Handwashing is important these days but notoriously harsh on the skin, often resulting in rough, dry skin. Because there is little fat on the backs of your hands — and the skin there is much thinner — dryness and signs of aging are much more noticeable on your hands than your face. If you find that your youthful hands are becoming dry and cracked, read on for these Eminence Organic Skin Care solutions to reversing their transformation.

What Causes Dry, Rough Hands?

Typically rough to the touch, dry hands are a common skin ailment. And the main offender? A lack of moisture. As the seasons change to winter and humidity decreases, your skin’s natural oils may not be enough against the elements. Winter also means central heating at work and at home, which can zap even more moisture from your skin. 

“How well your hands can withstand winter’s harsh conditions has a lot to do with the strength of our skin barrier,” dermatology professor Charles Crutchfield III, MD, tells WebMD.com. Your skin barrier acts like a defense system for your skin by sealing in moisture and shielding your skin from bacteria and irritants. If your skin barrier is operating normally, your skin stays hydrated, moisturized and protected against environmental factors. But sometimes, harsh weather, soap, detergents or central heating combine to affect the moisture level in your skin. If your hands become dry, cracked or start peeling, we have some dry hand skin care treatments to bring moisture back into your skin.

Choose Rich Moisturizers For Dry Hand Treatment

When soaping up is a priority — and humidity levels are low and heating systems are sucking the moisture from your skin — you’ll want to fight back with Eminence Organics hand care products, especially our Mangosteen Replenishing Hand Cream. This luxurious hand cream maintains hydration through multiple handwashings while resurfacing and revitalizing cracked skin with our Lactic Acid Complex. 

Another effective choice is our Vanilla Mint Hand Cream. The organic shea butter ingredient is an excellent emollient to hydrate dry skin on your hands, with a delicate hint of fresh vanilla and mint. Avocado and rosehip oils also nourish and revitalize cracked skin for a smooth and youthful look.

Protect Your Hands With Gloves 

Gloves are not only a stylish accessory but an essential step to protecting your paws from drying elements. Make sure you slide on a pair to safeguard your hands against wind and to keep moisture in your skin. Gloves are especially essential for vigorous activities like dishwashing. Avoid oil-stripping dish detergent from drying out your hands and don rubber gloves when cleaning up the kitchen. The last thing you want to suffer now is an uncomfortable case of chapped “dishpan hands.”

Shield Your Skin With SPF 

According to Forbes.com, slathering sunscreen on your hands not only protects them from skin cancer and sunburn. Sunscreen is also clinically proven to preserve hand from signs of aging. To achieve the same effect for your dry hands, we recommend application of sunscreen on your hands, as needed. A sun care product like Lilikoi Mineral Defense Sport Sunscreen SPF 30 not only blocks harmful UVA and UVB rays, but it also moisturizes your skin and leaves it silky smooth.  

Plump Your Skin Overnight

We love coating our hands in this rich lotion at night and slipping on a pair of cotton gloves (or clean socks, in a pinch). After eight hours of beauty sleep, you’ll be waking up to hands that are as perfectly moisturized and soft as baby skin.

At Eminence Organics, one of the best solutions we recommend for dry and cracked skin on your hands is a night-time treatment. The Monoi Age Corrective Night Body Cream is a fabulous (and fragrant!) way to soothe super dry hands, using shea butter which is high in fatty acids. Argan oil provides extra nourishment, while botanical hyaluronic acid and nutmeg plump the skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. 

Pamper With An At-Home Dry Hand Treatment

By treating your digits to at-home manicures, you can keep them soft, supple and hydrated. Here’s the Eminence Organics hand care treatment for happier hands:

1. Soak

After filing your polish-free nails, the first step of your organic hand treatment is to soak your fingertips and soften your cuticles. For our soaking solution, we like to mix one pump of Coconut Milk Cleanser into a bowl of warm water. Leave hands in for at least two to five minutes, so fingertips and cuticles are hydrated and gently cleansed.

2. Exfoliate

Hands still feeling a little rough? Buff away any scaly skin with our sugar scrubs. Choosing from three delicious exfoliators, the Coconut Sugar Scrub, Blueberry Soy Sugar Scrub and Cranberry Pomegranate Sugar Scrub, you can remove dead skin cells and replenish moisture. Rinse thoroughly and gently pat dry your transformed silky smooth hands.

3. Moisturize

Our award-winning Apricot Body Oil is the perfect blend of luxury oils to deeply moisturize your nails and cuticles. Massage this fragrant oil into the hands and while it absorbs, use a clean cuticle stick to gently push back your cuticles.

4. Finish

Complete your at-home hand care treatment by smoothing on the Mangosteen Replenishing Hand Cream. One application leaves your cracked hands feeling silky soft and plump, even with multiple hand washings.  

What are your tips for keeping your hands smooth and hydrated? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

This article was originally written in 2018.