How To Combat Dry Hands

Our hands are our biggest tool in everything we want to do, and no more so than when knitting. How many times do you say just one more row then I will stop and hours later you are still going working ignoring any slight tinges or hand aches? I have been guilty many a time of working through an ache in my thumb, but it’s imperative to be proactive when dealing with the warning signs!

DRY HANDS
It almost always starts with dry hands. Wool is porous and takes the moisture from skin at the first stitch. Then, as we reach our 30s we lose 1% of collagen and elasticity each year. Our skin becomes thinner, so it’s easier to suffer from reoccurring sores. Once the skin starts to crack and water gets in (cracking the skin even further) this can eventually lead to eczema and stop play! You want to fill a creation with love from the hands, not dry flaky skin!

Firstly Moisturise, Moisturise, Moisture – morning, noon and especially at night to keep your skin supple and soft. Moisturised hands will enhance your sense of touch.

But dry hands are just the start and can lead to many other related conditions…-

TINGLING HANDS
Getting the tension just right in your knitting is bad news for the hands, repeating the same movements time and time again can cause numbness, tingling, pain and cramps. There are more sensory nerves in our hands than in any other part of the body. An early warning tinge is a blessing, it can be easily sorted and will stop long term conditions like carpel tunnel setting in.

Exercise your hands regularly
PALM PLANK – Put your hands together in the praying position with your fingertips and palms together. Then, pressing the fingertips together - separate the palms. Finally, close your hands again. Do this 5 times.

Always give your hands a rest. Never agree to a tight deadline. If you are knitting for a friend and they want their project straight away - just say I will try my best. You need to remember that your hands are more important!

COLD TIGHT HANDS
Dry skin and cold hands will leave you with a tight feeling around your hands.
To combat this, knit yourself a pair of wrist warmers. These will keep the wrists warm, which means the blood flowing into your hands will stay warm. Your hands will be nourished and dexterous.

Massage each hand hourly. Don’t worry you only need to put down your needles for a couple of minutes. Then, massage the palm of each hand - paying particular attention to the pressure point under your thumbs.

DRY SORE AREAS - WOOL BURN
Repetitive pattern, repetitive sores, repetitive pain? Repetitive use of SEAMS hand cream will help to combat this!

ITCHY HANDS
Panic sets in, have I got a wool allergy? The chances are: probably not. Dry skin can cause itchy hands, making your skin more prone to splitting.

If you are concerned, try working with worsted spun wool, as the fibres are less likely to stick out and prickle your skin.

You should also look out for super-soft blends.

Finally, try not to let the room temperature go above 75 degrees.

I developed SEAMS Hand cream to address all of the problems your hands might face. It absorbs quickly and is non-greasy, with 9 natural active ingredients including - Shea Butter to nourish and soften, Beta Glucan to repair and hydrate,  Hydrolysed Keratin (an active ingredient from wool) to strengthen nails & moisturise skin and finally a Biomimetic Lipid Complex that instantly penetrates the skin’s epidermal layer to lock in moisture.

Give your hands the SEAMS Touch with this special Let’s Knit promotion to get 10% off - Use Code: k01 at checkout. www.seamsbeauty.co.uk

Karen J.