Frequent washing can strip the skin of its protective layer.
Use of soap can also alter the acidic ph balance, both of which can lead to really dry, cracked and sore hands.
And these days, when we are all washing our hands like there is no tomorrow and applying hand sanitiser by the bucketload, most of us are suffering from hands that feel dryer and more sensitive than normal.
It doesn’t help either that our hands are also exposed to cold winds outside, and dry, heated air inside our homes, and this constant change in temperature can play havoc with our skin and its moisture levels.
Sounds familiar? I know – I am in the same boat.
However, I have a secret weapon when it comes to dealing with dry hands – and it’s not even a hand cream.
Say hello to Skin Food from Weleda – a cult product loved by celebrities, models, mums – in fact, everyone who has ever tried it, I would be willing to bet.
Skin Food was first developed as a sort of a ‘cure-all’ balm back in 1926, and the unique formula remains the same today. Made from 100 percent natural ingredients like chamomile, calendula and wild pansy, which soothe skin, and fragrant essential oils of orange and Lavandula, Weleda Skin Food is pretty much the perfect buy for combating dry skin – wherever you may have it.
I first heard about this product years ago when I was interviewing a makeup artist on how to achieve that perfect, dewy, catwalk-ready skin that all the models at Copenhagen Fashion Week seemed to have.
He pulled a little tub of Skin Food out of his pocket and told me to try it – and I did.
That night, I applied a thin layer of Weleda Skin Food onto my freshly cleansed face, and left it on overnight, as a sort of a super-nourishing face mask. The next morning, my skin felt amazing. Soft, glowing, plump, healed – it literally blew me away.
I started experimenting with wherever else I could use this cream, and my hands seemed the natural next step. On a flight a few days later, I got ready to have a little snooze after we have taken off, but before I did so, I took out my little tub of Skin Food and applied it in a thin layer to my hands – and you will not believe the difference it made.
It took a little while to sink in at the start, but once it did, my hands have never been this soft and smooth – and the effect actually lasted for a couple of days, keeping my hands so totally soft and in much better condition than they are normally in winter.
Oh, and it gets better. I have also come across advice from people who use the brand new Skin Food to treat dry feet, chapped lips, cuticles that need a little TLC, you name it, the original Skin Food does it. Really – is it any wonder one sold every 23 seconds?! We think not.