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As we all become more aware of our hand hygiene due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, we may also notice that our hands are becoming drier. With the increased water-soap contact (for most of us), and sometimes necessary excessive hand washing (first responder), many of us are experiencing really dry skin on our hands and cracked fingertips. Is it the chemicals in the soap? Possibly. But We have a more simple suggestion first before you tear through your soap labels. and drop some dough on new suds. Use this on e Tip I cannot count how many hours I have spent vending around Colorado, helping people wash their hands with our soaps at our booth. The most frequent mistake I've witnessed has been the length of time for which one would wash - it's often cut short. When we wash our hands, we can take a shortcut in one or two ways: we don't lather well enough or we don't rinse the soap off entirely. Both of these items are a problem and risk leaving germs on our hands, but leaving soap residue on your skin is without-a-doubt going to cause chapped hands and fingertips. Rinse Your Hands Longer with Cooler Water It takes some time to rinse a well-soaped hand off: if you are rinsing off your hands in less than 10-15 seconds, you likely did not lather for long enough (most health-professionals recommend scrubbing for 20 seconds before you rinse). Alternatively, if you are well lathered, you could be leaving soap on your skin. Leaving soap on your skin will cause damage. Additionally, the temperature of the water makes a great deal of difference in how our skin feels when we are finished. If you are like me and suffer from dry skin in Colorado, you may have heard already that showering with water that is cooler in temperature will dry your skin out less than with water that is hot. The same concept applies to hand washing. I recommend a temperature that feels slightly cool to the skin. To see what proper hand washing looks like, check out the video at the top of the page or watch it on YouTube.  If you would like to learn more about soap and the difference between antibacterial soap and regular soap, check out this post we published previously on how soap works.
And don't forget to browse our website for the best lotion for dry hands since the 1918 Spanish Flu. |
