When even the simplest things leave your hands hurting.

Dry, cracked and sore hands can be tough to keep healthy, especially with all the additional hand-washing we have to do now.

Follow these seven tips to keep your hands, palms and fingers hydrated, nourished and protected. 

1. Oil not water

When your skin is not just dry but actually cracked, moisturise with an oil-based balm, like Skin Salvation, not cream! Water-based cream can really sting broken skin.

2. Moisturise more

Take your balm or hand cream with you wherever you go and keep reapplying throughout the day, especially immediately after washing your hands.

3. Warm up

Wash hands with warm - not hot, not cold - water to minimise dehydration. Hot water can strip away vital oil in the skin barrier and increase its fragility.

4. Go scent-free

Chose unperfumed products - whether it's your hand wash, hand cream or shower gel, avoid the fragrances that can irritate sensitive skin.

5. Overnight treatment

Apply ointment before you go to bed and wear thin cotton dermatological gloves overnight - we recommend a pair from Eczema Clothing.

6. Dodge the soap

Swap out high-alkaline, barrier-damaging soap for a gentle, ph-neutral cleanser that won’t strip oils from your skin; our Body, Hand & Hair Wash makes an ideal extra-gentle hand wash.

7. Feed your skin

Choose products that contain naturally nourishing, omega-rich oil like hemp, olive, rosehip, sea buckthorn, borage etc. to feed your skin with the nutrients it needs to repair itself over a longer term.

Recommended products for dry hands

Skin Salvation

Our Skin Salvation balm is the perfect all-natural moisturiser if your hands are cracked and dry.

It's made with:

• Humectant beeswax to draw in the moisture.
• EFA-rich hemp seed oil.
• Naturally anti-inflammatory herbal tinctures of chickweed, nettle, chamomile and calendula.
• It's totally free from preservatives, perfumes, paraffin and other potentially-irritating synthetic ingredients.
• And it doesn't even contain essential oils, which can flare up sensitive skin.

Intensive Hand Cream

If your hands aren’t cracked and you’d prefer to use a cream rather than an ointment, try our award-winning Intensive Hand Cream, which is rich in macerated oils of sea buckthorn, hemp, calendula, chamomile and safflower, and made in a shea butter base.