YOUNG HEALTHY-LOOKING HANDS FOR ALL LIFESTYLES
Have you ever noticed that the skin on your hands can sometimes look older than the rest of your body? It’s really no surprise when you think about all that they do for you! Hands are especially difficult to keep moisturized as the skin tends to be thin and we have fewer sebaceous glands than most other parts of our bodies. Especially now that everyone is washing their hands and using drying hand sanitizers more often, it’s important that we don’t neglect the health and comfort of our hands.
Please see a few tips below for proper hand health.
1 . WASH WITH LUKEWARM TO COOL WATER
Use lukewarm water when washing to create soap lather which physically rinses off oils, germs and dirt. Washing with hot water does nothing to reduce the number of germs on your hands. To kill germs, the water would have to be so hot that it burns you. Hot water can cause excessive drying which is uncomfortable, but may also cause breaks in the skin which have the potential to become infected.
2. REDUCE DARK PIGMENTATION
Because our hands are essentially tools, we tend to bang them up more than other areas on our bodies. Scars are one type of discoloration, but sun damage can also cause dark pigmentation (often called “sun spots”). To keep your skin looking uniform and bright, we recommend to use the same vitamin C serum as you do on your face – Luminous Vitamin C Serum. It takes about a week to notice changes, but when it starts to work the difference is really amazing. All of a sudden, your skin looks so awake and fresh.
3. USE SUNSCREEN
We all know by now that sunscreen is a must, but many of us forget about our hands. You can use any sunscreen that you prefer. We recommend whichever type of sunscreen fits your activities for the day. If we are going to be in the water, we put the same waterproof sunscreen on our hands that we put on everywhere else. Other than that, our usual daily moisturizing SPF does the trick – Eco Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 25.
4. MOISTURIZE
This is pretty obvious, but we still know people who complain about their dry hands but don’t keep any moisturizer with them. For us, hand lotion and lip balm are essential and we carry them everywhere. Moisturizing does so much more than keep your hands feeling soft. A good moisturizer will both sink into the skin to deeply hydrate but also create a protective barrier that seals in moisture and repels things like germs. On top of that, skin heals much better when moist. In fact, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared antibiotic ointment with plain petroleum jelly. There was no statistical difference between using petroleum jelly or an antibiotic ointment. We use Aquarius Wellness Body Hydration with porphyra red algae.
5. EXFOLIATE
We used to think that exfoliating your hands seemed excessive. Don’t they get enough exfoliation with constant use and washing? It turns out, normal daily activities tend to remove oils and dirt but leave most of the top layer of dead skin cells in place. Exfoliating your hands has the same benefits as anywhere else on your body; it removes the top layer of dead cells so that moisturizing products can penetrate more easily and deeply. It also triggers the skin to turnover more rapidly, meaning new skin pushing to the surface more often. Try using our Seaweed Exfoliating Body Wash.
