Weathered hands with cracks, popularly called “chicks,” are a nightmare reality for lovers of winter fun, fishing, and those who carelessly left the house without gloves in wet, windy weather. Most often, rough hands with tiny wounds can be observed in children: as soon as they get carried away playing with the snow and lose a mitten, the baby’s delicate skin immediately begins to roughen and crack in the cold.

The skin of adults is less susceptible to weather conditions, but even at this age, agricultural work in the country or walking in the cold without mittens can give the surface of the hands a resemblance to sandpaper.

How to quickly cure chapped hands if this trouble befalls you or your loved ones?

The treatment agent is selected depending on how chapped the skin is, whether wounds have appeared on it, and what we have at hand for treatment. In the mildest cases, domestic cream produced by factories such as Svoboda or Nevskaya Cosmetics helps well. Any rich cream will do, from baby “Tick-Tock” to “Effect” foot cream.

Specialized products for chapped, dry hands include Bioton and Domix cream-balm. Domix contains skin-moisturizing celandine extract, wound-healing plantain extract and vitality-activating nanosilver.

To treat and prevent future damage to the skin of the hands, pharmacies offer restorative cream Xerand, brand La Roche-Posay. The composition of the cream allows the product to be used even for children, restoring the protective lipid film of their delicate hands.

Veterinary pharmacies, as strange as it may seem, can also help in the treatment of severely chapped skin. They sell ointments designed to treat cracks in the udder of cows.

Traditional medicine gives its secrets on how to quickly heal chapped hands. The most famous recipe for treatment with potato broth: hands are placed in a bath of broth and kept there until the liquid has cooled completely. Hands are carefully blotted with a towel and nourishing cream is generously applied to the skin.

The effect of the bath will be enhanced if you wear cotton gloves after absorbing the cream. This method of getting rid of chicks and peeling has a pleasant side effect: the family will be fed fresh mashed potatoes without additional time investment.

You can make an oatmeal vitamin mask for hands affected by bad weather. To do this, oats or oat flakes are steamed, and vitamin A is added to the finished mass (sold in ampoules at the pharmacy). You need to keep your hands in this mixture for about 15 minutes, like a regular mask. Then the hands are rinsed with water, dried with a towel and lubricated with a rich cream.

To achieve the greatest therapeutic and cosmetic effect, do this procedure before going to bed, put on cotton gloves at night, and the next morning your hands will feel like they did after visiting a SPA salon.

Your hands are chapped and you don’t know what to do? Has their skin turned red, become rough, wrinkled? Every fifth woman faces this problem, especially in the autumn-winter period. And in the summer, you can often hear complaints from the fair half of humanity that their hands are chapped. How to help the skin of your hands become healthier and prevent such manifestations? We will tell you about recipes and care methods that will help avoid chapped hands.

Are your hands chapped? What should care be like?

Basically, such a problem as chapped hands most often overtakes the delicate skin on the hands in winter in windy frosty weather. It also has a direct negative effect on the hands:

• sudden change in temperature;
• high humidity;
• spending a long time outside in bad cold weather.

Chapped hands can rightfully be called a typical winter problem.
Since the skin of the hands is very thin, sensitive and dehydrates very quickly, special care is required for it.

How to properly wash your hands if your skin is chapped?

During the winter, proper hand washing becomes an integral part of hand care. After all, soap and hot water dry out the skin of your hands quite strongly. Therefore, it is correct to wash your hands with mild soap. Requirements for soap should be as follows:

1. Normal pH content. Our epidermis has a pH level of 5.5, so it is acceptable to use soap with a pH level of 3-6.
2. Adding glycerin or nutritious oil to the composition.
3. Supplements in the form of aloe, chamomile or calendula extracts are welcome.

What should hand cream be like in winter?

The easiest way to chapped your hands is when you leave the house after washing dishes or wet cleaning the house. Therefore, carry out household procedures with special gloves. It is best to use rubber ones with a cotton lining. But do not forget that wearing them for more than 20 minutes is not recommended.

As for the cream, it should be moisturizing with high fat content. Creams with glycerin are perfect. When applying, the skin of your hands should be slightly damp, then it will be better moisturized.

In addition to moisturizing, you should take care to protect your hands. Apply sunscreen before every time you go outside. And if you are predisposed to chapped hands, then for prevention purposes, apply cream to your hands every 4-6 hours.

If you constantly wash your hands (work requires it), then it is better to use hand cream containing silicone and oils.

What should be the emergency help when your hands become chapped?

If your hands become chapped, you should act immediately. Since weathering is characterized by:

• drying the upper layer of the epidermis;
• severe redness and roughness;
• the appearance of cracks that may bleed slightly.

In addition to fatty and moisturizing creams, for emergency help you can use simple but quite effective methods of treatment from the people. Your hands are chapped; traditional medicine has its own effective recipes.

Recipes for baths when your hands are chapped?

1. Starch bath. Dissolve 8 dessert spoons of potato starch in one glass of warm water. Immerse your hands in warm water for 10–20 minutes.
2. Oatmeal bath. Steam 5-6 tablespoons of oatmeal with hot water. When the porridge has cooled to room temperature, pour a vitamin A capsule into it. It is sold in liquid form in pharmacies. Stir and soak your brushes in the mixture for 25 minutes.
3. Oak decoction. To do this, you need to boil three tablespoons of pharmaceutical oak bark in half a liter of water. Strain and add a few drops of tea tree oil to the broth. Dip your brushes into it and hold for 25–35 minutes. Use these baths for a week.
4. Potato bath. Boil the potatoes in water. When it has cooled, immerse the brushes in the resulting vegetable broth and keep until it cools completely. Potatoes can be used for a mask, the recipe for which is given below.

Recipes for masks when your hands are chapped?

1. Sea buckthorn oil. It is applied to areas of skin that are chapped. It should not be washed off. Wait until the oil is completely absorbed.
2. Potato mask. From boiled potatoes (1-2 potatoes) you need to make a puree. Add a teaspoon of any vegetable oil to it. It can be flaxseed, olive, mustard or simple sunflower. Apply the mixture to the affected areas for 10–15 minutes. Such masks should be carried out in the morning and evening for 3-5 days. After the procedure, it is advisable to apply a rich cream.
3. Mask for the night. Take one teaspoon of the thickest cream you can find at home and add 5 drops of rose oil to it. Mix thoroughly and spread on your hands. Put on cotton gloves and go to bed. The next morning you will already notice an improvement.
4. Aloe juice. A freshly picked aloe leaf is cleared of side needles and cut in half. The halves are applied to the inflamed areas. It should be kept for up to 40–60 minutes. For convenience, you can wrap them with a bandage. If the skin is not very chapped, then simply wipe it with a cut aloe leaf and leave until completely dry.

Are your hands chapped? Paraffin therapy will help

In addition to folk remedies, when your hands are chapped, you can use paraffin therapy. To do this, brushes are immersed in molten cosmetic paraffin (its temperature should be acceptable to the touch). Immediately take it out and allow the paraffin to cool and harden. Dipping is repeated again, and so on until a dense layer of paraffin forms on the brushes. Gloves are put on top or hands are wrapped in a warm towel. After half an hour, wash everything off.

In conclusion about prevention

The very first thing that will help protect your hands in winter is warm gloves, which you need to wear when going outside. Apply moisturizing and protective cream. Do not neglect the rules of hand care in winter, pay attention to your soap and replace it if necessary. Pamper your skin with cosmetic masks and baths. Compliance with these requirements will help you forget about complaints that your hands are chapped.

Walking and being forced to be outdoors in damp, cold weather without gloves has unpleasant consequences: the skin of the hands becomes covered with microcracks, becomes very dry, and looks inflamed.

A child may come home with chapped hands after a lot of fun in the cold. Trouble more often overtakes people with reduced immunity and sensitive skin lacking vitamins and microelements.

Violation of the upper layer of skin - a path for infection, allergens, and the development of dermatitis. To increase the protective functions of the skin and eliminate painful rashes, simple but effective methods are used.

So, your hands are chapped: what to do at home and how to overcome the problem.

The impetus for the appearance of chicks is unfavorable external factors: high humidity, low temperature, wind.

But internal pathologies of the body can serve as predisposing factors:

• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to impaired absorption of substances beneficial to skin health into the blood;
• disturbances of carbohydrate and lipid metabolic processes leading to vitamin deficiency;
• problems with keratin formation, predisposition to rough and dry skin;
• atopic dermatitis leading to systemic allergic reactions;
• increased sensitivity to moisture and wind.

These disorders provoke the appearance of inflammation and cracks in a child or adult under the following unfavorable conditions:

1. Staying in the cold with bare hands.
2. Lack of seasonal skin care.
3. Frequent exposure of hands to water with a washing and cleaning solution.
4. Dried skin.

The presence of physical, mechanical, and chemical irritants is a trigger for the formation of “chicks”.

Treatment of chapped hands

How to restore chapped skin on your hands with your own efforts? Treatment of chapped hands at home can be carried out in several directions:

• exclusion of potentially dangerous factors;
• local therapy;
• increasing immunity;
• taking vitamins.

Vitamins are not a source of energy or building material for cells. But they are necessary as a catalyst for biochemical reactions in the body, for the preservation of skin immunity, and for barrier functions.

You can determine how to treat your hands based on the symptoms and frequency of the problem.. For some, an emollient cream is enough, while others require a full course of therapy.

The ultimate goal of treatment is to get rid of cracks, itching and pain, reduce the frequency of exacerbations, and prevent skin complications.

How to smear chapped hands at home? Daily cosmetics are not suitable for this.

Lanolin and other components of creams can aggravate the situation and increase the allergic reaction (itching and redness).

The waterproof film created by such products interferes with skin breathing and creates a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic flora.

If the skin is chapped and there is an inflammatory process, medicinal cosmetics with a dermatological effect should be used to restore the properties of the epidermis.

Moisture-retaining creams, lipid-enriched ointments are used, and traditional medicine is used with the corresponding effect. The more regularly you treat your skin, the faster the recovery will occur.

If the allergic component of the reaction on the hands is established, then antihistamines are used.

Claritin, Telfast, Loratadine, Cetrin selectively affect damaged cellular structures.

Taking vitamins and multivitamin preparations in age-appropriate dosages helps correct immune disorders.

When deciding how to treat chapped skin, you can resort to using a regular “blue lamp”. Physiotherapeutic reflector is widely used in the treatment of inflammation and skin diseases.

What to do if your hands are very chapped? Uncontrolled use of medications can harm your health. And proven folk remedies will support the immunity of skin structures, improve skin condition, and prevent the development of complications.

Baths based on herbal decoctions have a beneficial effect on inflamed skin. For their preparation, herbs are used, prepared independently or purchased from pharmacy chains.

Tea tree

The leaves have an anti-inflammatory, bactericidal effect, and suppress antimicrobial activity.

Suppress the toxic effects of allergens and strengthen local immunity.

A bath with steamed leaves helps relieve itching, reduce irritation and rashes.

Tea tree oil also has the same properties.. To take a bath, add a few drops of the product to warm water.

Oak bark

The bark is a source of mineral components, tannins. Has strong tanning properties.

Makes skin cells impenetrable to bacteria. Strengthens the walls of capillaries. Acts as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent.

Calendula

A common herbaceous plant acts on many pathogens of skin diseases (staphylococci, streptococci). Helps heal wounds, cracks, and other damage to the skin. It can also be used orally as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Widely used in Chinese medicine. Has strong bactericidal properties.

The leaves contain a lot of vitamin C, and the flowers contain valuable essential oil.. Treats many skin diseases, including all types of eczema.

Having prepared a decoction of medicinal herbs, pour it into a deep bowl and wait until it cools to 40°. Place your hands in the water and hold there for 10-15 minutes. Then wipe dry and lubricate with medicinal cream.

For a child, it is better to use specially created products:

• Bepanten;
• Panthenol;
• Cream “Morozko”;
• Purelan;
• Our mother.

Aloe

It has an active antiviral effect, softens, moisturizes, and nourishes the skin structures with vitamins, folic acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc. Since aloe leaves have a wet structure, they can simply be generously lubricated on sore hands.

Sea ​​buckthorn

Tannins accumulate in the leaves of sea buckthorn, and sea buckthorn oil is produced from the fruits - a valuable product with a wound-healing and analgesic effect.

Excellent healing of cracks, quickly stops inflammation. Used for treatment and preventive purposes.

How to get rid of chapped hands using emergency remedies? To do this, use soothing, nourishing masks:

Regular use of herbal decoctions, masks and baths from available products will relieve troubles in the form of chapped hands and a spoiled mood.

Try to avoid negative factors and keep emergency skin protection products on hand.

Chapped hands most often occur under the influence of frost, wind, sudden changes in temperature and humidity, and especially when, under all these conditions, you spend a lot of time outside. So we can say that these are typical. We care about the condition of the skin on our faces and believe that gloves reliably protect our hands from bad weather. Forgetting that hands need special care. Compared to the skin on the face, n On the skin of the hands, the hydrolipid film contains less liquid and is easily dehydrated.

Hot water and soap dry out the skin of your hands, so it is recommended to choose mild soaps with glycerin or oil. It’s good if the soap contains extracts of chamomile, calendula, and aloe.

To prevent chapped hands, try to apply moisturizer to them every time after a shower. In this case, the skin of your hands should be slightly damp. In winter, apply protective cream more often; experts recommend applying the cream every four hours to prevent chapping. The same goes for lip care; use lipstick several times a day.

Household cleaning is unavoidable for most women; it is better to do it while protecting your hands with rubber gloves with a cotton lining. But you should remember that you should not wear them for more than 20 minutes.

If your occupation often requires you to wash your hands, then choose a cream with silicone and oil. This way you will protect your hand skin from dust and surfactants contained in detergents.

Emergency help for chapped hands

Your hands are chapped - what to do, how to help? There are many simple and effective ways to help in such a situation.

• To rich hand cream add a couple of drops of rose or olive oil. Rub and put on cotton gloves. Go to bed wearing these gloves. Already after the first use there will be a noticeable improvement.
• A potato mask will help eliminate chapping. Boil two jacket potatoes, mash with milk and add two teaspoons of lemon juice. Apply a thick layer of warm potato mixture to your hands. To prevent the potatoes from drying out, cover your hands with plastic wrap. The potato wrapping procedure should last no more than 20 minutes. Then the mass is removed, hands are washed and lubricated with nourishing cream. This mask gives a good effect if you add only milk to the potatoes, but by adding nutrients, we improve its effect. Instead of lemon juice, you can add cucumber or green tea infusion.

Protecting hands from chapping

So as not tohands were chapped, in the cold season, do not forget to wear warm gloves. Even if you go outside just for a short time. Gloves should be wool or leather lined with natural fabrics. Moreover, leather gloves are more suitable in severe frosts than woolen ones. They retain heat better, are not blown through, and the natural lining absorbs secretions from the sweat glands.

Most often, chapping occurs as a result of exposure to strong wind, frost and low humidity on the skin. The upper layers of the skin turn red, become rough and covered with cracks, which can be very painful. If a person has chapped hands, it is necessary to begin treatment as soon as possible, since damaged skin becomes open to infection and harmful bacteria.

Causes of chapped hands

The main cause of chapping of the skin of the hands is sudden changes in temperature.

Not only the face, but also the hands become chapped in winter. Strong winds and frost dry out and thin the skin, which causes the appearance of pimples, wounds and cracks. People with a weak immune system and dry skin type are at risk.

Hands may become chapped for the following reasons:

1. Strong temperature changes.
2. Low humidity.
3. Spending a long time outside in severe frost.
4. Wind and low air temperature.

In addition, provoking factors for chapped hands are:

• Staying in the cold for a long time without mittens or gloves.
• Failure to take care of your skin in winter.
• Frequent hand contact with detergents or cleaning products.
• Insufficient skin hydration.
• Chemical or physical hand irritation. This may be caused by poor-quality washing powder or the use of cleaning products without wearing gloves.

In severe frost, hands must be protected with gloves or mittens

Main symptoms

When the upper extremities become chapped, the following symptoms are observed:

• The skin becomes red and rough, the affected areas begin to cause pain and very unpleasant itching.
• Pimples and cracks appear on the hands, which can bleed.
• Damaged cells flake and flake off.
• There is a feeling of skin tightness.

How to properly wash your hands in winter

During the cold season, it is not recommended to wash your hands more than 5 times a day. The water should be warm, but in no case cold or hot - this contributes to drying and hardness of the skin. In order not to spoil your hands, you need to use exclusively soft types of soap with a pH concentration of 3–6, preferably containing glycerin, healthy oils, aloe, chamomile or calendula. After washing, apply a softening and nourishing hand cream to the skin.

Important! Immediately after water procedures, you need to wipe your hands dry, without waiting for the skin to dry on its own.

In winter, you should use only liquid soap to wash your hands.

Chapped hands in babies

What to do if your baby’s hands are chapped? It must be remembered that in this case, traditional medicine methods will not be suitable, since they require patience and a long stay in one position, so it is better to use pharmaceutical products to treat skin in children:

1. Bepanthen, the active element is dexpanthenol. The drug has moisturizing, healing and restorative properties.
2. Purelan in the form of a cream - moisturizes and nourishes the skin of the hands.
3. Morozko is a children's series of domestic production. The creams include vitamin A, E, F and oils that will help prevent chapping and cracking, while chamomile extract will quickly soothe and soften baby's delicate skin. The range also includes a hygienic lipstick that protects lips from chapping and seizing.
4. To prevent the newborn's skin from becoming chapped, we recommend Chicco Cream based on cocoa butter, which restores the hydrolipid balance, tones and protects the dermis from negative environmental factors. The Italian product does not contain alcohol, allergens or dyes, so it can be used almost immediately after the birth of the baby.
5. Sanosan cream against wind and bad weather. Based on almond and avocado oil. The components successfully heal wounds, and also moisturize and soothe the skin. The cream helps eliminate the manifestations of atopic dermatitis and neurodermatitis.
6. Hypoallergenic cream for walking from the manufacturer “Our Mom”. The product contains calendula extract, peach and sea buckthorn oil.

What to do if your lips are chapped, methods of treatment

To prevent your child from damaging his hands, you need to take care of his delicate skin in advance and use special anti-chapping products before a walk. The cream that has proven itself best in wind and bad weather is Bubchen and Morozko from the manufacturer Avanta.

Important! Cream to protect against wind and bad weather should be applied to the child’s skin an hour before going outside. Parents must always remember this rule, otherwise the baby’s little hands will become chapped.

Children's hands require special care

Treatment of chapped hands in adults

Main directions

What should you do if an adult’s hands become chapped? There are several areas of treatment:

• The use of medications is most often recommended: Claritin, Loratadine, Cetrin or Telfast. If allergies occur, your doctor may prescribe antihistamines.
• Taking vitamins to improve the body's immune system.
• Treatment of chapped hands with paraffin therapy in the salon or at home. To do this, you need to melt the paraffin in a bowl and put your hands in it. Take it out, wait until the product dries and dip it into the bath again. Perform manipulations until a thick layer of paraffin forms on your hands, then put on warm winter mittens and hold your hands in them for half an hour. After this time, remove the paraffin and apply a moisturizer to the skin. This procedure helps eliminate swelling, moisturize and smooth the skin.
• Using medicinal baths.

The paraffin therapy procedure will help restore the skin of your hands to its previous appearance.

Therapeutic baths

If your hands are very chapped, take medicinal baths to improve the condition of damaged skin. To do this you need:

Alternative medicine

You can cure chapped hands using proven folk recipes, which recommend:

Cucumber pulp will soften the skin of your hands

1. Grind the oatmeal to a powder, add 0.5 cups of hot water, stir, leave and anoint the affected areas with the resulting product. After 15 minutes, wash your hands with warm water.
2. Cut off the peel of fresh cucumbers and apply to chapped hands for 10 minutes.
3. Pick an aloe leaf, remove all the thorns, and cut it in half. Apply to the affected area, secure with a bandage and hold for about an hour. If your hands are not very chapped, it is enough to lubricate them with the plant extract and leave them to dry on their own.
4. Make a puree from one potato and add 0.5 cups of green tea, mix and anoint the skin with the mixture. After about half an hour, rinse with water and apply a moisturizing cream to your hands. This manipulation should be performed every 3 days.
5. Before going to bed, squeeze a little rich cream with a nourishing effect into your palm and add 5 drops of olive or rose oil, apply the product to the affected areas and put on cotton gloves. The next morning the condition of your hands should be much better.

How to treat chapped hands if wounds and cracks have formed on the skin? You can lubricate damaged areas with sea buckthorn oil, which has healing and antiseptic properties. It should be completely absorbed into the skin.

Prevention methods

To prevent chapped hands, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the skin and not forget about prevention methods, namely:

To protect the skin of your hands, all household chores should be carried out with rubber gloves.

• Wash your hands with mild soap. Glycerin and with the addition of cream are especially recommended; the composition may also include components with a moisturizing and soothing effect, for example, calendula or chamomile.
• After taking water procedures, apply moisturizing cream or lotion to the skin. The skin should remain moist.
• In the morning and afternoon, it is recommended to lubricate your hands with a moisturizing cream, and in the evening - with a nourishing cream, after applying which you need to wear cotton gloves for half an hour.
• Before going outside in cold weather, you should wear gloves. It is better that they are made of genuine leather, which retains heat well and absorbs the secretions of the sweat glands. It will be much more difficult to warm your hands in gloves made of synthetic fabric, and such material often causes allergies.
• In winter, you should apply a frost protectant to your skin. You need to use the cream 30-40 minutes before a walk, otherwise your hands may become chapped.
• Carry out wet cleaning using rubber gloves with a cotton lining so as not to damage the leather. However, remember that they should not be worn for more than 20 minutes.
• In case of constant contact with water, it is necessary to lubricate your hands with a cream containing oils and silicone, which creates a film that protects the skin from moisture and chemicals.

Let's sum it up

Frost, low humidity and strong wind are the main causes of chapped hands. To protect your skin from negative factors, you need to wear gloves and apply a special protective cream to your skin before walking. Treatment includes medications, medicinal hand baths, and paraffin therapy, which can be carried out in special salons and at home.