15-01-2020 | Dermatologist | Bodycare

Winter is coming… protect your hands.

If there’s one part of the body that suffers in winter, in addition to the skin on the face, it’s the hands. We do everything we can to protect them: we wear gloves, stick them in our pockets, rub them together, blow on them to warm them up with our breath, hold them close to the heater or fireplace, make cups of tea to cradle the mug between our hands...and yet the most effective way to protect them is to moisturise them.

But why does the cold affect our hands so much?  

Because our hands, like our feet and head, are at the ends of our body and it’s harder for the blood to get to them.  Cold encourages the blood vessels to close, reducing circulation and making our feet, hands and head more vulnerable to it.

How can I fight off the cold?

In winter it’s a good idea to shower just once a day or even less. And you shouldn’t wash your hands too often for the same reason. Our skin produces natural oil (not dirtiness) which protects it and insulates us from the cold. If we wash too much, especially with very hot water, that necessary and healthy layer can be destroyed.  And even though it is irreplaceable, we should try to restore it with good moisturisation.

At MartiDerm we recommend our 2 hand creams. One with a lightweight texture that is fast-absorbing and the other for dry hands with rough and cracked skin. But both for a good cause, since 100% of the profits go to social projects.

So, on the one hand, moisturise your hands and wash them in moderation and, on the other, when you expose them to the cold, use gloves made from natural fibres like cotton or wool. They will warm you more than synthetic materials and keep damp away from the skin. And one very important detail: put the gloves on when your hands are warm. If you put them on when cold they will take a lot longer to warm up.

One final piece of advice for getting warm naturally this winter: hug the people you love.  Human warmth is much healthier than the heat from a heater.  Plus it usually warms the heart, too.


autor
DermatologistExpert in skin care

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