Overworked Hands

Dry.

Beat up.

Cut up.

Ugly.

Sore.

These are all descriptions of my HANDS! Not very lady-like huh? Well, it’s the truth. I’ve been helping out at my boyfriend’s new restaurant and every night I would come home with a new cut or scrap and really rough, dry hands. I realized I have to do something about them fast before I have nothing left but unattractive ugly stumps rather than soft feminine hands.

You use your hands a lot no matter what your daily responsibilities, and dry, chapped hands can make the whole day miserable. The dryness can be even worse in the winter when cold weather strikes. Regular hand washing, which is important to keep germs at bay, can take its toll on your skin. Using a moisturizing soap will help, but contact with water still dries out skin by rinsing away its protective layer of moisture, so the more you wash, the more your hands are at risk of becoming chapped.

What I like to do is apply hand cream at night and wear moisturizing gloves to sleep to give my skin the extra boost they need to see it through the dry season. Various kinds of gloves are available — some are designed to be used with lotions, and others will get the job done on their own. They’re sometimes called “spa gloves” and can cost anywhere from $10 to almost $50, available at drugstores and specialty retailers.

Moisturizing gloves contain a number of ingredients to help your skin, such as oils, vitamins and aloe. Often, these ingredients are part of a lining inside the gloves, although sometimes the fabrics themselves are infused with moisturizing agents. Some gloves are even scented, so if you have any fragrance allergies, be sure to check the label before you choose your gloves.

If you’re thinking about giving moisturizing gloves a try, check out How Stuff Works to find out which type could be the right fit for you.