hand care

How to take care of dry and damaged hands?

March 15, 2018 Swati Leave a Comment

dry and damaged hands, hand care — My Hand Care Arsenal

Have you ever observed how doing anything can damage our hands? Right from doing chores around the house to excessive water exposure to round the clock typing from mobiles to laptops. All result in the same – dry and damaged hands. And, they get worse if you are the one handling the menial chores of your house from dusting to washing utensils to laundry with all detergents being equally harsh. Makes sense to go eco-friendly, no? Or, I would rather call it skin-friendly!

One day while doing my household work, one of my fingers started bleeding. That was when I realized how cruelly I was ignoring to take care of my dry and damaged hands. Adding to that is the bad habit of washing my hands frequently. There is a specific term for it but let me just say this habit is categorized under Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. So, before you go down the same road I did, I would plead the case of your finger tips with you.

Exfoliate your dry and damaged hands with sugar twice to thrice a week. Use the squeezed lemon, if available. Nothing works better.

Excess Water Exposure

Do not wet your hands too much. More your hands get wet, the drier they become. And, we are not even talking about the dish washing liquids or hand wash which are way too harsh on your skin.

Do you use moisturizer in summers? {Your Opinion}

April 30, 2013 Swati 14 Comments

Ok, I will be a very bad beauty blogger if I say no! But, the sad truth is yes, I am not using moisturizer these days, neither on face or body! It is so damn hot and my exposure to air conditioning is quite minimal.

In the morning, my routine is to apply the sunscreen right after stepping out from shower. I am using MVO Moisturizing Face Screen which needs an oil base to go smoothly on skin. But, even if I apply a drop of oil, my skin turns out oily after 10 minutes so I found out a new base to apply. I am using Maybelline on the face instead of only the eyes as it is meant for! Honestly, it is totally matte and blends really well with the skin giving me a smooth base for the sunscreen application. And, finally, my skin is not THAT oily either at the end of the ritual.

And, at night or in the evening, I use coconut oil to remove the sunscreen so I slather it in a decent quantity for 5 minutes and remove with a tissue paper. And, go for a face wash. After that, IF I feel like which is not quite often, I wipe my face with a toner which totally makes the skin feel heavy! So, no place for any mositurizer.

And, the story of a body lotion is altogether different, laziness being the foremost reason. And, I think I was using Nivea for dry skin couple of days back which was in March probably. And, obviously, it was not a great choice for summers! It made my skin feel really sticky so I started skipping the entire routine instead of just changing the product! Now, I am using a lighter lotion but I still do not use it everyday.

Btw, someone told me Vaseline Aloevera is a decent choice right now in Hyderabad weather. I was thinking of getting it but have not yet implemented the thought! I thought at least a small bottle would serve as a hand cream but nope! I am using the Vaseline cocoa butter which my friend has in the office which is obviously again not a great choice!

Btw, which hand cream are you using? Or, are you using it? If you are not, I have to say that at the very least keep on moisturizing your hands because they get extremely dry because of all the work they do and the constant washing they undergo! I had stopped moisturizing my hands totally till few days back and I realized they were looking so 70-year old!! So, that is something one has to do consistently. Now, my hands are a little better.

I know not moisturizing is a cardinal sin when it comes to skin care and would never ever ask you to resort to it. But, then I got thinking what exactly is necessary at this point? Moisturization or Hydration? Are they both different? My skin does get dry! It is not like its a pan of oil but somehow it ends up getting hydrated from inside so I don’t really feel uncomfortable. Then, do I need moisturization in such a case?

Now, its your TURN! What do you do? Do you also skip your moisturization due to heat or humidity or laziness? Or, you try to follow the routine religiously whether you feel dry or NOT?

Biotique Bio Wheatgerm Firming Face & Body Cream {Product Review}

October 29, 2012 Swati 4 Comments

Price: Rs 199 for 55gms

Ingredients

Pros

keeps the skin moisturized

amazing as hand and feet cream

can be used for cuticles and nails as well

removes tanning to an extent and lightens skin tone

Cons

can be greasy for not so dry skins
ingredients list is a mystery still!!

My Experience

Its been an year since I have used it but when I thought of putting up its review, it was already summers so it wouldn’t have been of any use to anyone. So, I thought of deferring the review for these winters 🙂 And, do I need to say more that I waited for winters to put up the review?

Biotique as a brand I love but their ingredients list is always an issue. But, their products almost always work for me so I do think of going back to them. This is also one of the good ones. The texture of the product as you can see is pretty thick.

Yes, it is absolutely amazing for dry skin. In winters, it absolutely solves the dry patches problem. One needs to use a wee bit amount of the product and you are good to go. It does lighten the tan and pigmentation you might have. But, the best way to use it is as a hand cream.

It is thick so it keeps the hands soft and moisturized all winters. And, as I said, it also lightened the color of my hands. And, it kept my cuticles also in check. Yes, I have used it on my face also and totally liked it but yes, it can get a bit greasy so unless you have very dry skin, you can skip it.

Its also great for arms and legs and feet as well. Just as it keeps the hands soft, it keeps the feet moisturized and prevents cracking of the heels unless you torture them 😀 So, yup, go for it this winters, if you haven’t used it and I am sure you will love it as well 🙂 And, if you have used it, so share your views!

Other products reviewed from Biotique:

Biotique Bio Musk Root Hair Mask

Biotique Bio Pistachio Ageless Nourishing and Revitalizing Face Pack

Biotique Mountain Ebony Fresh Growth Stimulating Serum

Biotique Bio Henna fresh Powder Hair Color

Biotique Bio Flame of the Forest Fresh Shine Expertise Oil

Hand Sanitizers and their Effectiveness {Skin Care}

May 28, 2012 Swati 17 Comments

A day back I talked about whether you wash your hands after your skin care routine or not? That time, Simran asked me my opinion on hand sanitizers. So, I thought I would rather do a post on it. I am not a fan of hand sanitizers. I like the feel I get from washing my hands instead.

Hand Wash vs Sanitizers

Sanitizers have hit the market with a vengeance and became popular within a very short time. The reason is because one doesn’t need to wash the hands and simply rubbing the sanitizer on the hands ensures no germs and clean hands. This seems pretty convenient and saves the hands from the harsh chemicals when they are repeatedly washed with water. So, why don’t I like the sanitizers?

The main ingredient of a sanitizer is ethyl alcohol. I remember that in Dettol hand sanitizer, it has around 65-75% of alcohol and its the first ingredient as well. And, as you all know, ethyl alcohol is drying for skin. No sanitizer can be made without alcohol coz alcohol is the ingredient which kills the germs so its an unavoidable ingredient. I did check out lifebuoy sanitizer as well which had around 30% of alcohol or something and that didn’t convince me. ~~May be I am wrong here.~~ Ok, while writing the post, I googled for the images and I went through one of the articles which says:

“I used to work in a virology lab,” Dr. Aiello said, “and we knew — it has been known for decades — that an alcohol concentration under 60 percent won’t kill the microbes. It’s really frightening to think that there are products out there that contain levels lower than that.” (Source)

So, beware and when you buy your sanitizer, always check for the concentration of alcohol in it. Second reason is that I am a person who likes my hands completely clean and with no stickiness. And, the few times I have used sanitizers, my hands have become sticky even though alcohol does evaporate pretty quickly. Well, it can be psychological as well. And, another is that sanitizers are not as effective as they are touted to be. I had read somewhere (forgot the source) that sanitizers are effective for all of 2 minutes at max and then, again germs start building up on the skin. And, nothing can actually beat the effectiveness of soap and water.

Do I ever keep sanitizers?

So, those were my reasons for not relying on sanitizers. Now, comes the second question that if I keep the sanitizers with me. I haven’t till today but my mom does carry it during travel and yes, it does come as a saver when there is no water nearby or if you are having “meals on wheels” 😀 So, yes, I think a GOOD sanitizer is important when you have no access to water. Also, don’t forget to take a hand cream so that you can counteract the dryness.

Do you like sanitizers?

Image Courtesy:nytimes.com

PS: Last two days to enter my giveaway so hurry up!!

Omved Intense Moisturizing Cream {Product Review}

March 26, 2012 Swati 2 Comments

Price: Rs 440 for 40 gms

Ingredients

DM water, extract of harida, baheda, glycerin, aloe vera juice, carbopol ultrez 21, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, green tea extract, oils of lavender, chamomile, vertiver, sodium hydroxide.

Pros
– gets absorbed into the skin very quickly

– moisturises instantly

– moisturising stays for long time

– doesn’t really get washed off with water
– keeps the nails and cuticles moisturised too

– awesome ingredients

Cons

– very expensive

– doesn’t help extremely dry skin

My Experience
Let me start by saying it smells really weird. But, once you get used to it, you will actually like it and sniff your hands for it. I used this small sample only to moisturise my hands. When I had received this in February, my hands were extra dry and I was hoping to improve their state with this.

The sample is not as big that I can actually review it but I can give a decent verdict on the product because of its concentrated use on one part. It is a thick cream which I used to apply after washing my hands and it moisturised my hands pretty well and instantly. It spreads easily and gets absorbed quickly without leaving any greasiness behind.

But, I also noticed that it didn’t really help my extremely dry skin which was a con but gradually, my hands came back to the normal state so I am hoping that a continuous use of the product does show effects. This is an all-purpose cream which can be used on any part of the body. And, I definitely like the smell now 🙂

Availability
Online – NaturalMantra.com (10% discount valid till 31st March)PS: Product sent by brand.