If you have been following along on our blog, our last article was about how touching your face is detrimental to your skin and health – especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. That topic presents the perfect bridge to discuss hand care, as frequent hand washing and sanitizer use might be wreaking havoc on your already dry, winter-burdened hands.
If you’re like me – hand cleansing is second nature to you. You tend to err on the side of caution by over washing them and they are always dry no matter the climate. This results in a weakened skin barrier (outermost layer of skin plus the lipid matrix) and a severely depleted reservoir of moisture.
At SMD, Dr. Christman says that “repetitive hand washing and sanitizer use can compromise your skin barrier by stripping natural oils and epidermal proteins of your skin. If you’re skin becomes cracked, you can become susceptible to infection. And in some cases, soaps can cause irritant hand dermatitis which causes redness, itchiness, flaking, and dryness.”
So how can you continue hand washing best practices while preventing skin irritation, redness, or dryness?
A good hand cream or salve is your new best friend
Make sure you keep a good hand cream or salve with you at all times – ideally one that has a combination of emollient and occlusive properties. Avoid lotions as they often contain more water in the formulation. What you need are ingredients that are going to do some heavy lifting.
Emollients like shea butter or squalane help condition and soften the skin, while occlusives like dimethicone, petrolatum, or most plant based oils form a protective film on your skin, preventing moisture loss.
Glycerin and hyaluronic acid, which are humectants, are also helpful in keeping your skin moisturized – and are key ingredients of our SMD Hand Cream.
If your hand cream or salve isn’t enough, try wearing Vaseline under cotton gloves overnight as often as needed. This works wonders!
Engage in mindful hand washing
Put water on your hands before soap to lather. Try and use a gentler soap, as antibacterial ones can be irritating and not necessarily more effective. Although you should wash for 20 seconds and do a thorough job, gentle rubbing is adequate. Scrubbing is not necessary. Make sure to clean under your nails and keep them trimmed short. You can also try taking deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly, while cleansing. Then pat your hands dry with a clean towel.
Wash your hands in batches
Once you have washed your hands, engage in activities that require absolutely clean hands – like applying makeup, food prepping or eating. Just make sure you are working with clean surfaces and objects to begin with.
Wear gloves when cleaning
Wear cotton-lined rubber gloves for wet work such as doing dishes, cleaning countertops, or scrubbing bathrooms. This will protect your hands from unnecessary exposure to detergents and harsh chemicals. And make sure you have a different set of gloves for the kitchen and for household cleaning.
If taking these measures does not help or you have developed a rash, please contact your SMD provider by creating a TeleHealth visit online. You can call our office at 415-887-9758 and select option 8 to hear instructions on how to create this visit.
Written by Maya
Reviewed by Holly Christman, MD