How Should I Care For The Skin On My Hands Fingers And Feet
Regular care of the skin on your hands, fingers and feet will help to prevent skin from drying out and cracking. Here are some suggestions for how to look after your skin in these common problem areas:
How to care for your hands and fingers
- If you work with chemicals, wear protective gloves on your hands
- Wash your hands in lukewarm water
- Avoid harsh cleansing products
- Moisturize regularly: Keep a caring product such as Eucerin Aquaphor Repairing Ointment next to every place where you wash your hands . Eucerin Aquaphor Repairing Ointment is available in a range of formats and sizes making it easy for you to have one with you whenever your skin needs a bit of SOS care.
- Regularly soften your cuticles with a moisturizer and then gently push them back.
Eucerin Aquaphor Repairing Ointment also makes an ideal overnight treatment for cracked cuticles and very dry hands. Massage a fingertip of product into each hand before you go to bed taking care to massage the cuticles with a little bit more of the ointment. Your skin will be smoother and softer in the morning. You can wear cotton gloves if you like to intensify the effect and avoid the product rubbing onto your sheets.
Wash Your Hands Correctly
1. Steer clear of harsh soap. A gentle moisturizing soap will get the job done just as well as antibacterial soap, which is more drying and hasnt proven to do a better job at preventing illness than regular soap. Of course, if your dermatologist has prescribed an anti-bacterial soap due to recurrent infections or other special circumstances, keep using it.
2. Wash with lukewarm water. Lukewarm water is as effective as boiling water is at reducing germs. Thats because the goal of hand-washing isnt to kill germs. When you wash your hands, the germs get washed off, Dr. OBrien explained. They go down the drain. After washing, pat your skin dry. No need for vigorous rubbing, which can disrupt your skin barrier, lead to irritation and cause dry, cracked skin.
What Is The Best Lotion For Cracked Hands
Hand Lotions That’ll Actually Fix Your Dry, Cracked Hands
- SkinClinical Extreme Healing Daily Treatment. …
- Eucerin unscented Advanced Repair Hand Cream. …
- O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream. …
- Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Hand Cream. …
- Jack Black Industrial Strength Hand Healer. …
- Badger Balm for Hardworking Hands.
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Cerave Therapeutic Hand Cream
The brand CeraVe has become a skincare staple for gentle and effective products, including this restorative and therapeutic hand cream. In fact, both dermatologists specifically recommended it. King noted that its fast-absorbing and nongreasy, with ceramides and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and lock in moisture. Its also fragrance-free, making it suitable for sensitive skin, and it contains the dimethicone skin protectant Campbell vouched for.
Promising review: When I saw this I decided to try it for my dry, often cracked, itchy, over-washed hands. It works great! I love that it absorbs quickly, so theres no greasy feeling just leaves my hands feeling soft and moisturized. I even feel like it lasts pretty well through handwashing! Stella
What else to consider: Some reviewers felt that the texture was too thin for their liking, so if you prefer something that feels super thick and creamy upon application, its probably not the hand cream for you.
Best for: moderately dry hands in need of a lotion that absorbs almost immediately.
Okeeffes Working Hands Cream
OKeeffes hand cream has a bit of a cult following, which you can gauge from the 30,000-plus ratings on Amazon, 80% of which are 5-star. Its intended to heal, relieve, and repair extremely dry, cracked skin while also creating a protective layer to help prevent further moisture loss. It meets our experts fragrance-free requirement and also comes in a tube version if you prefer that for application convenience.
Promising review: Does this product need another five star review? Nope. But I had to. This is truly a miracle product!! I have the driest skin in the winter. To the point I will look down at my hands to notice they are bleeding from all the various cracks. This product made a major difference after just one use! Here I am weeks later and my hands have no cracks, look younger and are no longer red. Can OKeefes fix potholes too!?! P. Neuber
What else to consider: Working Hands does contain iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, which can cause contact dermatitis in some who are prone to allergic reactions on the skin. If youre one of those people, you should probably go with another hand cream. Reviews also mention a sticky feeling or some burning in cases of open cuts, but thats likely due to the medication working to heal any active wounds. OKeeffes recommends applying this at night to mediate those side effects, or directly after showering or washing hands if needed.
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What Causes Cracked Skin On Fingertips
Your fingertips can become cracked for a number of medical and environmental reasons. Dry skin, also known as xerosis, or xeroderma, is the most common cause of cracked fingertips, and xerosis has a variety of causes:
- Cold weather – people often find that they suffer from cracked fingertips during the winter. This is because cold air holds less moisture and can leave your skin feeling rough and dry. When cold air enters your home in the winter and spring, it causes the warm air inside to dry out, which makes your skin drier and more susceptible to irritation.
- Exposure to hot water can reduce your skins moisture levels
- The chemicals in household cleaning products can irritate your skin, causing your hands to dry out
- Medications: certain medications, such as cholesterol medication and diuretics, have dry skin listed as a potential side effect
There are other skin conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema, that can make your skin appear very dry and lead to cracking.
Inherited skin conditions, such as ichthyosis vulgaris, can also cause your hands to dry out, as can underlying medical conditions, like diabetes and an underactive thyroid gland.
How To Prevent And Treat Dry Cracked Hands
Dry hands are a common skin concern that nearly everybody experiences at some point in their life. Though generally not concerning, dry hands can be frustrating to deal with. The severity of the dryness depends on a multitude of factors and can range from minor discomfort to extreme irritation.
While applying lotion or hand cream is the most obvious solution when youre dealing with dry skin, there are a few other things you can do to help protect your hands and prevent irritation. Ahead, well answer common questions about dry skin on your hands and provide our best tips and tricks to keep skin soft, smooth, and hydrated all year round.
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Five Tips For Dealing With Cracked Fingers And Hands
Vaseline® Healing Jelly Original
Moisturize Every Time You Wash Your Hands
To ensure your hands stay as hydrated as possible post-rinse, Dr. Chang recommends patting them dry and immediately moisturizing while they are still slightly damp. “The skin is able to absorb the most moisture during the first few minutes after washing,” she explains.
Dr. Marisa Garshick advises keeping a lotion right next to your hand soap as a reminder to hydrate immediately. “If that doesn’t work, at the very least commit to using moisturizer at least two times per day and especially before going to bed at night,” she adds. Pro tip: You can reduce dryness overall by opting for lukewarm, as opposed to piping hot, water while washing, Dr. Chang says.
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Heres How To Heal Dry Cracked Hands:
Here are some easy, expert-approved ways to keep your hands clean and moisturized.
1. Use gentle hand soaps.
Hand washes with antibacterial ingredients as well as alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be especially harsh and drying on your skin, Dr. Marchbein says.
Plus, you dont really need to use those types of soaps to get rid of germsthe friction created by the mechanical act of washing of your hands as well as the surfactant cleaning ingredients in the soaps is what actually removes the microbes from your hands. Although our understanding of how the new coronavirus spreads and how to protect ourselves from it is still developing, regularly washing your hands with soap and water is one of a few tried-and-true public health strategies the CDC is recommending right now to prevent the spread of this particular virus.
So, yes, that does mean that actually washing your hands correctlyand for at least 20 secondsis absolutely necessary.
2. Wash with lukewarm water.
Washing your hands with water thats excessively hot or cold is, simply, uncomfortable. Plus, using hot water is an easy way to dry out your skin even more, Dr. Marchbein says. Thats why she recommends using a comfortable lukewarm water temperature.
3. Put hand cream on slightly damp hands.
4. Look for thicker hand creams with these key ingredients.
5. Use something even more occlusive at night.
6. Wear gloves when cleaning.
Related:
Steer Clear Of Fragrances Dyes Sulfates And Physical Exfoliators Or Scrubs
Red, raw handswhether from over-washing or simply sensitive skinwon’t benefit from fragrances, dyes, sulfates, or scrub-based formulas. Dr. Chang says avoiding these common irritants and allergens in your hand soap and lotions can help. “Fragrances are one of the most common skin allergens. Artificial fragrances in products like soaps, facial cleansers, and moisturizers can cause rashes, itching, and inflammatory reactions in those with skin sensitivities,” she says. “Sulfates, like sodium lauryl sulfate, are an effective detergent that is used in hand soaps, but can dry and irritate the skinand physical exfoliators or scrubs can cause excess irritation.”
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Tips How To Heal Cracked Fingertips Fast At Home
Are your fingertips dry and cracked? This is a very common condition in women, especially in housewives. It not only causes discomfort but also makes you more inconvenient in carrying out daily activities. However, the situation seems not to be so simple. Cracked fingertips also can facilitate the penetration of bacteria into the skin, causing serious consequences. Fortunately, there are many natural tips on how to heal cracked fingertips fast at home. The article below will introduce them to you. But first, let’s find out some information about this condition.
Strong Or Weak Barrier
How well your hands can withstand winter’s harsh conditions has a lot to do with the strength of our skin barrier, says Charles Crutchfield III, MD, a dermatology professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
The skin barrier is a mix of proteins, lipids, and oils. It protects your skin, and how good a job it does is mostly about your genes.
If you have a weak barrier, you’re more prone to symptoms of sensitive skin, such as itching, inflammation, and eczema. Your hands are also more likely to become very dry in winter.
If you had from chapped hands last year, you may be more likely to have that happen again every winter.
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Best Home Remedies For Severely Dry Cracked Hands
3 mins
Geetika Kapoor
The global pandemic has made each one of us even more alert when it comes to our personal hygiene and cleanliness. Washing hands frequently and constantly sanitizing our hands have become a crucial part of our lives – a tradition that we follow with all seriousness. But all this excessive hand washing has led to our skin becoming completely dry and cracked.
Apart from this, several other factors such as environmental changes, stress, hormonal imbalance, and irregular sleeping pattern can also be the culprits behind your dull and moisture-lacking cracked hands.
Sometimes chemical-infused hand creams fail to provide relief that simple ingredients from our pantry can.
Keep scrolling to learn about home remedies for severely dry cracked hands that can help you combat this irritating skin woe.
Why Are My Hands So Dry
Whether caused by environmental or genetic forces, dry hands result from a lack of moisture in the skin. Several factors can lead to dehydrated skin, but the most common are weather-related, lifestyle-induced, or medically-related.
Its pretty common for people to suffer from dry skin in the winter because cold, arid air can leech moisture from the skin. In severe cases, cold weather can cause extreme dryness and result in painful symptoms such as cracking, peeling, redness, and irritation.
Lifestyle also plays a significant role in the health of hands. People that handle chemicals or work with their hands may be more prone to dryness because of increased exposure to irritants.
Similarly, frequent handwashing, especially with harsh soaps and hot water, can draw out moisture from the skin and result in extremely dry, cracked hands.
Finally, there are several medical conditions that can cause dry skin, including psoriasis and eczema. Certain medications may exacerbate the irritation as well.I
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Thicker Products For More Damaged Skin
If your hands go from just being dry and rough to having little cracks, or fissures, and are tender or bleeding, it’s time to move on to more therapeutic moisturizers.
Petroleum jelly is a reliable standby. Or choose a thick, rich moisturizer in a formula that contains heavier ingredients such as dimethicone, cocoa or shea butter, or beeswax.
Slather on at bedtime, slip on a pair of cotton gloves or socks, and keep on overnight.
What Std Makes Your Hands Peel
Syphilis is an STD caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. In the secondary phase of the infection, about 3 to 6 weeks after contracting the infection, it’s not uncommon to develop dry, scaly rashes on the body. They’re more common on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet, and they’re unlikely to itch.
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Don’t Forget Your Cuticles
Remember: Your cuticles can become dry, irritated, and cracked, too. “Protecting the cuticles is very important because infections often occur when the cuticle is cut or compromised,” Dr. Murphy-Rose says. “I recommend using a cuticle oil or ointment around the nail bed at least daily, especially in the cold winter months or anytime you are washing hands frequently.”
Moisturizing Ointment Or Cream
Since dry skin can cause or worsen cracking, its important to keep your skin well hydrated. You can do this by frequently applying moisturizer.
Try to use ointments and creams. These products tend to be more effective because they have the ability to help your skin retain moisture.
You may want to consider the following products that can be especially helpful for treating dry, cracked skin:
Reapply the moisturizer two to three times a day, including immediately after bathing. Focus on the driest parts of your body.
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Maximize Hand Repair While You Sleep
You can improve your complexion while you sleepand the same is true of your hand health. Dr. Marie V. Hayag says to generously slather hands in an ultra-hydrating cream before slipping them into a pair of cotton gloves overnight. “The gloves help the hand cream penetrate deeper and absorb better,” she explains. “There are moisturizing gloves available, too. Some contain fabrics that are pretreated with moisturizing oils that can be an added benefit.”
When To See A Healthcare Provider
Reed recommends speaking to your dermatologist or healthcare provider if your hands are causing you great discomfort. And seek medical attention immediately if your hands are swollen, bleeding, have a honey-colored crust on any cracks, or if you see red streaks moving up your arm. These are symptoms of a more serious infection.
Don’t let dry skin go unchecked by a medical professional. It can be a sign of a more serious condition, such as dermatitis, diabetes, or even kidney disease.
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Say No To Lotions And Yes To Hand Creams
Lotions? Hand creams? Is there really a difference? It turns out there is! While lotions may smell like spring flowers, they dont do a great job at repairing your dried-out skin. Cavanaugh recommends hand creams and better yet ointments like Vaseline.
Lotions are water based and evaporate more quickly, this means they do not repair the barrier function of the skin, he explained.
Good ointments to use include Vaseline or CeraVe Healing Ointment. Our preferred creams include CeraVe or Cetaphil.
