Beauty Insider: Baby, It’s Cold Outside— Hand Care for Chilly Days

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Donna Macdonald, GoLocalWorcester Beauty Expert

Win the winter battle with these rich hand creams and treatments.

If the harsh winter weather and fear of flu (and thus, maniacal hand washing), has left you with lobster claws, it’s time for some rich hand creams and treatments.

Hands age fast and dry out even faster due to their lack of oil glands. It’s never more important to counteract these dynamics than in winter. As a hand cream junkie, I know not all creams are equal, and what works in scorching summer, may not win the winter battle when we are up against the elements, constant hand washing, and occasional gloveless-ness.

Moisturize with soap

Antibacterial lotions and soaps can be very drying. Instead, get needed help with velvety hand soaps like Bath and Body Works Moisturizing Antibacterial Soap or Kiss My Face Moisture Hand Soap which uses olive oil and aloe to keep hands from chapping. Kill the germs. Keep the hands. (Bath and Body Works stores and Whole Foods)

Nail treatments

Moisturize your nails and cuticles every night with a rich ointment-like treatment. Even after a few applications, your nails will look healthier with or without polish, and you’ll keep painful hangnails at bay. Dior Crème Abricot Fortifying Cream for Nails is an emollient multi-tasker that’s been around since 1963. This creamy salve strengthens nails, heals dry cuticles and smells delicious. (Sephora)

Fortification

Before slipping into your gloves when you take the kids sledding or skating, slather on a softening balm to ward off dry biting cold. Farmaesthetics Hand to Heel is a powerful herb preparation that seeps into skin quickly and leaves behind a layer of comforting security. You’ll need the advance protection barrier when your bare hands are called into service to tighten your little one’s skates. Again. (Farmaesthetics, Newport)

Thick hand creams

No watery lotions here - you need buttery creams that really nourish winter-parched skin and make it comfy again. Here are some favorites:

Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Therapy – don’t be fooled by its June-in-January scent. It’s amazingly hardworking and long lasting. Why not indulge your aesthetic sense while restoring your hands? (Beauty and the Bath, Wickford)

Nivea Smooth Indulgence Hand Cream – oils and minerals make this one a super-hydrator from a company with deep skin care roots. A faithful cream that always delivers. (CVS)

Philosophy Hands of Hope – No need to just hope for healing with this ultra-rich formula that soaks into skin for instant dryness relief. You’ll be hearing yourself say “ahhh” in just a second or two. (Ulta)

Deborah Lippmann Rich Girl Anti-Aging Hand – an award-winning cream with Shea Butter and botanicals that glides on smooth with a beautiful yet delicate fragrance. Hands down winner because it reactivates after you wash your hands. (Nordstrom)

Donna Macdonald is a freelance writer who enjoys covering topics of interest to women, especially fragrance, style, beauty. She has also written marketing material for a women's book that hit the New York Times Bestseller list and netted her an up close and personal discussion on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Donna currently writes her own personal blog, alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com where she also writes about issues close to a woman's heart. Donna believes that when a woman finds beauty in the world, she will find beauty in herself.

Related Slideshow: Winter Activities

Prev Next

Tubing at Ward

Ski Ward in Shrewsbury has something for the everyone in the family—snow bugs and otherwise. Get your thrills and relive your childhood while you tube down the hillside. If tubing isn’t your thing, pack your skis or snowboard and hit the slopes; Ward has 3 terrain features. After the snow fun comes to a close, make sure to grab a hot cocoa or adult beverage and bite to eat to round out the day!

1000 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA. (508) 842-6346.

Photo: Aline D./Flickr

Prev Next

Sleigh rides

If a sleigh ride through the snowy New England countryside doesn’t warm the heart, nothing will. This weekend, take your significant other (or the whole family) to Sweet Brook Farm in Williamstown for a good old fashioned sleigh ride. This nostalgic wintertime tradition lasts about 45 minutes, and even includes a hot cocoa pit stop at a cabin in the woods.

508 Oblong Road, Williamstown, MA. (413) 884-4246.

Photo: Pete Markham/Flickr

Prev Next

Yankee Candle Village

Let your worries disappear and take in a little retail therapy…while buying gifts for you! Yankee Candle Village in South Deerfield is synonymous with Christmas…they start their Christmas countdown on December 26th. If the weather isn’t quite wintry enough outside, snow will surely be falling in the indoor village. Learn how to make a candle, peruse over 400,000 candles, munch on holiday goodies, and make light hearted memories that will last a lifetime—all so close to home.

25 Greenfield Road, South Deerfield, MA. (877) 636-7707.

Photo: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism/Flickr

Prev Next

Stockbridge

Stockbridge, MA is a quintessential New England town that was made famous by Norman Rockwell. Take a breather from the stress of the holiday season and take a trip to this iconic town. View the streets of Rockwell’s picturesque hometown and take in the winter chill before heading to the Norman Rockwell Museum. The museum features the largest collection of the painter’s original works in the world, his supplies, reference materials, personal memorabilia, and more.

9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA. (413) 298-4100.

Photo: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/Flickr

Prev Next

Christmas By Candlelight

Old Sturbridge Village is a New England classic year round. At Christmas, there is no better place to enjoy an old fashioned celebration than right at OSV. Christmas by Candlelight is the perfect event to get away from the sometimes hectic holiday season. For 3 special weekends in December, visitors are invited to enjoy roasted chestnuts, gingerbread, sleigh rides, Victorian carolers, Mrs. Cratchet’s Christmas dinner and more at this one of a kind event.

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA. (800) 733-1830.

Prev Next

Edgartown

There is nothing more romantic than a holiday getaway to the sea. This weekend, escape the holiday frenzy and head to Edgartown, MA on Martha’s Vineyard for the town’s 32nd annual Christmas in Edgartown Celebration. Enjoy complimentary holiday massages, raffles, horse drawn carriage rides, the annual lighting of the lighthouse, food sampling events and more.

Edgartown, MA.

Photo: Edgartown Board of Trade

Prev Next

Wine

Take the bite off the winter chill this weekend and take a drive to Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton. The winery hosts tasting events everyday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For just $5.00, you will receive a free tasting glass and samples of up to five different wines. Some favorites include Strawberry Rhubarb Wine, Holiday Special Cranberry Apple (new release November 2013), and New English Cider. While you’re in store, make sure to grab a couple of bottles—they make perfect holiday gifts for anyone (yourself included!)

100 Wattaquadock Hill Road, Bolton, MA. (978) 779-5521.

Photo: Liza31337/Flickr

Prev Next

Ice skating

Pull out the ice skates and revive your childhood dreams at the ice skating rink. There is something so magical and invigorating about gliding over a fresh sheet of ice. Why not take a short, close-tohome getaway to the Worcester Common Oval Public Skating Rink? Spend a few hours out on the ice, and afterwards grab a hot chocolate and take a drive around the city to see the holiday lights.

455 Main Street, Worcester, MA.

Photo: Elvert Barnes/Flickr

Prev Next

Theatre

Watch the magic of the holiday season unfold before your eyes at one of Worcester’s performance treasures. The Hanover Theatre is loaded with great holiday performances during December. Join the Theatre for family favorites like A Christmas Carol and others. Make sure to call the box office for tickets ASAP—these shows are sellouts year after year.

The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA. (877) 571-7469.

Photo: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/Flickr

Prev Next

Music

Head over to Mechanics Hall on Main Street for great musical and dance performances like The Nutcracker—a Worcester family tradition, Worcester Holiday Pops featuring area colleges, and more!

Mechanics Hall, 321 Main Street, Worcester, MA. (508) 752-0888.

Photo: Gabriel Saldana/Flickr