skin wounds, olive oil has a reputation for providing soothing relief to the body. Also, olive oil is an excellent moisturizer for the body, with a high level of Vitamin E and Vitamin A (3, 4 ).
How to use –
- When other moisturizers are ineffective, gently apply a few drops of Olive Oil and massage your hands with it. It restores skin lipids and preserves elasticity.
- The best time to apply Olive Oil may be in the evening before going to bed so that your skin will absorb it while you are asleep.
3. Cultivate A Hand-Care Bedtime Routine:
If you notice that your hands are always dry and chapped, a thoughtful bedtime routine that helps you seal in moisture may make a tremendous difference.
How To Do –
- Before bedtime, soak your hands in lukewarm water for fifteen minutes.
- Then gently dab your hands. The intention of dabbing your hands as opposed to cleaning them properly with a towel is to eliminate excess water but still have some left on your hands.
- Next, apply petroleum jelly, also known as mineral oil.
- Carefully rub it generously all over your hands.
- Then cover up your hands with a pair of comfortable gloves. This ensures that moisture is trapped in your skin and gives your hands enough time to rehydrate and absorb moisture.
When you wake up in the morning, you may notice that your hands feel softer. For the greasy feeling that comes with this home remedy, gently wipe your hands with a soft tissue or cotton ball.
4. Incorporating Lemon Juice and Honey as a Weekly Treatment:
According to research (5), lemon juice is rich in potassium that rejuvenates dry skin. It also has a sufficient amount of Vitamin C that delays signs of aging caused by dry skin.
The antioxidants and antimicrobial properties found in honey may go a long way to lock in moisture in your hands and keep them soft (6).
How to Use –
- Mix these two ingredients in equal amounts using a cup.
- Stir it well and apply it to your hands.
- You may leave them on for 15 minutes and wash them off with cold water.
Continuously doing this may leave your hands feeling soft and improve their appearance.
Also Read – Indulge in Bathing Luxury: 10 Best Shower Gels for Dry Skin in India
5. A Hand Soak with Milk, Honey, and Rosewater:
A combination of milk, honey, and Rosewater may give your hands much-needed nourishment and hydration. Milk is a natural, healthy moisturizer containing water, fat, and proteins that restore lost moisture to your skin. Widely known for its lactic acid properties, it does great work at boosting the skin’s natural moisture factor and helping it feel less dry.
Honey has a reputation for providing amazing healing and moisturizing benefits to the skin since ancient times. As a humectant, it will draw moisture from your surrounding onto your skin.
On the other hand, Rosewater is a go-to staple for women who need to soothe irritated skin. With this trio, your dry, chapped hands will feel better than before with regular application.
How to Use –
- Fill a small bowl with warm water
- Then add a half cup of milk, a tablespoon of honey, and a few tablespoons of Rosewater.
- Soak your hands in this mixture for as long as possible.
With this trio, your dry, chapped hands will feel better than before with regular application.
6. Protect Your Hands From Chemicals and Harsh Ingredients:
Washing your hands with just soap and water for about 15 seconds reduces bacterial count by 90%. However, some people tend to overdo this handwash procedure with different kinds of hand wash and soaps, which prove to be unnecessary. It tells in the long run.
Different hand wash brands may contain chemicals and harsh ingredients that strip the skin of moisture, leaving it dry, flaky, and chapped with repeated use. However, it is essential to note that the skin behind your palms is tender; hence they do not need a special soap to remove dirt or kill germs.
Ensuring that you use a soap that doesn’t strip your skin of its natural oils is important. Dry, chapped hands are often a result of the continuous use of harsh soaps and chemical-infused hand wash for an extended time.
There is no particular frequency as to how often you should wash your hands; however, it is important to recognize the type of soaps, disinfectants, and hand washes you allow on your hands very often. A better option will be to opt for a gentle, mild, or homemade soap instead. Indeed, the times we live in demand proper hand hygiene, but extra care should be put in to avoid the detriment of your hands.
7. Create a Homemade Mask for your Hands:
Face masks are a popular trend in the beauty industry, and they won’t be going away any time soon. However, your face is not the only part of your body that gets to enjoy this luxury treatment; your hands can also use them.
How to Make-
- Mix 2 tablespoons of cinnamon powder, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a few drops of lemon essential oil.
- Wash your hands and apply this mask evenly.
- You may leave it on for 15 minutes, then rinse your hands and apply a moisturizer.
Cinnamon helps maintain radiant skin by limiting fine lines and damages caused by dry weather. Olive oil is filled with properties that nourish and hydrate the skin, while lemon essential oil contains vitamin C, antioxidants, and antimicrobial properties.
8. Eat Foods Rich in Vitamins, Minerals, Complex Carbohydrates, and Proteins:
You require a healthy diet intake to look healthy. It has been proven that what you take into your body eventually reflects on your skin, including your hands.
Although the beauty industry is worth billions of dollars, incorporating a healthy meal with external skincare products balances the equation. This balance makes your efforts of having great-looking skin more effective with a visible difference to show for it. It’s no wonder experts profess that healthy skin always begins from the inside.
The nourishment that comes from Vitamin and Mineral rich foods is excellent for healthy skin. So often, rough, dry, and chapped skin is a pointer to a Vitamin A deficiency. Raising the levels of Vitamin A and Vitamin D in your body with foods such as fish, egg yolks, and cod liver oil may help soothe your skin from the inside out, giving you a healthy glow and erasing the chances of having dry, chapped hands.
9. Wearing Protective Gloves:
Washing dishes at home, as well as other house or job-related chores that demand the use of certain chemical-infused products, may strip your hands of moisture and dry it out. Hence, it is recommended to use appropriate household or work gloves whenever you do certain chores.
Constant use of disinfectants like bleach may weaken your skin’s natural barrier and make it prone to more damage. In addition, being constantly exposed to various soaps and varying water temperatures 90% of the time has long-lasting effects on your hands. These factors make it essential to keep a glove readily available (7). Even hand models attest to this safety precaution.
Also Read – 10 Best Soaps For Dry Skin In India To Look Moisturized And Healthy
10. Exfoliating Your Skin With Kitchen Counter Ingredients:
Showing your skin tender loving care doesn’t have to be expensive, even when it is already dry and chapped. Often, we get a facial exfoliation; hence it is no different to do the same for your hands.
Exfoliation is a great way to remove dead skin cells from the skin’s surface, and it is also applicable to your hands. There are effective and soothing ways to exfoliate your hands at home. Here are a few you can try out today.
- Using Olive oil and grainy sugar – Pour about a teaspoon or half of the olive oil on your palms, then add a teaspoon of grainy sugar. With this coarse mixture on your palms, gently rub this mixture onto your palms and the back of your hands. Do this for 2 or 3 minutes and wash it off with warm water.
- Take a tablespoon of coconut oil with a small cup, add 2 tablespoons of honey to it, and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, add half a cup of sea salt and sugar. Slice a lemon into two and squeeze half of it into the same bowl. Stir it thoroughly and add this mixture to the coconut oil and honey mix. Scoop a small quantity into your palm and gently rub it all over your hands. Rinse it off with warm water after a minute or two.
- With a small bowl, add a handful of almonds. Grind this almond into a fine powder, then add half a teaspoon of honey and milk to it. Make a smooth paste from this mix, massage it gently on your hands for 3 minutes, and then rinse it off with warm water.
Summary
Our hands are always busy and as such, they are constantly exposed to several elements like heat, dust, pollution from the environment, and various chemicals in the products and materials we use daily. They play a vital role in our everyday lives and deserve to be cared for in the best way possible. Natural remedies and DIYs make it easy to care for this part of the body without breaking the bank. Taking out time to incorporate these remedies into your weekly skincare routine may improve the appearance of your hands.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are some immediate home remedies for dry, cracked hands?
To deal with dry hands at home, moisturize your hands daily with petroleum jelly (vaseline), wear gloves when doing house chores or jobs that demand that you frequently use water and several chemical variants in products, and treat your hands overnight with natural oils.
Can you have an overnight hand treatment?
Yes. Slather your hands overnight with natural oils like olive oil, lemon essential oil, and do a hand soak often in milk, honey, and Rosewater.
What about winter hand treatment tips?
Moisturize your hands often; waiting till it’s dry before moisturizing makes it even worse. Instead, use mild soap and warm water to wash your hands when the need arises. If you are outdoors most of the time, always put on gloves.
References –
- “What are the benefits of aloe vera?” – medicalnewstoday.com
- “Evaluation of aloe vera gel gloves in the treatment of dry skin associated with occupational exposure” – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- “Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils” – mdpi.com
- “Powerful Properties of Ozonated Extra Virgin Olive Oil” – researchgate.net
- “Lemons 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits” – healthline.com
- “Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review” – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- “Prevent and Soothe Chapped Winter Hands” – webmd.com
