If there’s one part of our body that is overused and neglected, it’s the oh-so-hard-working, silently suffering skin on our hands!

Our Hands Do Everything

The list is endless. Your hands wash dishes, clean homes, hold the leash while walking the dog, and lately, a whole lot of hand sanitizing. Add in extremes in climate and temperature, exposure to allergens, over washing with harsh soap, excessively hot water, sunburns, and the damage to skin can add up quickly. Keeping your hands clean is necessary, but also removes their natural oils, which are there to keep skin healthy and moisturized. Most hand sanitizers have an alcohol- based formula that causes the skin to become dry. These daily irritants can result in a range of skin issues, including redness, soreness, itching, flaking, peeling, cracking, and cuticle tears. It can also exacerbate pre-existing skin issues like eczema.

Let’s Establish a Skin Care Routine for Hands

Today is the best day to start a new skin care routine for the skin on your hands. Let’s start with how to wash them. 1) Wash for twenty seconds using lukewarm water and gentle soap. 2) Dry hands with a clean towel leaving some water on them. 3) While the skin is damp, apply moisturizing cream. Ensure you moisturize palms, backs of hands, wrist, fingertips, and nails. If using hand sanitizer, wait until it has dried, and then apply moisturizer.

Hand Moisturizers

There are a wide variety of hand moisturizers available. Whether you use a lotion or cream, a highly concentrated moisturizer, which is usually thicker in texture, is best for your hands.

Sunscreen is a definite plus in hand moisturizers. There are both unscented and scented options. Be sure to use a hand lotion targeting your main concerns, and, if in doubt, start a conversation about moisturizers with the Glow Spa staff.

Additional Tips

If you’re out in the elements, apply moisturizer before you go out, or wear thin gloves. For cleaning, including household chores, wear rubber or other protective gloves to help prevent the cleaning products from touching the skin on your hands. If they do touch skin, be sure to take a few moments to clean the products off your hands. After a shower or bath, especially with hot water temperatures, apply moisturizer to the skin on your hands.

Aging Hands

The skin on your hands, already thin and fragile, becomes thinner and more delicate over time. It is easier to tear and rip, particularly in people over fifty. Age spots caused by melanin begin to appear. The sun will darken those spots, so sunscreen is best used before exposure. In addition, as your hands age, common hand ailments, which interfere with daily living activities, can flare up. These ailments include arthritis (a joint inflammation which can happen within your fingers, hands, and wrists), osteoarthritis (a degenerative form of arthritis), and carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause pain or numbness, a pins and needles feeling in the fingers, or trouble with gripping objects in the affected hand. Be sure to keep track of hand ailments and

speak with a doctor about treatment options. Self-massage every day can ease these painful conditions. To achieve the best results with at home hand massage, use a light oil and aim for fifteen minutes per hand.

Hand Massages at Glow Spa

Hand massage helps increase circulation, reduces muscle tension, and eases pain. The physical contact of having a massage also helps us on a primal level, because connection to another person makes us feel good, and helps to ease anxiety. Manicures help with cuticle care and overall hand health. Get in the habit of regularly checking hands and treating them, instead of overlooking new gashes, tears, bumps, and soreness.

Gardeners Alert

The season to garden is a way to connect with the earth by planting seeds and watching food or flowers grow. Wear gardening gloves to protect your skin. If you plant with bare hands, wash your hands afterwards, and use a soft nail brush to help your cuticles. Still have dirt ingrained in your skin? Try soaking them in a bowl of warm water with a drop of oil, a bit of body exfoliant, or brown sugar to coax the dirt off. Follow with a hand lotion to penetrate the skin. At night, to repair and restore any damage done, you need a hard-working moisturizer for those hard- working hands.

Remember, Glow Spa staff are there to help! Visit, call, or email to inquire about our hand cream products, hand massage treatments, and how to establish a regular hand maintenance routine.



Hands are hard-working, so let’s get going on making them healed, healthy, and happy!