Regular washing and disinfecting of hands is more important than ever in times of the corona crisis, but it also has consequences: The skin becomes dry and cracked. It is all the more important to care for your hands regularly. We’ll show you how.
It is actually the most normal thing in the world to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly: Due to the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus, however, it is recommended that you soap your skin for at least 20 seconds and that as often as possible – this is the only way to be effective protect against infectious diseases. To increase protection, you can also disinfect your hands regularly. Both of these subject the skin to severe stress tests. Because the soap and alcohol-based disinfectants attack their natural protective acid mantle, making them brittle and cracked. Not only does this look unsightly, it can also make your hands burn or itch. But there is good news: with the right care, you can regain control of painful skin problems. You can find out which hand creams help here.
The right hand cream: this is what you should pay attention to
According to Prof. Christian Raulin, a dermatologist from Karlsruhe, you should under no circumstances do without the regular washing and disinfecting of your hands. Instead, you should supplement your skin care routine with an ointment that is as greasy as possible and still absorbs well. His rule of thumb for correct use is: “Disinfect once, apply five times”. The question here, however, is which is recommended? Because loudly, many over-the-counter products contain questionable ingredients such as mineral oil-based fats and waxes, synthetic polymers or the fragrance Lilial – which is suspected of being reproductive harm. For this reason 50 hand creams were tested. It was primarily organic cosmetic products that scored “very good”:
Öko-Test gives tips for buying a hand cream
There is a good reason why natural cosmetics are often the better choice – also for hand creams: According to Öko-Test, manufacturers are not allowed to use problematic substances such as PEG, paraffins and silicone in order to get the corresponding certificate. This not only benefits your dry hands, but also your health. When buying, make sure that the hand cream:
- no dangerous ingredients such as “butylphenyl methylpropional” (pronounced the fragrance Lilial),
- no mineral oil-based fats and waxes (including Paraffinum liquidum or Cera Microcristallina) and
- does not contain synthetic polymers such as acrylate and other co- and cross-polymers, (sodium) carbomer, (sodium) polyacrylamide or polyquaternium-10.
How to prevent dry hands
You can take preventive measures so that you don’t get dry hands in the first place. This includes:
- Always use a pH neutral or when you wash your hands
- Better to wash your hands under lukewarm, not so hot water
- Wear when washing dishes and when cleaning
- Rub your damp hands with it or one to take care of the skin
- Thick cream on your hands before bed and wear overnight
This keeps your skin supple and tears less often if you have to wash or disinfect your hands more often.
