As nurses, many depend on your caring hands, and your profession has become essential these days. Recent times have also lead to the need to wash, sanitize, and wear hand gloves for protection ever more often. In doing so, you experience dry, irritated, and cracked hands. Proper care for your hands will require you to use appropriate hand cream or hand lotion regularly. So we have listed a few of the best hand creams for nurses to help heal and moisturize your hands.
Why Should Nurses Use Hand Creams?
Nurses and other medical workers are prone to exposure to infections, and maintaining healthy skin is extremely important. If you neglect them too often, it may lead to dry skin which might break open leaving it defenseless to bacterial infection and damages.
If you already have existing conditions, untreated skin may also take longer to heal if not treated with adequate care. Dry and irritated skin that feels rough and itchy may prevent you from doing your best as a nurse. So it is important to take care of your hands to provide the best care to others.
Here are the Reasons Why Your Hands Need Special Care
1. Dryness due to frequent exposure to water and other chemicals
Working in the hospital requires frequent hand washing and the wearing of latex gloves that can harm the skin on your hands. Water alone naturally dries the skin, all the more with using soap. With repeated hand washing, natural oils that moisturize the hands do not replenish quickly enough.
Without using hand cream, the skin may become dry or cracked. The lipid content of the skin decreases when it is dries, leading to that feeling of tightness and tingling sensations.
For optimal results, use a hydrating cream every single time you finish washing your hands to avoid dry hands. Using these hydrating products is an excellent way to enhance moisture level and elasticity to protect the skin from getting dry and cracked.
Nourishing creams strengthen the hydrolipidic film and soothe these discomforts. Some hand creams even contain active ingredients for the nails and cuticles. Some key elements to look for in a hand cream to address dryness include vitamin E, shea Butter, glycerin, and urea.
2. Delay Skin Aging
Using the appropriate hand cream will do a lot to help repair and restore damaged and dry skin. When you neglect your hands, you leave them defenseless from early signs of aging like:
Your hands require a different type of care because the skin on top of your hands are much thinner. It is also more exposed and may become very dry.
To avoid premature aging and lighten dark spots, people use a hand cream that is rich with moisture-binding ingredients.
As a night regimen, you may use a hand cream with anti-aging and lightening properties. After applying the product, you may put on a pair of cotton or silk gloves for at least 15 minutes. The gloves will allow the ingredients to be better absorbed into the skin and lock the moisture in as well.
Use a hand cream with high SPF content for protection from the damaging effects of UV rays. Some crucial ingredients to look for in a hand cream to address skin aging problems include AHAs and antioxidants.
How To Choose The Best Hand Creams For Nurses
It is challenging to choose the best hand creams that are safe for use in clinical settings. Not all creams or lotions are safe, so you need to read about the product before using it. Dermatologists will help you know what product is best for you.
The best hand creams are those that have moisturizing, softening and healing ingredients. Hand lotions or creams that are rich in nutrients that protect from external environmental pollutants. Here are some factors you may want to check for when choosing the best hand cream for you.
Active Ingredients
It may be difficult to find a hand cream that contains all these ingredients, but we recommend finding one that contains at least three of these.
Color and Scent
If you have sensitive skin, you should avoid hand creams that contain color, perfume, and essential oils. It is also crucial not to use scented hand creams in healthcare settings to prevent risks of allergic reactions to patients.
Avoid greasy hand creams with synthetic thickening agents like triglycerides or palmitates. You should also check that the product has no alcohol content so that it does not sting on dry cracked hands.
Waterproof
Some of these creams may advertise themselves as water-resistant. While this may be true, it is still best to re-apply the cream after several washes for adequate protection.
Packaging
As nurses are always active and on-the-go, lotions and creams that come in tubes with flip-top covers would come in handy. An ideal size to add to your already heavy backpack would be one that is lesser than 4 oz.
SPF
The hands are just as crucial as any part of your body to cover with SPF. Look for hand creams with an SPF of 15 or higher to help protect your hands from the damaging effects of UV rays.
The 7 Recommended Best Hand Creams for Nurses
To help nurses and other health care providers maintain healthy skin on their hands, we have put together the best hand creams for nurses. Make sure that one of these should always be present in your bags to give your working hands loving care.
1. CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream
The CeraVe Hand Cream is one of the top creams that dermatology experts recommend. This hand cream has a thick viscosity but would not leave the skin a heavy feeling this can also contribute to healing hand with eczema. It contains salicylic acid that is ideal for rough and dry skin. This cream contains other essential ingredients that make it one of the best hand lotions:
One unique feature is its patented MVE delivery technology for 24-hour release of exfoliating and hydrating ingredients. Its dimethicone content also forms a water-resistant skin barrier. This therapeutic cream is non-comedogenic (will not clog your pores). It is also hypoallergenic, so it is ideal even for nurses with hyper-sensitive skin types.
To top it off, it comes in a 3 oz. tube with a flip-top cover. It is scent-free and comes with a budget-friendly price.
2. O' Keeffe's Skin Working Hands Hand Cream
Go for O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream if you want both healing and protective qualities. This hand product works effectively for excessively dry skin by preventing further moisture loss making it one of the most popular hand lotions for nurses.
It has a concentrated formula works to speeds up the healing process within a few days of use. Indeed, it is a miracle product that works during really well during winter where the skin tends to become drier.
This product contains paraffin that enhancing the skin barrier and glycerin that accelerates its hydration.
You may increase its healing effect by applying it overnight and covering your hands with gloves. The cream is a bit thick and should be rubbed in on the skin well. It comes available in either a jar or tube packaging and we recommend using this every time after you've wash your hands.
3. Eucerin Original Healing Cream
Eucerin Original Healing Cream is perfect for irritated, chapped, or dry cracked hands. Formulated for the immediate relief of hand irritations, and can work for up to 48 hours. This creamy lotion works by exfoliating, moisturizing, and conditioning the skin making the hands soft.
Its ingredients include petroleum and mineral oils that hydrate dry skin. Petroleum is one of the most effective moisturizers for the skin. This cream works by locking in moisture to dry skin and is safe for daily use.
It is fragrance-free and dye-free and maybe the best budget-friendly hand cream in the market. It comes in a pack of three 4 oz jar, so you may stock them as a reserve or give as a gift to friends or family.
What is nice about this product is that you can safely use it for the body and face without clogging your pores.
4. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
This well-known brand of hand cream may be the best moisturizing cream in the market. The Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream is a non-greasy lotion that is perfect for surgeons, nurses, and other medical workers who do a lot of hand washing.
If you are looking for effectiveness, you surely will not be disappointed with this brand. The high glycerin content of this product promotes fast healing and hydration of the skin. Its silky smooth texture is best for both your hands and feet.
With an SPF 30 protection, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream also protects you from the damaging effects of sun and aging. It comes in bottles of 2 oz size bottles that can yield up to 200 applications, which is also the perfect size for bringing to work.
It even comes in an unscented formula and a lavender formula should you want to use it out of the hospital setting.
5. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Aveeno is a popularly trusted brand for skincare. With Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, you will almost see and feel instant results in one use. This emollient-rich lotion is formulated with a blend of natural ingredients and offers whole-day skin protection.
With regular use, your skin will be softer and have a natural-looking glow. This lotion is best for use in hospital settings and sensitive skin types because it is fragrance-free.
It also has water-resistant properties that make the cream stay on your hands even after a few hand washing. This daily moisturizing lotion is also non-greasy but rich in nutrients that nourish the skin and reverses skin damage.
It comes in small tubes of 2.5 oz at a very affordable price.
6. Burt’s Bees Ultimate Care Hand Cream
Burt’s Bees Ultimate Care Hand Cream has a unique fruit acid complex blended with other all-natural ingredients. This hand cream works well with nurses who do not have extreme skin irritations. It is guaranteed safe to use in hospital settings as it is fragrance-free.
It provides a perfect balance of exfoliating and moisturizing in one product as well. Perfect for health care professionals who scrubs their hands clean regularly.
It comforts the skin with the help of coconut oil, pumpkin seed oil, baobab oil, and green tea extracts. This hand cream works well to achieve healthy nails and cuticles as well.
Burt's hand cream comes in a 3.2 oz tube, an ideal size to toss into your beauty pouch.
7. Gloves in a Bottle Shielding Lotion
This non-greasy hand lotion formula is best for medical professionals and nurses who want to seal in moisture. It is free from harsh ingredients, fragrance, and dye. Gloves in a Bottle contain dimethicone which is an ingredient that works by locking in moisture while protecting the skin from certain bacteria.
Nurses are prone to hand dermatitis, and this hand cream helps in the restoration of skin cells. This moisturizing hand cream replenishes the protective skin barrier to alleviate irritations and best for use for those with eczema.
You will be thrilled to know that this fragrance-free and non-sticky hand cream comes at a budget-friendly price too. It comes in small, flip-top tubes of 3.4 oz.
Our Pick
Overall, we recommend the CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream because of its superior quality. The strongly-formulated moisturizing cream can soften not only the hands but also the feet.
It effectively moisturizes, works on healing sunburns and other skin conditions. Yet it is gentle enough to be used in babies and children with eczema. CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream tops all the other similar brands with its low-cost but high-quality product.
Final Words
The skin works incredibly well at absorbing ingredients. It typically takes only 30 minutes for the skin to absorb these creams.
Carefully choose a product that will best suit your current skin conditions and apply them according to the directions. If the skin on your hands is quite okay, use a lightly formulated hand cream that will moisturize your hands. But if you have current skin irritation, use hand creams that have intensive regenerating and healing ingredients. Some cream also has a non-greasy formula that is designed for nurses who hate the sticky feeling of some hand creams.
Skin health should always be a priority. While you may already have routine skincare for your face, your hands should have one too.
Your hands work a lot to save patients, so it only makes sense that you always keep it in good shape by using the best hand creams for nurses.