Hands – daily care
Unlike the rest of your body, skin on the back of your hands is thin and delicate and like you have a routine for your face, spare some time for your hands too.
- Wash your hands when needed with a mild soap or cleanser in order to get rid of germs and bacteria from your hands. Do not overdo it by washing your hands frequently as that’ll dry your skin.
- Followed by the hand wash, moisturise your hands with a hand lotion or moisturiser. Hand lotion is a better option as it is exclusively made for hands and lasts for a longer time.
- Wear gloves while working with water or chemicals and when doing household chores that involve soaps or chemicals.
- Clean dirt from under your nails. Cut and file them on a weekly basis.
For chapped hands
People with dry skin should take extra care of their hands as the skin tends to crack and split.
- Use a more intensive moisture or an ointment as it seals moisture and protects the skin from further damage.
- Treat your hands with a natural pack or mask every week.
- Cover your hands when you go out in the sun.
Natural remedies
- Coconut oil is a natural moisturiser that can be used regularly. Apart from that, home-made scrubs and masks can help you get soft hands.
- Scrub your hands with a mixture of Bengal gram flour (besan), milk and fresh lemon juice. This can be followed once in a day.
- Make a paste of banana with 2 tablespoons of honey added to it and apply it on your hands. Rinse it with normal water once dried. This can be followed once a week.
Feet – daily care
You might feel that there is not much to do for your feet except a few occasional pedicures. But they need special care as they get dirty easily.
- Wash your feet twice a day with a mild soap and follow it with a foot cream. The foot cream is a must as your feet skin will be quite rough. Regular use of foot cream helps in keeping it soft.
- Wear socks or sunscreen while going out in the sun.
- Scrub your feet with a foot scrub or pedicure brush twice a week in order to keep dirt away. It is necessary as our feet are magnetic to dirt.
For cracked heels
Heels generally tend to crack as there are no oil glands in our feet and that’s the reason they get dry. Adding to that, factors like pollution, thyroid, diabetes, improper diet, ageing and much more can worsen it. But you can control them with the following steps.
- Soak your feet in hot water (add a few drops of vinegar to it for better results) for 10-15 minutes. Pat dry it and apply olive oil or vegetable oil to the feet. Follow it once a day till the cracks heal.
- Make a paste of Vaseline and a few drops of lemon juice and apply it to the feet in the night. Wear socks and leave it overnight. Rinse and pat dry in the morning.
- Mix olive oil and lavender oil and apply it to your feet regularly. This is one of the fastest ways to heal the cracks.
- Massage your feet with a pumice stone after soaking your feet in soapy water for 10-15 minutes. Pumice stone removes dead skin from the feet.
- Oats, honey, baking soda and apple cider vinegar are other natural ingredients that can help.