How To: Moisturize Your Hands and Improve Nail Health

The first habit that I remember my parents teaching me when it came to hygiene was to wash my hands. With the pandemic taking the world by storm, washing our hands has become second nature (although it technically already should have been) if not habitual on a daily basis. Dermatologists say this is why moisturizing your hands is key to maintaining healthy hydrated hands. Not only is it important to keep your hands hydrated, but it also helps in maintaining nail health!

Why do you need to moisturize your hands?

The skin on our hands is the most exposed to water, harsh chemicals, and soap. Therefore the first part of your body other than your face is your hands–which will age. Now aging is inevitable but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to ensure that you and your skin age gracefully.

Because we wash our hands so much (you should) the skin around our cuticles and our hands in general lose moisture. It doesn’t matter how cold the water is or how hydrating your hand soap is. After you wash your hands it’s important to moisturize your hands to keep the skin barrier strong and intact.

The alternative to not moisturizing your hands is to have dry skin which is prone to cracks. Doesn’t sound too bad? Imagine this. Cracked skin leads to the skin barrier being breached by germs and bacteria. Why do you think people would wash their hands neurotically during the pandemic? It’s the first way and the most common way to spread germs!

Moisturize your hands and use SPF!

While using sunscreen, the most common areas people skip are their neck and their hands! Moisturizing your hands along with using a lotion with SPF protect your hands in the same way SPF protects your skin. UVA and UVB rays are harmful to your skin as well as an agent to cause skin cancer–that can happen anywhere! Even on your hands! Sunspots, sunburn, age spots, etc… can occur on the skin of your hands as well. Treat your hands like you would the rest of your body. Hydrate and protect them! One of the best hand moisturizers is the Supergoop! Forever Young Hand Cream with Sea Buckthorn SPF 40. Keep in mind, SPF isn’t a one-time deal. It’s something you need to reapply during the day.

Skin Disorders (of the hands)

Not taking care of your skin and especially your hands can lead to an array of skin conditions and even cancer! Let’s take a look at the few common skin conditions that people complain of:

Atopic Dermatitis

Also known as eczema, is flaky, dry, and very itchy skin on your hands. It can be painful and result in cracking and even bleeding. It’s usually seen between the knuckles but presents itself as an oval or circular rash. The worse thing to do would be to clean it with hot water! Any skin disorder should never be treated with hot water. Dermatologists might suggest an antihistamine to help with the flare-ups.

Keeping the skin hydrated using Eucerin, for example, will help resolve the symptoms and potentially heal your skin.

Sunburn

Skin that’s been exposed to the sun a lot without any sort of protection, resulting in sensitive, red skin is a sunburn. These aren’t new to us but I’m sure you weren’t aware that your hands can get sunburned too! You can develop skin cancer if you don’t protect your skin from harmful UVB and UVA rays.

Contact Dermatitis

Atopic and Contact dermatitis are very similar in nature. The main difference is that Contact Dermatitis occurs when your skin comes in contact with a substance that causes a reaction. While you should see a dermatologist for any medications, there is a drugstore product that I personally can vouch for! Eczema Honey is an amazing brand that uses colloidal oatmeal and manuka honey to help irritated skin and relieve the itching caused by dermatitis.

Nail Problems? Why you need to moisturize your hands and nails!

Moisturizing your hands is as important as keeping them clean. What about your nails? People usually forget that while you moisturize your hands, you should also be taking care of your nails and hydrating them too.

Cuticles

A cuticle is the skin that is located at the end of your nail bed. Salon techs usually push them back when giving you a simple manicure. If you’re like me then you’ll realize that your cuticles will grow over your nails! I hate the look of that. But cuticles are important as well! Why?

The cuticle protects the new nail growth as it grows out of the root.

If the cuticle protects the nail, why trim them?

Experts suggest never cutting the cuticle but asking the salon techs to simply push them back. The reason they cut them is that it exposes more of the nail bed, allowing polishes to last longer before chipping.

Next time you get a manicure, ask them to push back the cuticles and to only cut any loose skin or hangnails. Doing so will prevent any bacteria from entering your nail bed or cuticle area, preventing any swelling and infection from occurring.

Hangnails

A Hangnail is a piece of skin at the root of the nail that looks torn. If you’ve ever trimmed them with a cutter, you’ll notice the side of your nail turning red, sensitive, and being tender, and painful to touch. What you can do to effectively treat a hangnail is to cut them as close to the nail bed as possible and soak your nail in warm salt water. Apply a topical antibiotic cream and keep the area clean. The last thing you want to deal with is an infection.

Hangnails occur due to the lack of oils around the nail. This is why it’s vital to keep your hands moisturized–especially around your nails and in between your fingers.

Use cuticle oil around the nail and massage it in. Follow it up with a hydrating hand and nail lotion. Carry your lotion with you when you’re out and about and make sure you hydrate your hands before you sleep!

Rigged Nails

Your nails might appear rigged if there’s been trauma to the nail matrix (where the nail grows). This can also occur if you overdo your cuticles. As I mentioned earlier, cutting your cuticles might not be advisable but constantly pushing them back with a cuticle tool can cause the nails to be rigged as well.

Split Nails

This is probably a common problem with many women. Do you know why it’s advised to use gloves when washing dishes? Prolonged water exposure creates splits in the nails. Tail tapping and even using your nails as tools to open or pick something causes the same thing.

Applying nail polish protects your nails but constantly changing it causes damage and nail splitting.

Moisturizing Your Hands and Nails: How to and What to Use?

Hand and Nail Cream:

1. Vaseline Hand and Nail Cream: The keratin and vitamin e formula hydrates your skin and seals in moisture while strengthening your nails.
2. L’Occitane Hand and Nail Cream: Fast absorbing and packed with vitamin e, this lotion feels luxurious and provides hydration to dry hands. Remember to properly massage it around the nails as well!
3. OPI ProSpa Hand and Nail Cream: Nourishes and protects your skin and nails while slowing down the signs of aging.

Cuticle Oil:

1. Cuccio Naturale Revitalizing- Hydrating Oil: One of the best cuticle oils on the market! Vitamin E infused and claims to repair dry cuticles overnight.
2. Sally Hansen Cuticle Oil: Another fan favorite packed with Vitamin E.
3. Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil: 97% natural. Jojoba and apricot kernel oil create a fast-absorbing and hydrating formula.

One of my favorite things to do, immediately after I shower is to apply cuticle oil and while that’s soaking my nails and cuticles, I apply my hand lotion and massage it all together. Because your skin is still slightly damp, doing this traps moisture. Trust me, you’re going to wake up with soft, beautiful hands and nails.

Moisturizing your hands protects the skin barrier but how can you protect your nails?

Getting a (regular) manicure or painting your nails might feel luxurious to you, but in a way, you’re actually protecting your nails!

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can change your nail color every other day. But having a good base coat, and a good top coat can help keep your manicure looking fresh longer.

Base coats are a great way of protecting your nails from turning color due to certain nail polish formulas and even the actual color itself! Base coats also give your polish a smooth base so that you don’t need to apply layer upon layer to get the same effect.

There are hundreds if not thousands of base coats on the market, but one of my favorites is the Essie E-Base Coat. Not only does this base coat fill ridges, but it also masks any imperfections on your nails so that you can feel confident in growing them out!

Top coats are not just used to create a shiny or matte manicure. Top coats are also a great way to prolong your manicure. The best top coat in my opinion is Seche Vite because it’s fast drying and shiny! But a word of advice is that while using any fast-drying top coat, don’t keep the bottle open for too long otherwise the formula will turn thick and gloopy.

Gel Manicures:

Gel manicures can be tricky because depending on the type of manicure you get, it can be damaging to remove them from your nails. Counterproductive right?

A basic gel manicure is fine as long as you try to keep it for at least 14 days. Or if you feel, you can let it grow out naturally and just file the nail every two weeks instead of cutting it.

But no matter the type of manicure, the most important thing is to cap the nail’s free-edge so that it covers the whole nail and prolongs your manicure. When removing your polish, apply oil or vaseline around the nail and cuticles when soaking your nails in acetone (for a gel manicure). For a regular polish removal, try to use a non-acetone remover that has some added hydration, or again, apply vaseline to prevent your hands and nails (cuticles) from drying out.

Know this…

Just as it’s important to moisturize your hands, remember your nails also need some TLC. Protect your skin, yes, even your hands, from the sun by using moisturizers with SPF. The more you wash your hands the more you should hydrate. Lack of hydration leads to cracked and dry skin. Many infections and disorders stem from dry skin! Carry a hand and nail lotion with you and you’re ready to tackle anything nature throws at you!