Why do my hands get so dry? (English)

Remembering Coco Chanel’s fair remark “You won’t have a second chance to make a first impression,” people often forget that before that she said: “Hands are a woman’s calling card, her neck is her passport, and her breasts are her international passport.” Hands are the most important indicator of health and age.

Women's problem

The skin on them is significantly different in structure from the skin on the face. On the surface of the hands, the subcutaneous tissue is thin, mobile and contains a small number of sebaceous glands. They are completely absent on the palms. The problem of oily skin typical for the face will never be relevant for the hands. Dry skin on the hands and increased sweating of the palms are the main causes of concern.

If there is a problem, then you need to look for a solution. To find the right one, you need to understand the reason.

Our skin constantly breathes, of course, not to the same extent as the lungs. The cover protects the body and helps maintain a constant body temperature.

The skin of the hands is the first to absorb all negative environmental factors. This is the main reason why your hands get dry. Temperature changes when moving from indoors to outdoors, windy weather, bright sun, frost. The first blow is taken by the skin on the hands and face. Hands come into contact with water more often than any other part of the body. They occur with cosmetics and detergents 20 times more often than on the face. Vitamin deficiencies and poor nutrition can be diagnosed by the appearance of your hands. Dermatitis and allergic reactions most often affect this part of our body.

Environmental factors

Wind, frosty air, heating and dry indoor air have a negative impact on the hands and face. The skin on your hands dries, your face turns red and begins to peel. In winter, in order to soften irritated and dry skin, it is necessary to replace the day cream with a more nourishing and oily one. Without forgetting the precautions.

Apply the cream thirty minutes before going outside. This is the time during which it will have time to be absorbed and begin to fulfill its protective role. Otherwise the effect will be the opposite. Cosmetologists suggest replacing hand cream with cosmetic oil. It creates a film that performs moisturizing functions and helps protect against wrinkles. Must be used at least twice a day. Cleansers are replaced with softer and more delicate ones.

Summer heat and intense ultraviolet radiation require a different approach to the problem. In summer, hands get no less dry, but problems with pigmentation and blemishes also arise. To care for your hands, use light moisturizing fluids, supplementing care products with creams with SPF protection. It is always advisable to have thermal water on hand. Split systems and air conditioners dry the air in the room just as intensively as heating systems.

Household chemicals

Our hands come into contact with water every day, as well as with various means for washing dishes, washing and cleaning various types of surfaces. Over time, an allergic reaction may begin to various chemical components. Signs include dry and cracked hands, red pimples, and sometimes fluid-filled blisters. Basic precautions can help protect against such problems. Let's look at them:

Every time after washing your hands, dishes or laundry, try to dry them thoroughly.
For all types of work related to household chemicals, as well as when washing and peeling vegetables, protective gloves are used. When latex or vinyl ones are not suitable, it is recommended to pre-lubricate the skin with silicone hand cream.
In case of inflammation of the cuticle, it is treated with iodine.
Hygienic lipstick will help you get rid of the consequences when your fingers dry out and crack. The ends are lubricated with it. It will help the cracks heal faster.
It is advisable to get rid of low-quality household products at the slightest sign of irritation and inflammation of the skin on your hands. Some people think that laundry soap is a good substitute. This opinion is wrong. The alkali contained in it corrodes subcutaneous fatty tissue.

Nutrition and lifestyle

When careful care is carried out and all precautions are observed, but your hands become dry, the reason may be a lack of vitamins. Dry, rough skin is a sign of nicotinic acid deficiency in the body. Vitamin PP is present in cereals, beans and lean fish. Flaky skin covered with pustules indicates a lack of retinol and carotene. A lack of vitamin A is indicated by the presence of dark spots on the hands. This element is present in pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, egg yolk, and also in all types of liver. Skin that has lost its elasticity and looks sluggish needs vitamin E.

A large amount of it is found in green vegetables and unrefined vegetable oil. It is also called the “vitamin of youth”. It is recommended to take one teaspoon of any vegetable oil every day.

Diseases

Why do my hands get dry? This phenomenon can cause various diseases. Diseases affecting the skin of the hands: ichthyosis, eczema, seborrhea, psoriasis. The scientific name for dry skin is xerosis or xeroderma. If you suspect that the disease is the reason why your hands are dry, your doctor will advise you on what to do. Thorough analyzes and necessary examinations are carried out. They will prescribe the necessary course of therapy and medication.

To give your hands a beautiful and well-groomed look, cosmetologists are developing many products. Our great-grandmothers were also worried about the problem of how to hide their age, striking with grace and elegance of their hands. History has left many folk recipes that are relevant to this day.

Baths

Oily. Dilute ¼ cup of any vegetable oil in warm water, lower your hands and hold for twenty minutes. After the procedure, dry your hands in the air for 5 minutes, blot off the remaining oil with paper napkins.
Potato. The water in which the potatoes were boiled is cooled to a temperature that is pleasant to the skin. Immerse hands for fifteen minutes.

Compresses

Parsley and raspberries. Take 1 cup of raspberries, 1 bunch of parsley and ½ cup of water. Boil for 20 minutes. The mass is kneaded in a bowl, cooled and filtered. Gauze cloth is moistened in the prepared liquid and applied to dry and clean hands. Leave for 15-20 minutes.

A little conclusion

Now you know why your hands dry out, we have named the reasons. We also described the features of caring for them. We hope that our advice will help you.

Rough, dry, rough skin on your hands is not a death sentence at all if you take good care of it. Nutrition and hydration are important not only for women with skin prone to dryness, but also for everyone else: this problem often appears during the cold season, during temperature changes, and illness. Dry hand skin - what to do with it, what creams, oils to moisturize, what vitamins to add to your diet and what to avoid - read on.

What is dry skin

Dry skin means a constant feeling of tightness, tingling, peeling, and cracks on the hands. The surface of the skin on the back of the hands and palms becomes rough, inelastic, especially stretched after contact with water and soap. Household chores can cause even more harm in this situation, so it is important to use special gloves when washing dishes and cleaning.

Why does the skin on your hands dry out?

The epidermis on the hands is thinner, has no sebaceous glands at all, and contains little moisture, unlike the skin of the face. Adverse weather conditions, contact with allergens, constant washing with hot water, failure to follow basic daily rules of personal care - all this leads to dry skin on the hands. What reasons can be identified:

cold: if you don’t wear gloves in low temperatures, the skin will definitely become rough;
household chemicals: wash dishes, windows, do wet cleaning only with gloves;
rough work with bare hands;
congenital predisposition;
nutritional disorders, lack of vitamins, dermatological diseases.

What to do if your hands are dry

First you need to understand that dry hand skin is a temporary problem. The situation can be easily corrected if you follow useful tips and try to avoid dangerous factors in the future. Let's look at how to get rid of dry hand skin:

if the problem is critical: there are deep cracks, calluses, wounds, the skin is very flaky - you should contact a dermatologist or cosmetologist to select effective restorative therapy;
if the skin is simply dry and does not look very beautiful, various creams, therapeutic masks and oils will certainly help you.

Vitamins for dry hands

If the cause of dryness is seasonal disorders of the body, then vitamins are a mandatory element to get rid of the problem. Vitamins B, A, C, E help best for hydration. It is necessary to include in the diet foods rich in essential substances: liver, fatty red fish, nuts, herbs, fruits. Water balance is important: you need to drink a lot of clean liquid a day and do not drink alcohol. Vitamins for dry hand skin can be taken in capsules, in the form of ready-made complexes.

How to moisturize your hands at home

To moisturize the skin of your hands at home, you need to apply nourishing, softening creams daily, eat foods rich in healthy fats, and keep your hands clean and safe. What to use on your hands for cracks and dryness? Simple recipes for moisturizers that can be prepared from available natural ingredients will help solve the problem. Prepare them yourself or choose special cosmetics that can be bought at any store.

Hand baths for dryness

Baths are a convenient and effective procedure. They saturate the skin with all the necessary substances, thanks to their aqueous structure, long-term effects penetrate deep into the skin and normalize the functioning of the sebaceous glands. Herbal tinctures also heal flaky areas, small wounds and cracks well. Several recipes for homemade hand baths for dry hands:

A liter of linden blossom decoction, 7 drops of patchouli essential oil, can be replaced with orange, 1 tsp. glycerin. Place your hands in a hot bath and hold for 30 minutes.
Oat flour. Add 3 tbsp to 0.5 boiling water. l. flour, stir, cool to a comfortable temperature, place your hands in the mixture, hold for 20 minutes.
Potato or celery broth. Cool the liquid and hold your hands for 20 minutes.
Heat the milk slightly, add a teaspoon of honey, 2 drops of oil (avocado, jojoba, olive, sage). Stir and keep for about 20 minutes.
Half a liter of kefir, 2 raw yolks, 1 tsp. flaxseed, olive or other vegetable oil. Mix well and keep your hands in the bath for 20 minutes.

Hand mask for dryness and cracks

For the effect of the procedures to be noticeable, hand masks against dryness and cracks should be done regularly, 2 times a week. Before doing this, you need to wash your hands thoroughly, dry them with a towel, and massage them. The procedure can be done both at home and professionally, at an appointment with a manicurist or cosmetologist. What masks can be made from improvised materials:

Raw yolk, any vegetable oil, honey. Mix a tablespoon of honey and oil with the yolk, grind, apply to your hands, rinse with warm water after 15 minutes, or leave overnight, wearing thin gloves on top.
Juice of one slice of orange or lemon, vegetable oil. Apply the mixture to your hands, wait 15 minutes until it is half absorbed, and rinse.
Banana, 1 tsp. butter, 1 tsp. honey Mash the banana, mix with the rest of the ingredients, apply a compress to your hands, wrap them in cellophane and put on warm gloves. Leave for 30 minutes.
Soak the white bread crumb with hot water, add a drop of lemon juice and any oil, grease your hands, put on thin gloves. Wash off after 10 minutes.

Remedy for dry hands

Peeling of the hands can cause a lot of discomfort, both aesthetic and internal, since the skin becomes more vulnerable, exposed to external factors. A good remedy for dry hand skin is paraffin baths and wax masks, which can be made at home, if you have the necessary ingredients, or from a professional for a small amount. Special medicinal cosmetics, which are sold in pharmacies, have a quick, guaranteed safe effect. When selecting, you need to try each product on yourself and follow the instructions.

Cream for dry hands

Creams prepared at home are natural and harmless, but they can be stored for a short time, up to 2 weeks, and in some cases they can cause allergies if the composition is incorrectly selected. Beeswax, paraffin, fish or pork fat, butter and glycerin are good bases for a homemade cream for dry hands. The product must necessarily contain essential oils and other natural emollient ingredients.

It is better to apply cream for chapped hands at night for better effect, to maximally moisturize your hands and prevent the appearance of new cracks. Here are homemade recipes you may need:

Butter – 2 tbsp. l., 1 tsp. honey, 1 tbsp. l. St. John's wort decoction. Store in the refrigerator, rub into the skin of your hands daily before bed.
A solution containing vitamins A and E – 1 tsp, 1 tsp. any honey, 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. oil, preferably olive, 1 tsp. low-fat cream. Apply with a cotton pad.
Night cream, to be applied and kept under gloves: 1 tbsp. l. strong green tea, 1 tsp. shea butter, 1 tsp. orange oil, 1 tsp. beeswax, 2 capsules of a vitamin complex (for example, aevit). Heat the mixture in a water bath, stir, and cool.
A mixture of herbs (chamomile, celandine, St. John's wort) - 2 tbsp. l., pour half a glass of boiling water, leave for half an hour. Mix 2 tsp. sea buckthorn oil, 3 tbsp. l. melted wax, half a teaspoon of propolis and strained tincture. Apply in the morning and before bed.
Glycerin – 4 tbsp. l., 3 tsp. lemon juice, 3 tsp. starch, 2 tbsp. l. vodka. Heat in a water bath, stir, cool, use every day.
Take a tablespoon of cocoa butter, 3 drops of bitter orange oil, half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix, heat, beat with a fork or whisk, cool.

Hand oil for dry hands

Oils are a natural source of moisturizing and nourishing the skin. If you eat the right amount of fatty foods, add natural oils to cereals and salads, you can get the necessary fats to maintain softness and balance of the skin. Hand oil for dry hands can be used as part of masks or in its pure form. Regular care with oils will help your skin stay smooth during cold periods. Which oils are effective:

Cacao butter. Can be applied solid or melted.
Shea butter, coconut, natural cream.
Nourishing mask: a teaspoon each of avocado, grape seed, almond, apricot, orange, olive oils. Mix, heat slightly, treat especially damaged areas of the hands and elbows.

Ointment for dry skin of hands

If the situation is serious and your hands become very dry and crack, daily, careful care may be required. Cracks and dryness can occur over time, in old age, especially if you previously engaged in rough physical labor (work in the garden, in production). You need to start dealing with this problem on time - with the help of daily care, help the skin return to a soft, delicate state, do not forget to use creams and protective gloves. What ointments for dry hand skin will you need:

From calendula: grind half a glass of dry plant into powder using a blender or by hand, add a glass of melted lard. Heat in a water bath, stir, cool, store in the refrigerator.
Mix plantain powder with a teaspoon of any oil and a tablespoon of Vaseline.
Grind homemade rose petals into a pulp, mix with lard, leave for several days.
Smooth hernia: combine 100 g of crushed plant and 2 tbsp. olive or almond oil. Infuse for a week.

Treatment with pharmaceuticals

Cosmetics offered in pharmacies are good because they contain a ready-made set of active ingredients, the effect of which has been clinically proven. The downside is the high cost of such products and the unlikely but possible allergy. However, if you don’t want to bother with preparation, treatment with pharmaceutical products is also a solution: they can thoroughly moisturize the skin and protect it from the aggressive effects of the external environment. If you follow the instructions on the packaging and use the cream regularly, the development and renewal of skin cells will begin quickly.

What remedies are effective:

French cosmetics Vichy, La Roche Posay, Eucerin, Lierac;
ingredients for homemade creams: glycerin, paraffin, wax, herbal preparations, healthy oils;
vitamins A and E in capsules: for oral administration and dilution with oil.

Many women are interested in the question of what to do if the skin on their hands is dry. They spend a lot of money on various skin care products, but they do not always help. In order to give an answer, you must first find out the reasons why the skin on your hands dries.

You need to understand that dry skin is not a temporary phenomenon and is not at all innocent. If measures are not taken in time, the dry skin on the palms will crack, forming wounds. Due to the fact that women’s hands often come into contact with water and detergents, wounds will also take a long time to heal, bringing a lot of discomfort. In this article we will try to figure out why your palms dry out and how to cure your hands from cracks and dryness.

Factors that lead to dry hands

The main reasons why hands dry out are usually divided into internal and external.

External causes include the impact of environmental factors, this can be:

excessively dry indoor air;
using very hot or cold water;
frosty air outside;
staying in the open sun for a long time;
the use of skin care products that are not suitable for your skin type;
insufficient hand skin care.

As for internal provoking factors, they may be:

insufficient amount of fluid entering the body;
dysfunction of the digestive tract
hormonal imbalance;
metabolic disorder;
psycho-emotional disorder;
long-term use of antibacterial drugs;
insufficient amounts of vitamins entering the body, especially A and E;
hand skin diseases;
non-compliance with diet;
bad habits;
changes are associated with the aging of the body;
genetic predisposition, which is characterized by an increased level of peeling of the skin.

In a newborn baby, the skin on the hands, around the nail plates, in the spaces between the fingers and on the palms becomes flaky and dry, possibly due to a lack of water.

Excessively intense peeling can be caused by skin diseases, as well as detergents. In adults, the skin may peel around the nails as a result of poor nutrition of the outer layer of the epidermis. Why the skin on your hands peels and how to fix it, read the link

Please note that if cracks are detected around the nail plates, treatment must be started as soon as possible. Indeed, due to a violation of the integrity of the skin, a bacterial infection can enter the body and lead to blood poisoning or other diseases.

During the postpartum period, women have severely dry skin on their hands due to hormonal changes, because estrogen production is dulled or due to vitamin deficiency.

You need to remember that your hands dry out due to an excessive amount of moisture on it, so to prevent this, it is recommended to thoroughly dry your hands after washing.

Another reason that the skin of your hands is dry and cracks until it bleeds can be iron deficiency anemia, namely low hemoglobin levels.

So we figured out why our hands become dry and rough.

Measures to eliminate dry hands

We have found out the reasons why the skin on our hands is dry, and now we will figure out what to do if our hands are dry and what measures to take. First of all, if the skin on your hands is very dry, it is recommended to choose the most suitable cream for yourself. A cream made from sea buckthorn oil has received a large number of positive reviews; it needs to be applied twice a day.

On the shelves of pharmacy kiosks you can find various products that help if your hands are dry and flaky.

Vitamin and mineral complexes

If the skin dries out, some vitamin is missing, so vitamin complexes are used. The most popular and most used drugs are the following:

Neurovitan. Contains a large amount of B vitamins; take 4 capsules per day. The course of therapy should last for a period of 2 to 4 weeks.
Vitrum BEAUTY. Thanks to the use of this drug, there is an improvement in the condition of not only the skin, but also the nail plates and hair. In addition, the product helps remove toxic substances from the body cavity. The course of therapeutic therapy should last 30 days, take the drug 3 capsules per day.
Alphabet of cosmetics. Due to the fact that the product contains a complex of microelements, it perfectly saturates the body with essential vitamins and minerals. Take 1 tablet three times a day. The duration of treatment should be at least a month.
Supradin Rosh. A multivitamin complex that is endowed with the ability to have a regenerating effect on the skin and mucous membranes. It is recommended to be treated with this remedy for at least a month. The dosage frequency is one tablet per day.

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Ointments and creams

No less effective means that restore the condition of the skin are hand creams for dryness and cracks such as:

Boro Plus. This ointment is considered universal; it is endowed with the ability to cleanse the skin, nourish it, eliminating the peeling process and restoring the normal functioning of the sebaceous glands.
Radevit. Eliminates manifestations of inflammatory processes, has a regenerating effect on the surface layers of the epidermis, and also normalizes metabolic processes, moisturizing the skin and making it more elastic. Made with vitamins A, E and D.
Bepanten. It is made on the basis of panthenolic acid, has a regenerating effect on the skin and perfectly moisturizes it.
This ointment prevents the evaporation of fluid from the skin, which helps get rid of dryness. Its peculiarity is that it is absorbed quite quickly, so it is comfortable to use.
The mash is made on the basis of salicylic ointment and glycerin. You can prepare it yourself at home; to do this, you need to purchase the indicated preparations, mix them in equal proportions and apply to the skin several times a day. To enhance the effect, it is recommended to add various vegetable oils to the mixture.

Application of oils

Oils also have beneficial properties that help if the skin of the palms is dry. The most effective are considered:

Sea buckthorn oil. It has a wound-healing, anti-inflammatory and softening effect. Before use, it is heated in a water bath and then rubbed into the skin. Carefully lubricate the areas around the nails and fingers.

How to deal with dry skin that cracks around the nails, read the link

In addition, sea buckthorn oil can also be used to prepare a nourishing cream. All you need to do is add a few drops of oil to your cream and lubricate your hands. The skin will look healthy, soft and soft.

Shea Butter. This product can be easily purchased at a pharmacy kiosk, it does not cost much. Shea butter has a softening, wound-healing and nourishing effect; it seems to cover the surface of the hands with a thin film.
Calendula oil also perfectly eliminates dry skin, promotes healing of wound surfaces and microcracks, eliminates inflammatory processes and nourishes the skin.

Recipes from folk sources

Our ancestors also tried to figure out why their hands become dry. In the fight against dry hand skin, they used various products based on ingredients of natural origin. The following were and still are widely known today:

Baths prepared on the basis of medicinal herbs. They are endowed with the ability to eliminate the manifestations of inflammation, have a calming and softening effect. All you need to do is pour 2 tbsp. l. 400 ml of selected herb. boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. After this, you need to strain the infusion and put your hands in it for about 15 minutes. It is recommended to lubricate your hands with cream.
Hand masks. The mask made from cream and boiled jacket potatoes received the most positive reviews. All you need to do is mash the potatoes and add a few tablespoons of cream or homemade sour cream to it. The product is ready for use; it must be applied to the skin of the hands for about 20 minutes. After this, rinse with warm water and lubricate your hands with cream.

Preventing dry hands

Dry hand skin is of course a problem and needs to be addressed. So what should you do if your hands get very dry?

It is generally accepted that it is easier to prevent a pathological process than to eliminate it. That is why it is recommended to carry out daily hand care procedures; they must be lubricated with softening and wound-healing oils.

It is better to do all housework with rubber gloves, this will protect your hands from powders and detergents.

In cool weather, it is recommended to protect your hands with gloves. Before going outside, they need to be lubricated with a nourishing cream; you can alternate its application with oil. This is explained by the fact that the skin of the hands is dry in winter due to chapping by frosty air.

You should have a rule, its essence is that your hands need to be moisturized several times a day, every day, and it’s up to you to decide what exactly to choose for this. The main thing is that the product is of high quality and suits you.

That’s almost all the information about why the skin on your hands becomes dry. To summarize, I would like to focus on the fact that dry hand skin can indicate the presence of a large number of diseases in the body. Therefore, if you diagnose yourself with such a pathological condition, as well as cracks, itching and irritation, you need to consult a doctor for advice, he will find out why your hands are dry and what to do about it.

Why do my hands get so dry?