If your eyes are your window to the world, your hands are the tool in which you interact with the world. Consequently, it’s important to keep the skin on your hands healthy. Healthy skin is effective in protecting your hands from the demanding environments they are exposed to. It allows for greater dexterity and sensations of touch. It is attractive and comfortable. Healthy skin on your hands is also important for a healthy body because it an excellent barrier to infectious microbes and is critical for the production of the skin’s innate anti-microbials.
So how do you keep your hands healthy, especially during the harsh winter months? It is helpful to understand a little about skin and what happens to it when exposed to the environment. The uppermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum, is an excellent barrier to typical environmental insults. It reproduces itself continuously, the rate of which depends on body site. Not surprisingly given its active role, the stratum corneum of the hands reproduces relatively quickly, about once every 7 days (in contrast, the forearm and legs are about 14 days and 30 days, respectively). Maintaining the stratum corneum and ensuring its well-ordered reproduction are essential to healthy skin. This is achieved by retaining the stratum corneum’s natural oils and waxes. These oils and waxes keep the skin moist which, in turn, plasticizes the skin allowing movement without cracking. Importantly, moist skin also allows the cells in the stratum corneum and the natural oils/waxes to reproduce optimally. In the winter, your hands typically experience an exceptionally damaging combination of environmental insults that can make its skin unhealthy:
- Very low humidity which desiccates the skin and robs it of necessary moisture for ideal skin reproduction
- Chemicals, especially solvents, soaps and detergents, which strips the stratum corneum of the natural oils and waxes that helps keep moisture in
- Mechanical insults like movement, friction, and towel drying that can crack and abrade the stratum corneum, allowing irritants to affect living tissue and further moisture to leave the skin
So armed with this knowledge, some simple tips to keep your hands healthy during the harsh winter months:
- Hydrate your skin and augment its natural oils and waxes with moisturizers. Good moisturizers contain hydrophilic (water-loving) ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid to attract moisture to your skin. They contain non-irritating, skin compatible oils and waxes like jojoba seed oil, petrolatum, dimethicone, and glyceryl stearate to lock in the moisture. Apply often and especially whenever your skin feels tight – an indicator that the skin is not sufficiently hydrated & plasticized. An ideal time to apply a moisturizer is soon after washing your hands to lock in some of the moisture. Some moisturizers also contain soothing and anti-inflammatory agents like aloe vera, panthenol, and bisabolol; these can be helpful if your skin is already irritated.
- Protect your hands from the desiccating cold climate by using gloves when outside.
- Minimize your exposure to oil & wax removing solvents, soaps and detergents. This includes washing your hands with warm water and harsh soaps. Wash your hands in cool water and use gentle cleansing soaps with added moisturizers. If you prefer natural soaps, choose soaps with low sodium cocoate content and wash using soft water (hard water combines with natural soaps to deposit irritating soap scum on your skin). Your skin should feel smooth and soft after washing. If it feels dry or tight, you may need to use a different soap. Gently pat your skin dry to minimize abrasion.
- If your hands are not visibly soiled, an alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially those with added moisturizers and skin care agents, like PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, are a better hand hygiene option than soap and water. Effective soap and water washing solubilizes and removes the oils and waxes from the stratum corneum. In contrast, alcohol quickly evaporates before it can solubilize much of the oils and waxes of the skin, particularly those deep within the stratum corneum. Moreover, the oils and waxes are not washed away and remain behind to continue to help your skin.
So there you have it. Keep your hands healthy by keeping the skin on your hands healthy. Keep the skin of your hands healthy by protecting its uppermost layer, the stratum corneum barrier. Moisturize it often with effective moisturizers, use cool water and mild soaps with added moisturizers to wash your hands, dry your hands gently, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizers with added moisturizers for hand hygiene when the hands are not soiled or soap and water is not available. Keep your hands healthy and make the most of the tool in which you interactive with the world.