7 Easy To Do Home Remedies To Moisturize The Rough And Damaged Skin Of Your Dry Hands

Proactive skin care from a young age can help limit premature aging, but a lot of people limit their skin care regimen to their face alone.

Other factors that can render your hands increasingly rough, flaky, and dry include cold or arid weather, inflammatory skin conditions, allergies, excessive exposure to water, coming in contact with chemicals and other irritants due to your occupation or household chores, and frequent hand washing or bathing, all of which can strip the natural oils and inherent moisture from your skin.

Hand dryness can be temporary or prolonged depending upon the root cause. In most cases, simple home care and avoiding the causative agent may be sufficient to heal your hands.

But if you don’t respond well to home treatment or develop severe dryness accompanied by other symptoms such as skin fissures, blisters, itching, pain, redness, or swelling, it is best you see a dermatologist about it. Untreated cases of severe hand dryness can cause bleeding or infection.

This article covers some important home remedies and self-care tips to restore the moisture and softness to your dry hands along with certain preventive measures to avoid the problem altogether.

# Moisturize with plant oils

Plant oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, and other oils that contain vitamin E are great for moisturizing and repairing your skin without causing any undue irritation or other side effects.

Their skin-healing properties can be traced back to their rich phenolic content, which helps curb inflammation and fight free radicals.

These therapeutic oils also easily penetrate into the skin to hydrate it at a deeper level and then lock in the moisture by forming a protective seal over the skin. Moreover, plant oils have many nutrients that help nourish the skin.

How to use:

- Wash your hands with lukewarm water and pat them dry.
- Gently massage a few drops of any plant oil of your choice into your hands.
- Reapply when the moisturizing effect starts to wear off or after washing your hands.

# Apply jellies and waxes

Petrolatum jelly feels greasy and heavy on the skin, but it provides intensive moisturization for severely dry skin.

Due to its thick consistency, petrolatum jelly forms a dense, impervious coating over the skin that protects it from external irritants and preserves its water content. It also exhibits robust antimicrobial activity that can help ward off skin infections.

Two of the most popular brands of petrolatum jelly are Vaseline and Aquaphor.

Beeswax is another hydrating agent that forms a thick barrier over the skin to prevent transepidermal water loss. It also contains compounds called sterols and a considerable amount of vitamin A, which are both known to promote skin regeneration.

Beeswax can therefore facilitate shedding of dead skin and stimulate the growth of fresh skin in its place. This can help heal your dry, cracked hands.

Before using beeswax, conduct a patch test to make sure you are not allergic to it.

How to use:

- Apply the jelly or wax directly to your dry hands after washing them with lukewarm water.
- Apply any plant oil and then cover it with petrolatum jelly or beeswax.

# Try oatmeal

Colloidal oatmeal has been used in folk medicine as a topical remedy for centuries to address various skin conditions, including xerosis (dry skin), eczema, erythema (skin redness), pruritus (itching), and burns.

In recent years, this anecdotal use of oatmeal has been substantiated by scientific evidence. Several studies have demonstrated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin-healing properties attributed to colloidal oat extracts, which can be used for treating hand dryness.

The topical application of oatmeal moisturizes the skin, curbs the underlying inflammation that is often responsible for dryness, minimizes the skin damage caused by free radicals, and also helps in the shedding of dead skin cells to make room for new ones.

How to use:

- Mix 2 tablespoons of ground oatmeal, ½–1 teaspoon of honey, and a little water in a bowl to form a paste.
- Gently rub this mixture on your hands for a mild scrubbing effect and to stimulate blood circulation in the hands.
- Let it sit on the skin for 10 minutes.
- Rinse it off with lukewarm water.

# Use honey

Honey is a great moisturizer and humectant for all skin types, which has been corroborated by considerable research.

A humectant is any substance that attracts water to keep things moist. Topical humectants such as honey trap moisture into your skin to keep it soft and hydrated.

Moreover, honey exhibits antiseptic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiallergenic, and antioxidant properties that can help protect and repair your skin. In fact, honey has been widely used in remedies to address various skin diseases.

In the context of hand dryness, honey will serve not only as a great hydrating agent but also as a mild exfoliator to slough away dry, flaky skin.

How to use:

- Directly apply slightly diluted organic honey or medical-grade honey that is available at pharmaceutical stores to your hands. Alternatively, you can mix honey with petrolatum jelly or any natural fats to make a paste and then apply it to your hands. You can also add rose water to the mixture for added moisturization.
- Let it sit for 10–15 minutes.
- Rinse it off with lukewarm water.

# Apply aloe vera gel

Aloe vera gel is renowned for its skin benefits, so it’s no surprise that this therapeutic substance can help with healing dry and rough hands.

Mucopolysaccharides are sugar molecules found in aloe vera gel that are known for their humectant properties.

Thus, aloe vera gel not only imparts moisture to the skin but also helps seal it in for long-lasting hydration and softness.

Moreover, aloe vera gel is full of antioxidants that help fight free radical damage and delay skin aging. It readily seeps into the skin to stimulate fibroblasts into producing more skin-building proteins called collagen and elastin, thus enhancing skin elasticity and texture.

How to use:

- Cut open a fresh aloe vera leaf and scoop out the gel.
- Gently massage the aloe vera gel into your hands for a few minutes. Alternatively, you can mix the aloe gel in natural fats or honey to make a paste and then apply it to your dry hands.
- Leave it on for 10–15 minutes.
- Wash your hands with lukewarm water.

# Treat with natural fats

Natural fats such as milk cream, shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, and avocado butter can be used as effective hand moisturizers.

They contain healthy fatty acids such as linoleic acid and oleic acid that are easily absorbed to deeply hydrate and nourish the skin.

Moreover, the topical application of these natural fats forms a protective coating over the skin that seals in its inherent moisture.

How to use:

- Directly apply any of these natural fats all over your hands like a regular moisturizer.
- Purchase hand moisturizers that contain any of these natural fats as an ingredient.

# Gently scrub with sugar or rice

Sugar granules or uncooked ground rice grains are both considered mild abrasives, which means they have a gentle scrubbing effect on the skin.

Thus, a sugar or rice scrub can safely be used to remove dead, flaky skin from your dry hands without causing further damage or irritation.

Once the dead skin is shed, new skin grows in its place. This gentle exfoliation helps stimulate blood circulation and skin regeneration, leaving your hands feeling soft and supple.

How to use:

- Mix sugar or ground grains of raw rice and honey to prepare the scrub.
- Apply the scrub to your hands and gently rub it in circular motions for a few minutes to remove the dead, flaky skin.
- Wash your hands with lukewarm water.
- Apply a hand moisturizer.