Autumn is here and winter is coming. Are you prepared for the intensity of the winds, the rain, sleet and snow? Our skin is the first barrier to be most battered from extreme weathers. Are your hands ready for this? If you are like me, I tend not to focus on my hands until it becomes a tad too late. But they show the first signs of ageing don’t’ they? Everyone ‘seemingly’ looks at our hands when we shake them right or they seem to be on display often (in my head anyway). Our hands can be so complex and intricately designed from the jobs we do to how we use our hands. Whether you are a full-time mum; working mum; a general practitioner; a nurse; project manager; builder; gardener; baker; chef; engineer; technologist, and the list goes on… the point is made that there are a myriad of ways that exist when we use our hands. So why do we neglect the hands in skin care and focus only on the face?
Why we need to protect our hands:
- Our hands are generally the first point of touch the body uses every day for a myriad of jobs. Protecting them could mean you are protecting your whole body.
- They can be the first part of your body to show inflammation or bacterial infection, which shouldn’t be ignored.
- There are so many tendons, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, all inter joined to make movement possible such as precision, grip, and sense of touch.
- They can show the first signs of ageing: As we age, the skin on the hands thin out making it even more vulnerable to the elements.
- Nails and cuticles can be the first point of entry for dirt and grime and bacteria! Keep clean nails and short if possible (I know! Those beautiful looking long nails trend might not be the best option depending on the nature of work you do!)
Build-up of dead skin occurs over time and should be scrubbed off in a general routine to reveal fresher healthier looking skin. Dry hands can feel leathery, dry and lack lustre after such intense exposure to the environments.This is why we created Our Hands and Feet Scrub & Our Nourishing Hand balm. Our scrub is the ultimate indulgence for your hands with natural shea butter, Southern African sourced lavender and Namibian hills marula oils (smells amazing!) with organic honey and brown sugar to reduce inflammation and bacterial action whilst removing dead skin cells. Brown sugar is softer and kinder to the skin, is a natural humectant and hygroscopic in nature, means this will keep your hands moist whilst exfoliating. What’ not to love?! Check out the sweet benefits of using sugar on your skin here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/emilie-davidson-hoyt/sugar- skincare_b_2133060.html?guccounter=1
How to use our scrub
- Scrub away dead skin cells by applying a teaspoon of our indulgent hand & foot scrub in the palm of your hands.
- Add a little bit of water.
- Exfoliate gently.
- Rinse off with warm water to reveal smoother, plumper and healthier looking skin.
Which leads us to the next step in getting your hands ready for Autumn (& Winter I must add) using our Nourishing Hand Balm.To preserve the moisture from all that hard work of exfoliation and to give your hands another level of protection, our hand balm comes to the rescue! Made with unrefined natural Shea butter, organic beeswax, sweet almond oil, and chamomile oil, this hand balm is emollient and protective. When applied it will soothe, nourish as well as act as a great barrier to water, preventing possible growth of microbes.
The benefits of shea butter are well documented in our paper ‘The Science of sheabutter’ https://bojolarskincare.com/pages/the-science-of-shea-butter. It's combination with organic beeswax gives anti-inflammatory and soothing benefits which have been associated with helping with eczema prone skin and healing cracked and dry skin.
So don’t waste any more time with getting your hands ready for the next season with our incredible duo!