*By now, the majority of us regularly wash our hands and even teach our kids about the importance of cleaning them, but are we all doing a good job of making sure our hands are as healthy as possible?
Using soap to clean your hands is one thing, but there are many more ways to look after them. As we are generally washing our hands more than usual in 2020, we’ll look at some tips you can start using now to have healthy skin for a long time to come.
After all, we use our hands for practically everything, so make sure you’re treating them the right way!
Always wash using warm water
Goldilocks had it right all along… not too hot and not too cold is the answer. Wash your hands for about 15-20 seconds using soap and lukewarm water.
Hot water can dry out your skin, remove natural oils and can even scald you if you’re not careful, while cold water is not as effective in removing dirt and germs.
Get some more great tips here from Dial about how and when to wash your hands.
Try to use moisturizing soap
If you find that your hands are continually dry after washing, even with the use of hand lotion afterward, then try switching to a moisturizing liquid soap. Unless they are of super high quality or handmade, many bar soaps contain binding ingredients that have a high pH, meaning your skin gets clean but also dries out. In general, be gentle when washing your hands, and always clean your wrists, underneath your fingernails, the backs of your hands and in between the fingers as well.
Use gloves when washing dishes or cleaning
There are many harsh chemicals that can aggregative dry skin on our hands when washing the dishes or cleaning the home, for instance. That’s why the use of protective gloves is so important, as these act as a barrier for chemicals and hot water. If you didn’t manage to find gloves but still cleaned the house, make sure to wash thoroughly and apply lotion afterward to soften and clean the skin. Also, when drying your hands, try to give each person in the home their own personal hand towel to help prevent the spread of germs.
Use hand sanitizer only as a last resort
It’s not always possible to find a washbasin and soap when we’re outside and wish to clean our hands, which is why hand sanitizer is such a useful solution.
However, don’t end up relying on it and use it around the house when soap and water are available. Before eating, after using the bathroom, or when your hands are dirty after sports or gardening, for example, then soap and water is always the best option for your health.
One of the main reasons to ease up on hand sanitizer is that they can actually strip away useful oils and good bacteria on our hands, and this can lead to a worse immune system and perhaps the chance of getting sick more often.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
