All of the cold weather at this time of year can result in dry and chapped skin. We all know how to look after our skin with highly moisturising creams and serums to tackle the dryness but what about sore hands?
The changing weather can make dry and sore hands a lot more prominent, but constant hand washing can also make matters a lot worse.
It’s great to repeatedly wash your hands and ensure that you’re getting rid of any nasty bacteria that is hanging around. However, whilst soap can effectively remove dirt and germs from your skin, it can also remove the natural oils that keep your skin hydrated.
Your skin naturally produces oil that helps to moisturise and protect your skin from dryness. At times when you may be washing your hands a lot more regularly than usual, this can really dry out your skin. When you mix that with the changing cold weather then your hands can easily become sore as there is no moisture to protect them.
How to maintain moisturised hands
It's important to keep on top of washing your hands. It helps to protect yourself from spreading any bacteria and also helps to remove any bacteria that you might have unknowingly got into contact with.
But if you do find your hands to be more dry than usual then we’ve got some ways to help.
The best thing to do is to remember to moisturise your hands regularly. Think about it as a routine - as soon as you wash your hands with soap, remember to apply moisturiser after.
Moisturising lotions and creams help to rehydrate the skin. By frequently moisturising your hands you can help to rebuild the skin’s barrier and repair cracked skin.
At night it is a great idea to cover your hands in a thick moisturiser so it can get to work whilst you sleep. If you can then perhaps cover them with cotton gloves, these will help your hands to absorb more of the ingredients, and help to keep your sheets clean!
What ingredients are great for moisturising?
When you’re looking for a moisturiser for dry hands it's important to look at what ingredients it uses. Some ingredients are known to soothe dry skin more so than others. Many moisturisers combine emollients, occlusives, humectants to work together in improving the skin’s moisture.
Occlusives
- These tend to be oil-based and help to prevent moisture loss from the skin’s surface. As they’re oil-based they can appear to be more greasy so are usually paired with other ingredients that help the product to absorb more easily into the skin.
Humectants
- These help to increase the water content of the outer layers of your skin by pulling moisture from both the air and deeper layers of the skin. When they’re used on their own they could potentially make the skin drier by drawing water to the top layer of skin where it could evaporate. This means that they are usually paired with occlusive ingredients to help trap moisture in.
Emollients
- These help to soften the skin and cover small fissures by providing a protective layer. Some humectants and occlusives are also considered to be emollients. These include the occlusive Lanolin and the humectant Glycerin.
How We Can Help
Here at Evolve we create highly moisturising lotions and butters that can help to soothe and protect dry and chapped hands.
Our hand and body lotions are both created to nourish and hydrate the skin whilst soothing it at the same time. The African Orange Aromatic Hand and Body Lotion and the Citrus Blend Aromatic Hand and Body Lotion both include the Shea Butter and Aloe Vera.
Shea Butter is an important ingredient as it is naturally rich in vitamins A, E and F. It provides the skin with essential fatty acids and nutrients that are necessary for collagen production, being used in Africa and other countries for years to improve both skin and hair. We also use Aloe Vera. This is a great addition to our hand and body lotions as it has the ability to soothe the skin from any irritation.
The best thing about these lotions is that they now come in our supersize duos paired with their matching wash. This means that they are perfect to have next to your sink so you remember to tackle dry skin by moisturising just as much as you wash! The new larger sizes also means that you are helping to reduce your plastic waste, whilst saving some money on the perfect family sized products - sounds like a win win.
| AFRICAN ORANGE SUPERSIZE DUO | CITRUS BLEND SUPERSIZE DUO |
|
This is the perfect pair to refresh, hydrate and soothe your skin with the delicate fragrance of Blood Orange and Vanilla.
|
This duo uses a perfect blend of Juniper Berry, Lime, Lemon and Black Pepper to leave your skin feeling clean and comforted.
|
 |
|
