Heal Chapped, Dry Hands

The products you use to cure dry hands may actually be making the problem worse. Follow these tips for restorizing your hands' softness and moisture.

Like slushy streets and icy windshields, chapped hands seem to be a seasonal hazard. Between dry heat indoors and harsh conditions outdoors, it's no surprise that your regular moisturizer can't keep your hands soft and smooth. Here's how to curb winter's wrath.

Wash with care. Detergent-laden soaps are drying to the skin, so try a milder version, like Earth Therapeutics' Gardener's Anti-Bacterial Wash. Also, a gentle exfoliation twice a week helps scrub away dry, dead cells so your hands feel smoother.

Switch moisturizers. Go for specially formulated hand creams, advises Debbie D'Aquino, vice president of product development for Clinique. Look for ingredients (such as shea butter, petrolatum, and cholesterol) that lock in the skin's natural moisture by pumping up its lipid barrier—the fatty substances that serve as the body's first defense against water loss. And use hand cream more than once a day. D'Aquino recommends keeping it in your purse and applying it at least three times. Try Clinique's Stop Signs Hand Repair, Lush's Helping Hands, or Source Océan's Hydro-Active Barrier Hand Cream.

Maintain moisture inside and out. Drink lots of water, and consider using a humidifier in your home if the air is dry.