How often do you use your hands? Seems like a silly question, right? Let’s follow that up: How often do you treat your hands as part of your skincare routine? Probably not as much as you use them.
Since you use your hands for pretty much everything, from taking care of yourself and those around you, to working, to all of the activities you do every. single. day (probably on autopilot), it’s so important to give your hands the TLC they need.
Depending on what type of dish soaps, sanitizers, cleaners, and soaps you’re using, you’ll need a good routine to turn those dry hands into cashmere skincare dreams. We’re breaking it down by activity, so read it all or skip to the part that relates to your skincare needs.
How to fix dry hands from washing dishes?
Let’s be honest: Do the piles of dirty dishes ever end? We can keep dreaming. Since washing dishes will continue to be an item on your daily to-do list for decades to come, let’s make sure that getting those dishes sparkling clean won’t damage your hands in the process. Here are our top tips for washing dishes AND keeping those dry hands at bay. These tips work for simply washing your hands too, which you do multiple times a day.
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Why do dish soaps and washing dishes dry out your skin?
The answer to why your dish soaps are drying your hands is actually pretty simple. Dish soaps are designed to remove and clean all of the sticky, baked-on, greasy stuff from your dishes, and when accomplishing this difficult task, they’re also removing the natural oils from your skin that can keep your skin soft and healthy, which can lead to dry skin.
Now that you understand WHY your skin may feel dry while doing the dishes, here are some great ways to eliminate those dry dishwashing hands and slip into silky soft mode.
- Don’t use hot water. While we think using the hottest water we can stand will help get our dishes the cleanest, and while this is technically true, hot water is not skincare-friendly. Instead, soak dishes in hot water (which makes the cleaning process even faster!), then wash them in lukewarm water, which helps keep those important natural oils and moisture in your skin.
- Use a long-handled brush. Not only can these bristly brushes make dish washing go faster, but they’re designed to keep your hands out of the water and away from any harsh and skin-drying dish soap.
- Be wary of latex gloves. While it seems like using gloves would help protect your skin, latex can sometimes irritate your skin, especially if you have sensitive skin. So, if latex gloves work for you, go for it! If not, try vinyl gloves instead.
- Use moisturizing soap, NOT the dish soap that is so handy right there by your sink, to wash your hands. While this might seem like a good multi-tasking idea, this double duty mindset could make your skin drier. Instead opt for a moisturizing soap which can give your skin the hydration it needs. Better yet, make sure your moisturizing soap contains probiotics, which can help the good bacteria flourish and enhance your natural skin barrier while keeping the bad bacteria and even fungus away.
- Pay attention to how you dry your hands. Any time you dry your hands, make sure you’re gently blotting them dry, not rubbing them dry, since blotting can help prevent skin irritation. Opt for a softer towel when possible to help decrease any chances of irritation. Microfiber towels are an awesome option, as they are soft and gentle for your skin (especially for sensitive skin), highly absorbent (which can minimize friction on your skin), and they naturally have some antibacterial protection.
- Apply moisturizer immediately after washing dishes (and after washing hands too!). While you—and your hands—might feel like this step isn’t necessary, it only takes a few seconds, and it can make a world of difference in the moisture level of your hands day in and day out.
Dry skin from hand sanitizer? Here’s why + how to fix it.
While hand sanitizers were the star of the show during 2020 and beyond, and while they do have their place as a quick and handy protection against germs when hand washing isn’t possible, they can wreak some havoc on your beautiful skin. Why? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends sanitizers contain at least 60% alcohol to kill germs, and alcohol can be extremely drying to your skin.
The short answer to curing the dry skin caused by hand sanitizer? Use hand sanitizer only when necessary, then apply a moisturizer immediately after use to help restore the moisture lost via the hand sanitizer.
And remember: Hand washing with soap (following our tips above) trumps hand sanitizer every single time, even where germs are concerned.
Speaking of soap…
Is your soap making your skin dry? Despite dish soap, hand sanitizer, and other soaps giving off those clean vibes, as we described above, the products you use can be a contributing factor to your dry skin.
What should you look for in soap to keep your hands from being dry?
One walk down the store soap aisle can leave you totally confused. There are SO many options! When it comes to choosing the soap you’ll use to clean and care for your beautiful hands, looking at the ingredients list is crucial, but this can be just as confusing as the number of soaps available. No worries—we’ve got you covered! Below is a list of some of the ingredients you don’t want anywhere near your skin. And yes, we know.
Some of these are difficult to pronounce, which is a clue that you might want to avoid them in the first place!
- Artificial colorings
- Diethanolamine
- Dioxane
- Formaldehyde
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone
- Parabens (methyl-, isobutyl-, propyl- and others)
- Phthalates
- Polyethylene Glycol (PEG compounds)
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
If you’re looking for soaps, our line of triple-milled soaps (triple-milling helps soap last longer and lather even better!) were created to meet your skincare + soap needs. Every soap is made with shea butter and other ingredients we know can gently purify, balance, and pamper your skin. Click here to find your new favorites!
How your water impacts your skincare: Hard, soft, and city water.
And lastly, don’t forget to take your water type into consideration when choosing your soap. Whether it’s soft, hard, city, well, or a combo of any of these, your water type can definitely make a difference in how your products and your skin work together to keep your skin soft, hydrated, and protected from the irritants you and your hands face daily.
When it comes to choosing skincare products to use on your hands, a bit of due diligence can make a world of difference both now and into the future. And since washing your hands—no matter what that looks like—isn’t going anywhere, make sure that when you do wash your hands, you’re showing them the same level of TLC they show you every single day.
