Top tips to keep your hands soft his winter

Don’t let the cooler temperatures strip your hands of moisture – here’s how to beat the winter blues

The onset of winter and freezing temperatures can leave you with rough feeling and dry hands.

Moisturize regularly
Colder temperatures can sap your skin of moisture, leading to cracking and scaling while aggravating existing skin conditions. Regularly applying lotion onto your hands can help prevent this. Choose a thick, rich moisturizer with a formula that contains heavier ingredients such as dimethicone or shea butter for the best results.

Wear gloves
Whether you’re washing the pots or enjoying a winter walk, it’s important to cover up your hands. Gloves can help provide a layer of protection against the elements and harmful bacteria and UV – all of which can lead to dry, cracking skin. Invest in a pair of wool-lined leather gloves and you won’t regret it.

Bathe in Oats
Cooked or raw oats are great remedies for chapped hands. Add it to your bathwater, or mix it up with some warm olive or jojoba oil in a basin and soak your hands in it for 10-15 minutes.

Exfoliate
Removing dead skin from your hands allows moisturiser to penetrate your skin more effectively. Exfoliate with a gentle scrub to remove the top layer of dead skin cells to reveal fresh skin underneath – coconut oil and sugar are great natural options.