I can’t even remember what show it was, but it was a Monday. Five years ago. During lunch. I was eating spinach.
It was either a rerun of What Not to Wear or 10 Years Younger. And either Carmindy or Damone Roberts (they look so much alike, you know) said:
“The easiest way to tell a woman’s age is by her hands.”
I won’t lie – checking out the back of my hands is a nightly ritual. “Do they look older? Wrinkled? Would anyone be able to tell that I’m really 35? Not 20, like the liquor store owner INSISTS I look?”
(Liquor store owners: Want to be a millionaire? Tell every woman she looks like she’s 20.)
Not only are dry hands more easily wrinkled hands, but they don’t feel good. At all. Yuck.
Here’s what I do to keep my hands and elbows from drying out, cracking, and revealing my true age in the winter (and you probably have all of this stuff in your house right now):
Prevention is Key (Of Course)
1. Skip Obsessive Washing
The A-number-one-soul-sister reason for dry hands (and elbows) is excess washing. Not only does the water do damage, but the soaps you use to wash with – even if they SWEAR they’re moisturizing – are culprits of dry, cracked skin.
Stop washing your hands (and showering) so much. I know it’s tough, ’cause we’ve been told repeatedly and forcefully that germs spread if you don’t wash your hands. I’m here to tell you – if you’re at home, with your unsick loved ones, you don’t need to wash your hands every stinking hour. Just wash them when you’ve done something really dirty.
And try to find a soap that doesn’t contain things like sulfates (lauryl especially). Remember – if a soap promises that it is “tough on grease” it’s also tough on the natural oils in your hands.
2. Omega-3, Omega-3, Omega-3
Of all the foods I’ll put on my skin, absolutely without a doubt the thing that makes my skin glow and look terrific is taking an omega-3 supplement.
Sometimes I forget. (Okay, for months, I’ll forget.) And I can always tell a difference when I remember. What makes me remember the most? Winter. Dry skin.
Omega-3 fatty acids will soothe the holy tabasco out of your dry skin. My favorite happens to be the Barlean’s Lemonade Cod Liver Oil. It doesn’t taste like behind. I promise. It hardly tastes at all.
Get thyself a quality omega-3 fatty acid supplement.
3. Break Out the Baking Soda When You’re Washing Dishes
Skip the after-dish-washing dryness by putting a tablespoon or two of baking soda in your wash water.
It neutralizes the acids your dirty dishes are coated with, and leaves your hands soft and supple afterward. Just be sure to rinse well after washing and finish with a moisturizer of some sort (which we’ll get to in a second).
Better yet, use gloves when you wash the dishes. And coat your hands in olive oil before you put them on. Double the awesomeness.
Leave These Moisturizers in Key Places
4. Keep a Mixture of Sugar and Dried Coconut Next to Your Sink
I actually came to know the moisturizing miracle that is dried, shredded coconut quite by accident. A few weeks ago, I was looking at my coconut while doing the dishes and, as with most foods, thought: “I wonder what would happen if I put that on my face?”
I did, and it was SO moisturizing. In that vein, please, if you have dry skin on your face, do a very gentle shredded coconut scrub (soak the coconut in milk for 3 minutes before scrubbing lightly) and come back and tell me how awesome it is. But this is about your hands. So let’s talk about that now.
Since that epiphanous day, I’ve been using a combination shredded coconut/sugar scrub on my hands twice a day when I wash in the kitchen. I just leave it right by the sink, so I don’t forget.
How to do this: Mix equal parts dried, shredded coconut and sugar in a small bowl. After you’ve washed your hands regularly, dump a small amount (1-2 teaspoons full) in your wet hand. Scrub hands well, adding water as necessary. Rinse. Do this on your elbows, too, once every two days.
Enjoy the softness.
5. Put a Small Bottle of Olive Oil in Your Bathroom
Forgetfulness = dry skin. Leave these things in plain sight, to remind you. Tie balloons on them. Maybe affix a motion-sensor light to them. Whatever you have to do.
Extra-virgin, expeller-pressed olive oil, used regularly, won’t just prevent dry skin, it’ll help roll back the clock on the look of your skin, as well. It’s SO high in antioxidants and other antiaging properties, it’s ridiculous.
Leave a bottle of olive oil in your bathroom and slather a small amount on every time you go in there. Coat your hands, coat your elbows … coat anywhere that feels dry.
It takes about 3-5 minutes for olive oil to soak in completely, but it’s worth the wait. So worth the wait.
Do this as often as you feel like doing it. Maybe all day. Constantly. No breaks. No fear. JUST DO IT.
Or just a few times a day. Whatever floats your boat.
Exfoliate Once or Twice a Week
6. Fruit-Peel Away the Dry Skin
Nothing whisks away dead skin quite like a citrus fruit. And while this may seem contraindicative to dry hands, it’s actually really effective, if done properly.
You can use any citrus fruit you’d like, but lemons and grapefruits are my personal favorites.
Though you might want to skip this if you have REALLY cracked hands or elbows. On raw skin, it will (I repeat, it will) hurt like the dickens.
Here’s how I do this for the dry skin I manage to accumulate just above my elbows: Using a small slice of lemon or grapefruit, I pour a little sugar on top and scrub the dry places for 1 minute with the sugared fruit. Then, I leave the liquid on for another 5 minutes.
Rinse well. Very well. And then moisturize with the most heavy-duty moisturizer you have. I recommend lanolin, if you’re not sensitive to it.
Or, you could use olive oil or coconut oil or cocoa butter.
I did this yesterday on the dry elbow skin (and it hurt in one cracked place, but I got over it). The dry patch was completely, utterly gone when I was finished moisturizing. Ta-da!
7. Yet Another Reason to Get a Body Brush
Exfoliation is your friend in the battle against dry skin, and a body brush is your secret tool to exfoliation.
Get one. Use it.
Use it on your elbows. Your knees. Your backside. And even your hands. (Use it softly, in a circular motion.)
And then shower all that dead skin off, and use a body oil when you get out.
Got Any Of Your Own Dry Hand/Elbow Remedies?
As always, I love to hear what remedies you’ve found are most helpful. I know dry hands and elbows in the wintertime are a big, giant pain in the coccyx.
So let me hear what you do!
Even if it’s a product, share with all of us what your faves are.
In holding-hands-isn’t-uncomfortable-this-winter crunch!
can I use coconut with kosher salt instead of sugar? (I know me. I’ll end up eating coconut with sugar ;-]…)
I’m a big advocat of using natural products like honey, olive oil and sugar in the bathroom. I use a honey-sugar mix for scrubbing and moisturize with olive oil or argan oil. My hands have never been softer!
Mmm, coconut. I’ll try anything with coconut. I wish there was some way of getting rid of ropy veins on hands because just about the only thing Angeline Jolie and I have in common is our zombie hands.
Well, see, I think the ropey hand veins look distinguished. I’m actually being serious. Almost every “society” lady I’ve seen has prominent hand veins.
Clearly, it’s just a sign of very exquisite breeding.
Right?
I actually just made a body oil with straight coconut oil and some natural amber perfume oil I get at the local natural health foods store. Have you ever smelled amber? (Or amber musk … um … TO DIE FOR.)
Ever since I discovered those natural perfume oils, I won’t even look at the perfume counter at the department stores.
Hmmm. I went there and didn’t notice where they listed ingredients. You know, I’m pretty guilty of not checking the ingredients of the oil I use (amber musk from Nemat). I just assumed it was all natural, because it’s carried in one of the strictest, crunchiest local natural stores here in the Springs.
However, looking online, I can’t seem to find how natural they actually are, either.
Curious. You’ve started me on a new quest …
As a nurse I am supposed to wash my hands before and after every patient contact. My hands are ruined. Dry and split. If you guessed my age from them you’d put me in an old folks home. I’m looking forward to trying some of your tips.
Yeah. That’s a toughie – not much you can do about that, is there? Do pick up some lanolin (if, again, you’re not sensitive to it) and try putting that on at night and then wearing cotton gloves.
My hands never get dry enough to warrant the all-night glove/lanolin treatment, but my feet do. Although I put socks on my feet. Gloves would be weird.
Anyway, I really feel like it helps tremendously. The next day, the cracks are FAR more soft, and the dry flaky skin is gone.
These all sound like really sensible and DO-able ideas. I keep a shaker container of baking soda next to the sink for scrubbing pans and the sink itself. I’ll try putting it in the dishwater now.
When I bake or cook, if I get olive oil or butter on my hands, instead of wiping it off or washing it off, I just rub it into my elbows. I used to love this hand cream I had from Origins (can’t remember the name) and also Aveda’s Hand Relief. They’re not in the budget anymore though, so I am really grateful for your “home cures”!
Oh, and thanks for the reminder to take my Omegas!
Shoo. I know what you mean about Origins not being in the budget, Makes me sad, because it was one of the only “major” brands I’d use there for a while. I remember them giving me a hand treatment once when I went into a store – nothing compared.
However, after an entire week of using olive oil on my hands two or three times a day, I’m so blown over with the softness. Pretty sure I’m not going to have to worry about dry hands at all this year.
Oooh. The other night, I made a spaghetti casserole and the glass dish was just horribly messy with dried-on, baked-on cheese and pasta and sauce. I soaked it overnight in hot water, baking soda, and a couple of lemon wedges? All the yucky stuff slid right off in the morning with a spray of hot water.
Sometimes I seriously think there’s nothing baking soda and lemon juice can’t do.
I am not sure I can give up hand washing. I’m always cooking or wiping behinds. Those kinds of activities require soap. But I will totally try the sugar and coconut.
My new hand trick is using a gardener’s soap with grit and sand in the shower on my hands. Cleans up my nails and cuticles and exfoliates at the same time. Like a mini manicure.
Ooh. I like this gardener’s soap idea. I haven’t even ever heard of it!
The store across the street that makes natural bath/beauty products has a really awesome oatmeal soap with other essential oils and some jojoba beads in it. Sorta the same concept, but it gets really gooey when you get down to the nub. Eventually defeats the purpose of exfoliating.
I forget about dirty diapers. It’s been so long since I’ve had to deal with them. Definitely need to wash after that. Haha … what’s wrong with me? I’m actually shuddering at the thought of a dirty diaper. When did this happen?