In winter, take good care of your hands

What hurts our hands

If we make a ranking of attacks received, the hands get the worst of it and are, by far, the most attacked, and all this by two different mechanisms:

• One mechanic, since the hands by their own function when grasping, pushing, handling objects and various surfaces come into contact with many materials, which can injure them.
• One chemical, which consists of frequent contact with aggressive detergents such as those contained in cleaning products, intended to carry dirt, grease or lime, but which in contact with the skin are carried away by the fatty components of the natural hydrolipidic mantle, which is the physiological emulsion that acts as a cement for the epidermal cells in addition to creating a final protective layer on the surface of the skin.

Only the water from frequent washing, which we so often apply to our hands, and poor drying, due to haste, or due to repetitive action, are already destructuring of the hydrolipidic mantle of the skin of the hands, which are left unprotected. On the other hand, the type of structure of the skin of the hands, very thin and with hardly any sebaceous glands, does not seem to favor the resistance of the hands. However, they resist and endure the aforementioned aggressions well despite the little care that, in general, we give them (much less than to the face).

For all that has been described, the hands age and often, together with the neck and décolleté, they are more revealing of the true age of a person than their face.

Pamper your hands

To pamper your hands and prevent aging, it is necessary to change the chip, recognize their fragility and pay constant attention to them. Since a large part of the problems derive from its, in the aforementioned sense, the loss of the natural protective emulsion, we are going to repeatedly apply, after each careful washing and drying, a cream that is well absorbed, which restores the layer. protective without being sticky.

Hand care plan

We will start "the hands care plan”With one at the top; The hands, due to their daily wear and tear, do not accumulate many dead cells, but a gentle peeling always favors the effects of treatment creams. It will be enough to use a mild facial scrub, rather than a more aggressive body scrub. If we only have a body scrub, it will be used in less quantity and at longer intervals.

A different issue is the calluses of the palms that require more, but above all avoid chronicity, modifying the way we hold the pen, using gloves when picking up an instrument that causes them, etc.

Secondly, it will be very convenient to distribute around us, to always have one available: kitchen, bag, car, bedside table and bathroom of course, in such a way that every time we carefully wash and dry our hands, we have a cream within reach to restore the protective layer. In the kitchen, it is better to use a cream or lotion in a dispenser-type container, it is easier to apply and less contaminated.

If it is not possible, or not wanted, to apply hand cream so often, we will be constant, at least in the nocturnal application, that it will allow the skin of the hands to recover throughout the night. In cases of very punished handsEspecially for detergents, it will be convenient to enhance this nocturnal application with the use of 100% cotton gloves that will help the creams penetrate more deeply. If going to bed with gloves makes us uncomfortable, we can choose to put the gloves on for a while before going to bed. However, the night is longer and will give better results.

To complete the treatment, one will be applied weekly, the same one used for the face. The mask can be used any day, however after exfoliating it will provide better results.

Prevention

Hand protection involves using more than one glove type, as a protective barrier.

• Rubber or latex gloves for water, and detergents.
• Cotton gloves to prevent dust from drying them out.
• Leather, wool or gore.tex gloves to insulate them from the cold, wind and snow.
• Total solar filters or 50+ in the form of a paste or stick, applied before leaving home, to avoid the effects of sun radiation such as stains.

Formulations of hand creams

As for cosmetic assets, they are not very different from face formulations: healing agents such as Centella Asiatica and Allantoin, plant regenerators such as Argan Oil or Shea butter, emollient thermal waters ...

What does differ greatly, are the excipients or, which are much more simplified because they are intended, of course, to release the active ingredients but above all to leave a thin layer that keeps the corneal layer smooth and without flaking or cuts. .

In this last layer is the formulations kit, It has to protect but at the same time they do not have to leave a greasy or sticky touch. This is a very subjective aspect and at the same time it is like the squaring of the circle, although it can be achieved simply by dosing the amount of cream and making it penetrate with a complete massage. In excipients we very often find Silicones that give the sensation of a transparent protective glove.

Finally, in the face of spots, or nevus, that appear with age and solar radiation, due to errors in the production of melanin, it is best to avoid their formation with the application of sunscreen, before exposing to the sun and after every dip or wash. Against incipient stains, specific products based on Hydroquinone and derivatives can be used.

When the stains are already old, they can only be removed with advanced dermatological treatments such as laser, pulsing light, which are very effective but, once the stains are removed, to prevent their reappearance, PROTECTION and more PROTECTION is again necessary.

• The mechanical actions that we carry out with our hands and the chemical agents in cleaning products are the most responsible for damaging our hands.
• After each washing and drying of hands it is advisable to apply a cream that is well absorbed and that is not sticky.
• One way to prevent attacks on the hands is to use gloves for each situation that requires it.