Old Man Winter is knocking, temps are dropping, and the cold air is leeching the moisture right out of your skin. There are many skincare routines designed to pump your facial skin full of extra moisture during the winter months, but one area that often gets overlooked is the hands.
We think you deserve better than dry, sometimes even “scaly” hands during winter.
Here are some tips to avoid those rough, winter hands.
Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
The key to avoiding chapped hands in winter is to always maintain hydration to ensure any moisture lost to the cold, dry air can be easily replenished. Make sure to apply hand lotion in the morning and night and after any hand washing throughout the day.
Choose the Right Lotion for Your Hands
When choosing what hand cream you are going to use for the winter it is important to look at the ingredients. Look for ingredients that will attract water and draw moisture into the skin, as well as a hand cream that will create a natural barrier from the elements and keep the moisture in your skin.
Our all-natural Almond Butter Sugar High Hand Cream is a perfect solution for dry winter hands. It is crafted with a rich, natural formula of hydrating ingredients such as avocado oil, vitamin E, shea butter, and jojoba oil for skin. These ingredients nourish and soothe the skin around the hands.
The Right Ingredients
The best lotion for winter dry hands should contain shea butter, which locks in moisture to the skin, creating a barrier from outside elements. Best of all, this miracle ingredient continues to hydrate long after application.
Additionally, look for a natural hand cream, like Almond Butter Sugar High Hand Cream, that doesn’t use harsh fragrances, chemicals, or ingredients that can actually do more damage than good and dry out your hands even more. The best natural hand cream for dry winter hands will NOT have any fragrances, sulfates, or dyes.
Another great ingredient to look for in your winter hand cream is avocado oil. It adds moisture while protecting the skin from UV rays with an array of nutrients like beta carotene, fatty acids, and vitamins A, D, and E.
Our natural hand lotion also contains hemp seed oil which contains abundant Omega-6 fatty acid. This anti-inflammatory ingredient encourages new skin cell generation - making our hand lotion an anti-aging hand lotion as well!
When to Moisturize Your Hands
Make sure to apply hand moisturizer right away in the morning to ensure your hands are protected all day long. We also recommend reapplying hand lotion after any hand washing during the day. This ensures any moisture lost from the harsh soaps and sanitizers used gets instantly replenished.
It is much easier to prevent dry, cracked knuckles and rough, chapped hands than it is to cure them (although, also not impossible). So stay on top of the moisturizing to ensure you keep your soft, hydrated hands all winter long.
Our skin naturally regenerates overnight with our sleep cycles, so it is important to apply hand lotion right before bed. Just like a facial night cream, our hand cream will work to restore your skin while you sleep.
And don’t forget your cuticles! Hangnails and torn cuticles can be extremely painful and are another unfortunate side effect of winter air. Massage the hand cream into each cuticle to ensure they stay healthy.
Exfoliate Your Hands Regularly
You may feel like skipping this step in your routine if your hands are dry but if done well, exfoliating is a key part of keeping your hands soft, smooth, and hydrated all winter long.
Only exfoliate 1-2 times a week. And again, make sure to use a natural exfoliant, like our Welcome to the Scrub Body Scrub. This scrub contains vitamin E to ensure it doesn’t dry out the skin while using cane sugar to buff away the dead skin that can build up. Keeping the dead skin scrubbed away allows the moisture from your lotion to really soak in and hydrate the fresh, newly polished skin.
Don’t forget! Always follow any hand exfoliating with a lotion for the hands right away to keep your skin’s hydration levels maxed out!
Other Helpful Tips
Wash with Warm - Not Hot - Water
When washing your hands, whether exfoliating or not, make sure to use warm water but not hot water. This goes for showers as well. Although a hot shower may feel good after a day out in the cold, it can actually really damage your skin and dry it out.
Gloves Galore
Another recommendation would be to keep your gloves and mittens handy. Wearing gloves any time you are outside will add another level of protection against winter's cold, dry air.
Additionally, if you ever feel like you need an extra boost – after applying your lotion at night, put on a pair of cotton gloves. This keeps the lotion locked in and provides maximum hydration.
Not a fan of gloves at night? No worries – just plug in a humidifier to keep the air filled with moisture to wake up with hydrated skin all over.
Keep The Hand Cream Handy
To sum up, keep the hand cream handy and apply it frequently throughout the day. Luckily, our Almond Butter Sugar High Hand Cream comes in the perfect container to throw in your purse, store in your desk drawer, or keep by your bedside. There’s no such thing as too much when it comes to hand cream in the wintertime. An added bonus? You will smell like a holiday cookie all season long.
