Holistic Hand Care

What would we do without our hands? Life would be a lot different without them but life is also a lot different when our hands hurt. Hand pain can result in loss of strength, feeling disabled, and more! So, what does taking care of our hands naturally look like?

Hand washing and your skin:

First, you need to know that your skin is your largest organ and is highly absorbent. It is also a location capable of significant water loss thus leading to dehydration and dry skin. Hands are especially plagued with dry skin which can be caused by hand washing, work activities, and water activities. Some soaps are too harsh to use at all due to their extreme stripping capabilities.
Happiest Health shares: “The loss of skin oils upsets the protective function of the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin. This leads to what is called increased trans-epidermal water loss – the escape of moisture from the body through the skin’s surface.
Other problems for the hands are cold or dry weather, inflammatory skin conditions, allergies, excessive exposure to water, contact with chemicals and other irritants from occupations or household chores, and frequent washing.” (2)

Hand washing is a necessity, but let’s look at the best way to hand wash:
Water temperature. Cold water is not the best for washing away germs; hot water can be damaging to the skin, so meeting in the middle, warm water is the ideal temperature.
A gentle soap is just as effective as a harsh soap without the ensuing negative effects. A glycerin-rich soap is especially gentle and effective.
Follow hand washing with lotioning to retain moisture and soothe the skin.

Natural hand products:

Lotion is one of those products that sits on the skin and gets absorbed so it should be one of the first products to swap out for a non-toxic alternative.
What are some of the ingredients to avoid?
Petrolatum
DEA (Diethanolamine)
Mineral Oil
Fragrance (Parfum)
Parabens
1,4-Dioxane
Formaldehyde & Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives
All of these ingredients have been classified either as a carcinogen, irritation causing, or hormone disruptors.

Some great alternative ingredients to look for are:
Beeswax, which acts as an occlusive, preventing moisture loss.
Glycerin, which acts as a moisturizer and occlusive.
Tallow, which contains many beneficial nutrients for the skin like vitamins A,D and K.
Olive Oil, which contains supportive compounds.
Essential oils (Be sure that you are purchasing essential oil scented skin care products from a reputable source that uses safe ratios of essential oils for skincare, especially skin care products that will be sitting on the skin.)
Herbs such as calendula, chamomile, marshmallow, lavender, and comfrey which can be calming and support the healing of skin.

Consider this when reading a label: “Concentration Order Principle: The first thing to know is that ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration, meaning the first 5-6 ingredients usually make up the bulk of the product. This is especially important when considering safety concerns, as higher concentrations of harmful ingredients pose a greater risk.” (1)

To offer a non-toxic alternative to conventional lotion, we have created functional and beautiful lotion bars that are scented with pure essential oils and contain tallow and beeswax. We have 13 scents available. Those scents are: Blush, Bug Off, Calm, Cypress Orange, Date Night, Flirt, P.S. I Love You, Sweet Rose, The Mountaineer, Unscented, Vanilla Chai, Vanilla Mint, & Walk In The Woods. (linked)

Other items to replace with a non-toxic swap are the items that are used frequently. Soap is an example of an item that is used frequently. Soap may contain many of the same toxic ingredients that have already been listed, but be on the lookout for: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Triclosan. Instead, look for soap that contains ingredients you recognize, fats that are nourishing, and are made using the cold process method. This will result in a gentle soap that will be supportive. Soap bars are especially known for being gentle.

In our pursuit to make all-natural skin care products, we have crafted over 30 soap bars, four of which are unscented, and the rest of our artisan bar soaps are scented with pure essential oils only.
Our unscented bar soaps can be found at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product-category/soap-bars/unscented/

And our scented bar soaps can be found at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product-category/soap-bars/scented/

Tips for hand care:

Consider wearing gloves.
Start slowly and work your way into doing more. Your hands may get sore like the rest of your body.
Use sharp, ergonomic tools that will cause less strain on your hands.
Take breaks.
Do not jerk the tools you are using with your hands.
Switch tasks often.
“Maintain Proper Posture – Keep your wrists in a neutral position whenever possible. Avoid excessive bending or twisting.
Try gentle wrist circles, finger stretches, and palm presses to loosen up.” (3)

Physical Therapist Andrea says: “The extrinsic hand and wrist muscles originate up by the elbow and traverse down the forearm into the hand. Fun fact: if you ever experience elbow pain from your crafting, it is likely that the culprit is your wrist or hand posture! Stretching and strengthening exercises are essential for maintaining hand health and preventing overuse injuries. Stretching helps our muscles to lengthen, and to move through the full range of motion available for each joint. Strengthening is important for helping our bodies to control that range of motion, and to stabilize our joints. A lack of flexibility, or unbalanced strength in a joint, can result in aberrant motion that can be detrimental to the health of the muscles and joints and lead to pain.” (4)

All occupations should consider how to care for their hands:

You can tell a lot about someone’s occupation based on a handshake. What was the grip like for the handshake, but even more so from the amount of calluses or lack thereof. Lack of calluses doesn’t mean someone doesn’t work, or that hand pain would not be debilitating, even those who use a computer for their occupation need their hands! We hope these hand care tips help you care for your hands holistically.

Resources:

https://toxicfreechoice.com/toxic-ingredients-to-avoid-in-skincare/ (1)
https://www.happiesthealth.com/articles/skincare/hand-care-routine (2)
https://www.texashealth.org/areyouawellbeing/Staying-Fit/Gardeners-Guide-to-Healthy-Hands-Preventing-and-Treating-Common-Hand-and-Wrist-Injuries (3)
https://www.ptandrea.com/blog-posts/ergonomic-principles-and-hand-care-techniques (4)