Beauty Skin & Hair

How to Have Healthy Pretty Hands

Our hands are one way of introducing ourselves to others. For us women, the appearance of our hands is especially important. When our hands are healthy and beautiful, we feel greater comfort and self-confidence.

But our hands do not always show as being healthy, especially now with the pandemic, in which handwashing and the use of hand sanitisers are permanent. We know they prevent the spread of the virus and are essential, however, they can cause hands dehydration, cause irritation or other more serious conditions that may need advice from a specialist.

This is a serious issue, especially for women, even though men also feel the negative effects I was talking about earlier, and they also need daily hand care.

Some of the principal causes of dehydration or hands irritation may not seem obvious to us…

Some of the principal causes of dehydration or hands irritation may not seem obvious to us, as they are part of the daily routines and we are not even aware of the aggressions that we may be causing. So, let us know what the causes are, what we can do to avoid them and care to be taken.

Excessive hand washing is currently a necessity, however, it can affect the skin’s lipid barrier, which is so important to keep it healthy and to protect us from skin-damaging agents. So we should choose a mild soap, without perfume, without alcohol and pH neutral. Avoid as much as possible, products promising to wash very well, since they are more alkaline. Wash your hands with warm or cold water. Then apply moisturizer immediately, this is a decisive step that should be done up to 60 seconds after washing, or the skin starts dehydrating. Those who want vegan products, made from non-animal ingredients, must pay attention to the label and description of the product’s composition.

Then apply moisturizer immediately, …

should be done up to 60 seconds after washing…

Similarly happens when we extensively use hand sanitisers. Its use is essential, and in this case, the care is really to moisturize immediately as described above and every time the hand sanitiser is placed. The ideal is to have more than one moisturiser unit to use frequently.

In both situations, the most important thing is the frequency of hydration and the ideal time to do so.

When we do some housework, we may also cause damage to our skin, especially hands, that are most exposed, for example, using chemicals or detergents and other multiple products that are harmful to our skin. Here, if it is necessary to use these products, experts advise the use of gloves for total hand protection. Having to resort to this element, prefer resistant gloves that you can use for a long period since they have an important environmental impact. Choosing recyclable products can be a lesser evil.

Choosing recyclable products can be a lesser evil.

An important time for hand protection is when cooking. Despite being a routine task for many people, our hands can suffer some aggressions due to contact with some foods. You all probably realized that after making a meal or just a juice, we immediately felt a certain discomfort on the skin of the hands. Most likely these foods will not surprise you, as with lemon, orange, and other acidic fruits, kiwi, and fig, but also potatoes or garlic. In, these cases the ideal is to use kitchen utensils that help to avoid direct contact with your hands. In situations of sensitive skin or with dermatitis always consider the use of gloves. The advice repeats for using more environmentally friendly gloves.

Weather and low temperatures can influence the appearance of dehydration, irritation, chilblains, or cracks. Once again hydration is essential. Hand protection too. With low or extremely low temperatures, the use of gloves is common, but it may not be enough, so keeping the moisturizer close is the most prudent. It may be necessary to consult a dermatologist for situations in which exposure to cold is very frequent and intense.

To delay ageing it is essential to protect the skin of our hands, just the simple gesture of applying sunscreen on your hands as we do with face and repeat throughout the day.

Taking care of our hands must be an ongoing activity so they remain healthy and graceful. We can therefore understand the importance of protecting the skin daily. With age, it is natural for stains to appear, these result from sun exposure that we do throughout our lives. To delay ageing it is essential to protect the skin of our hands, just the simple gesture of applying sunscreen on your hands as we do with face and repeat throughout the day. Although simple, it is still the best way to delay the effects of ageing on the skin of our hands. To avoid water contamination and the absorption of chemicals by the environment, we can and should give preference to brands of sunscreens with biodegradable or ecological formulas or coral reef safe. There is a lot on the market, luckily!

Now it is much simpler to have healthy and beautiful hands, just apply these principles!

I leave some products suggestions, in case of need.

I hope it was helpful.

This article was written considering existing published literature by specialists in dermatology.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF DERMATOLOGISTS

UCLA HEALTH

DERMNET NZ

If there is a topic that interests you particularly, you can write your suggestions to me here.

My best virtual hug to you,

Vera

#buyonlyifnecessary


Don't miss a thing!

Subscribe now to our mail list:

Loading

By submitting this form, you agreed with our privacy policy

%d bloggers like this: