The general consensus right now is that all of this hand washing (while needed) is triggering cracked, painful, dry hands. Anyone with rashes on their hands is especially stressed about the excessive hand washing. Look, I think we ALL get it. We have to wash our hands right now. But how do you handle all this hand washing while balancing your skin’s needs to stay moisturized? As the coronavirus pandemic here in the US gained momentum, I was sitting in the hospital with my dad all day, every day before he passed away. Hospitals are not a place anyone wants to spend lots of time in especially during a pandemic! Needless to say, I was washing my hands a ton (with the commercial soap they had in the hospital) and using their hand sanitizers. How my hands looked just after one day of this was frightening! The pain of what felt like a thousand papercuts all over my hands because of my eczema flares years ago has certainly given me some sort of PTSD. I didn’t want to go back and recognized quickly that I wasn’t alone as more people in my community voiced the same exact concerns. Today’s episode is specifically geared to help you know how to wash and moisturize your hands so that you don’t end up with excessively painful, cracked, dried-out skin. In this episode: Living in a world of excessive handwashing to reduce the risk of viral infections Why lots of handwashing quickly wrecks your hands 2 biggest reasons why your skin barrier breaks down Natural soap alternatives (you’ve never thought of) How to make your own foaming soap that’s way less harsh Best practices for moisturizing your hands after washing Quotes: Commercial or conventional soap products made with petro-chemicals, like mineral oil, will strip away your skin’s natural oils. For your hands, use a really thick cream because lighter lotions (like what you use on your face) will not cut it right now due to higher water content.