natjtan Now it’s colder, a little voice inside has started shouting ‘Hand Cream!’. Yeah, yeah, next time. Next time turned into a few days and now I’m paying the price. Under loved start of rough hands. If I don’t give them some love soon, they’ll start to chap, dry out. Yep, it’s that time in the Northern Hemisphere to start showing your hands some extra TLC. Changes in temperature from icy cold air to hot dry air thanks to heating and hot/cold water can zap moisture right out leaving them red, rough, chapped, dry and the worst eczema flare ups which from experience can be painful.
My Grandma taught me to always look after my hands and decolletage as they’re one of the first areas to show signs of aging. Normally I’m quite good about looking after my hands. Suncream and body lotion in the summer which every other season apart from winter’s enough. Winter requires some extra love, so here are some my favourite picks to keep winter woes at bay!
During the day I like a lightweight hand cream. Applying heavy creams can get mess (Try applying a balm before leaving the house, turn a door handle with greased up hands and trying not to mark your clothes requires skill!) I prefer not to use any containing petroluem jelly as they can cause breakouts, block pores (it’s water repellant so it doesn’t actually moisturise, instead creates a barrier, blocking pores) and may cause cancer. I look for natural ones containing shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil and non animal derived glycerin. My favourite lightweight creams are: EOS hand lotion, Alba Botanica Replenishing Cocoa Butter hand and body lotion and Madre Labs hand cream.
Bedtime is perfect for the more intense heavier hand creams creams to work their magic. Sweet almond oil, beeswax, coconut oil and olive oil are amazing moisturisers but can be greasy so be careful with PJs and sheets! Great heavy duty hands creams that do their thing well are: Burt’s Bee hand salve, Yu-Bu mositurizing skin cream, Egyptian Magic and my favourite Madre Magic skin cream (a cheaper, more effective version of Egyptian Magic). All are balms, so a little goes a long way! Just warm some up with your fingertips to soften it. They also work a treat on feet! Slather some on, pop some socks on, preferably fluffy ones and wake up with smoother silky soft tootsies. Being a balm, they’re not just refined to hands. They can help with many other skin aliments: rashes, heal scars, tame fly aways, conditioning hair masks, sooth insect bites (particularly if you’ve been a mosquito’s dinner), cuts, the list goes on! Just check each product to see what they can ‘help’ with. 
Another must during the colder months is hydration! It’s easy drink less or forget when it’s colder, but it’s just as important as wrapping up warm. Drinking H2O helps flush out toxins, keep alert and hydrated for those runs, workouts, short winter days and long nights!
What’s your favourite hand cream? A lot of the heavier creams mentioned above have helped with my eczema flare ups if and when I caught them early enough. They’re also make excellent Christmas gifts, stocking fillers, Secret Santa’s and Birthday presents!