Easy Hand Therapy -- 5 Tips for keeping your hands healthy during COVID-19
How are your hands holding up? With all this frequent sanitizing and hand washing your hands may be feeling dry and chapped. Some dermatologists say the resulting dryness can exacerbate the effects of sun exposure on your hands.
The remedy isn't challenging, in fact you can start these self care tips today.
5 Quick Tips for Keeping Your Hands in Top Shape
Liquid cleanser is gentle on your hands
Soap is soap. Really.
In terms of effectiveness to remove COVID-19, it doesn't matter if you use bar, liquid, antibacterial or natural. Any soap will do, but keep in mind liquid cleansers tend to be less drying than traditional soaps. Antibacterial soaps are harsher on your skin.
Tip #2Hot water will tend to dry out and chap your hands whereas a lukewarm temperature will be less harsh on your skin because it strips the skin of fewer oils. This makes sense, but isn't something I had thought through previously so thought it worth mentioning.
Moisturize hands as frequently as you can ideally after washing during the day, and before you go to bed. This is hard to remember so I recommend you place a bottle of lotion next to your sink or hand towel and as soon as you dry your hands, you'll see the lotion and remember to moisturize. This will help maintain skin barrier function and decrease overall skin surface dryness which is important for Tip #4. Any lotion will do, but dermatologists recommend creams with no added fragrance* and with additional ingredients like these:
Plant oils like Shea Butter, Coconut, Jojoba, Sesame, Almond
I suggest the addition of essential oils such as Carrot, Helichrysum or Frankincense which do wonders for skin dryness and to maintain your skin's overall health and appearance.
*Keep in mind 'Fragrance' on the ingredients label is a catch all term that includes synthetic, artificial or naturally derived sources. There is no way to know the difference unless it is spelled out clearly on the label. Tip: Lotions with essential oils will label this ingredient separately rather than as 'fragrance'.
As you work your way through all your premium skincare samples, my two cents is to level up what you've got by adding a few drops of essential oils such as Carrot, Helichrysum or Frankincense with a plant based oil or Hyaluronic Acid or Squalene Oil. With the exception of Frankincense, I have found there is almost always an essential oil and dermatologist recommended ingredient to fit my budget. Keeping your lotion by the sink or hand towel will help make it routine, and alternating different oils makes it fun and keeps it fresh while leveling up the condition of your hands. An added bonus is your hands will smell lovely.
Tip #4Wear gloves and sunscreen to pro-age your hands
Dry skin can exacerbate the effects of sun exposure on our hands. According to dermatologists, the natural sweat induced by the sun’s rays can contribute to skin irritation partly due to salt left on the skin after sweat has evaporated. Generally speaking our hands tend to be chronically sun exposed.
Dermatologists recommend vigilance about protecting hands from sun exposure either with repeated application of sunscreen rated SPF30+ or with wearable sun protection like hand gloves and arm sleeves such as our badass UPF 50+ Sun Gauntlets Collection. If you don't have sun protective gloves, borrow a men's extra large shirt and pull the long sleeves down around your arms and hands. Any coverage is better than nothing. Yes, I have totally done this before.
Tip #5Hand wash your gloves right after your hands so they'll be clean for your health and safety
In this coronavirus world when you come home you might feel compelled to thoroughly wash whatever you were wearing to protect your hands be it that extra large shirt, gloves or our designer UV Sun Gauntlets. We think this is a great idea and best practice to keep your gloves clean since they protect the largest organ on your body: your skin.
It's simple and fast - right after you sanitize your hands use any gentle soap (a liquid soap is perfect) and immerse your pair of gloves completely in a gentle lather of soap. For ours, hand wash your sun Gauntlets for 20 seconds in soap and lukewarm or cool water then gently squeeze (don't wring!) the excess water out. Set on the edge of the sink or towel rack to dry. The UPF50+ sun protective quality is permanent and the fabric dries quickly so don't worry about frequent washings. Our Sun Gauntlets dry fast and will be ready to go when you are with the sun protective functionality fully intact.
Add this to your hand washing routine, it's simple and fast. Check out our video below, you'll see how easy it is to do.
Do you have anything to protect your hands from sun exposure? Our UV sun Gauntlets come in two lengths: hand gloves extent to the wrist and arm sleeves cover the full arm and hands. We've got them in stylish solids and prints to complement your wardrobe. Head over here to see our fun, fashionable sun protection collection.
If you want to be ready to embrace the sun safely join our mailing list and for a limited time receive 20% off your first purchase. Our goal is to keep you stylish and have you ready to be UP For anything you want to do.
Stay stylish and sun safe friends! Be UP For Anything #wearUPF
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