With the COVID-19 outbreak, experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are encouraging everyone to wash their hands frequently. As we diligently wash hands more frequently than usual, skin experts share tips that can help keep your skin healthy.

1 Blot dry

When drying your hands blot, don’t wipe to prevent micro-abrasions on the skin. Paper towels are best, but if you use cloth, each person in a home should have their own towel and towels should be replaced with clean ones every 3 days. Make sure hands are thoroughly dried, as germs are more easily transferred on wet hands.

2 Substitute hand sanitizer for soap

If your hands are too chapped to wash, you can temporarily use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is another option to limit handwashing until the skin recovers, but not before eating, after [going to the] bathroom, [or] when hands are visibly soiled — that should [involve] handwashing.

3 Use skin balm

If you suffer from skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis and find your dry skin is becoming increasingly more dry, raw, or cracked due to more washing. Opt for a skin balm such as Vaseline and apply it directly onto sores or cracked areas.

4 Wear gloves

In addition to applying a moisturizer to damp skin after washing, soak your hands in plain water for 5 minutes, then apply a moisturizer, and wear gloves for 1 to 2 hours. This will ensure that the surface moisture gets where it needs to go.

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5 Apply moisturizer

When water isn’t sealed into the skin after washing, it can dry out your hand. The reason is that water acts like a magnet and it will attract water out from the deepest layers of the skin and evaporate into the dry air. The result is even tighter, drier skin. To prevent this from happening, be sure to immediately apply hand cream afterward. Even a light layer will do.

6 Use moisturizing soap

Because many soaps can strip the skin and cause them to be dry and cracked, wash your hands with soap that’s moisturizing. For example, a soap with a creamy consistency. You should also look out for soaps with ingredients such as glycerin and lanolin. Also, try to avoid soap bars. The binders that hold a bar of soap together naturally have a high pH, which will cause unnecessary dryness. Instead, choose liquid soaps since they are generally less drying to the skin.

7 Wash with warm water

Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. About the time it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice, making sure to cover palms, backs of hands, fingers, in between fingers, wrists, and fingernails. Lukewarm water is best rather than hot.

How do you keep your hands moisturized?

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