Healing dry hands

Dry hands are one of winter’s most unpleasant side effects. Our hands are often exposed to the elements; not only the bone-chilling winter wind but detergents, harsh ingredients, garden work and even sport all take a toll on the skin of our hands.

A couple of easy-to-follow, practical tips for protecting our hands from parchment are:

-       Wear gloves to prevent contact with products that may dehydrate the skin.

-       A significant number of women may find they are allergic to latex gloves. If gloves are not a viable option, remember that the faster you get an emollient moisturiser on your hands after washing, and the longer you can keep it on, the better.

-       Any good emollient moisturiser will work – it does not have to be labelled “hand cream” to soothe dry skin on the hands.

-       It is a good idea to keep small tubes of moisturiser around the house, including near the kitchen sink, in the bathroom, at the bedside, and in the garage. Keeping hand-cram in your car, purse, briefcase, and desk drawer is also a way to ensure that those hands are never without moisturiser.

For those of us who are still shopping around for a great hand moisturiser, the following three products come highly recommended:

-       Nivea’s Smooth Nourishing Hand Cream: is easily absorbed and leaves the hands feeling silkier.

-       Body Shop Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream: smells yum and leaves skin feeling supple.

-       Atrixo Enriched Moisturising Cream: a rich cream that sooths cracked skin.