With the coronavirus, hand washing has become an absolute must for everyone. But how can we effectively keep our hands moist especially as constant hand washing affects the skin in ways such as dryness and irritation? It all lies in treating your hands with care and keeping them moisturized AFTER washing your hands.
What are some of the essential tips we need to keep in mind regarding hand washing?
Your Soap Choice is Key
Many soaps are quite high in pH (we’ll try our best not to sound too scientific here), which could in turn make the skin very dry and even cracked in some cases. Therefore, as much as you can, it’s advisable to buy soaps that are rich in moisturizing ingredients such as glycerine. In the Ghanaian setting, we may not be so particular about such ingredients, so an easier alternative will be to buy cream or liquid soaps specifically for hand washing.
Be Mindful of the Temperature
Although it is generally believed that hot water is highly effective in killing germs, extremely hot water can be very harsh on the skin and could cause irritation if its constantly used on the skin. Warm water or slightly hot water is an ideal alternative, to keep both the hands clean and the skin protected.
Rub Gently
Let’s face it…especially in this time, we are all very hopeful that washing our hands will get as many germs off as possible and having that in mind, we’re likely to rub our hands VERY aggressively in a quest to get the ‘virus germs’ off. However, we need to show our hands some love by rubbing gently with soap…it’s not about how hard we wash it, but how effectively we do it; rubbing the palms, back of the palms and in between the fingers for at least twenty seconds under running water. So…next time you’re washing your hands, take it easy!
Drying hands
Rubbing again comes into play here, but this time around, it’s advisable to pat your hands dry instead of rubbing it roughly with a towel, as rubbing it roughly could again affect your skin by not only making it dry, but also causing some irritation. We certainly don’t want to irritate our skin further, do we?
Moisturize
That’s one of our favorite words and no doubt, your skin’s favorite word too. After washing your hands, moisturizing is ideal to not only keep your skin soft and hydrated but protected as well. The most effective kind of cream is the thick kind such as Shea butter, as compared to light creams which may wear off in a short time.
Hope these tips help, and as always, don’t forget to stay safe and stay hydrated!