How to regenerate skin damaged by work: solutions and tips

“Being a craftsman does not necessarily mean having damaged hands! Prevention is now more than ever an essential piece of equipment for every professional: how can you do to protect and regenerate the skin of your hands, every day?

1. First step: PROTECTION. Whenever possible, wear gloves. An excellent alternative is barrier creams that create an imperceptible glove on the skin that acts as a shield against difficult dirt such as grease, lubricant, solvents, resins, glue, oil-based paints or metal powders
2. Second step: CLEANSING. Opt for warm water, avoid too frequent washing and choose solutions that are effective on dirt (whether solid or liquid handwashing pastes) but never aggressive on the skin.
3. Step three: RESTORE. Apply a cream to your hands that thoroughly nourishes the skin with regenerating, emollient, moisturising and soothing substances.

Would you like to find out some more details? Just read on’

Handicraft professions spontaneously evoke ingenuity, sacrifice, creative flair, ancient gestures and industrious manual skills. Often the protagonists of this fascinating sector are the hands, among the body parts most frequently used by those who carry out this type of work, such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, metalworkers, tyre makers, building constructors or farmers.

However, manual creativity has an unpleasant side effect: that of endangering the health of the hands and the integrity of their skin. Indeed, there are many tasks that expose the hands to hazards and aggressive substances, making them progressively drier, damaged, calloused and brittle. While many professionals resign themselves to this condition, many others choose to search for the most effective solutions to have well-groomed and healthy hands, despite the inconveniences potentially caused by their jobs.

Protecting the skin on your hands is a wise choice, as constant irritation of the skin can cause real occupational diseases, which are bothersome and potentially debilitating. Prevention therefore becomes an essential piece of equipment for every professional: how can you do to protect and regenerate the skin on your hands, every day?

 

 

Step one: protect your hands with gloves and barrier creams

The best way to maintain intact and healthy skin for a long time, even if your hands are in the front line of your work, is to physically protect them from external aggression.

The number one tip to keep your skin safe from these dangers is to always wear professional gloves suitable for your job, so as to create a mechanical shield from the aggressive materials with which you may come into contact. Prolonged use of this PPE, however, must be managed intelligently: inside the gloves, the skin tends to macerate, predisposing you to injuries and fungal infections. How to avoid this problem?

Research in the professional field has led to the creation of special barrier creams that can be applied before putting on work gloves and act as an invisible protective layer for the skin. Nettuno’s Protexins Plus is among the most widely used by workers, as its easily applied, non-greasy and resistant consistency creates an effective shield against watery substances, moisture and sweat. While reducing skin maceration, the protective cream moisturises, nourishes and regenerates the skin to leave it perfectly soft even after the most stressful work shifts.  Free of dyes, parabens and silicone, its protection lasts for about 3 to 4 hours and to remove it, simply wash your hands with warm soapy water.

When your job requires you to have close contact with oily and greasy substances, try the barrier effect of Protexsol Professional, a water-soluble protective cream that creates an imperceptible glove on the skin and acts as a shield against difficult soiling such as grease, lubricants, solvents, resins, glue, oil-based paints or metal powders. When you use this cream, washing your hands after your shift will be much easier.

 

But how to perform a perfect wash without ruining your hands?

 

Pay attention to how and how much you wash your hands

The hands of craft workers tend to become soiled with various types of substances, often particularly irritating, if not even allergenic and carcinogenic. It is therefore imperative to limit the stay of dirt on the skin as much as possible and to wash the hands periodically during and after each work shift.

Remember that frequent washing not only removes dirt, but also washes away the precious hydrolipid film normally present on the skin’s surface. This also applies to, the use of excessively abrasive or poor quality soaps, which can cause particularly serious damage to the skin, leading it to become hypersensitive, reddened, irritated and damaged in its deepest layers, even within a few years.

Among the most important tips for protecting your hands is to wash them with little water and never too hot, to avoid inducing skin dryness. Obviously, it is imperative to use only high standard cleansing products, never too abrasive and preferably free of irritating substances such as chemical solvents, sulphates, dyes and similar ingredients.

 

You always prefer cleansers with a good scrubbing action, but which are dermo-compatible and well-tolerated by the skin, and which can emulsify and remove dirt without undermining the skin’s natural regenerative processes. In the Nettuno catalogue you can find numerous ad hoc products designed specifically for your professional category: consult the lines of detergents suggested by our experts according to your profession, or search for the product you need according to formulation and consistency, choosing from liquid soaps and products in paste, cream or gel form.

 

Nourish the skin with specific creams for workers

Many workers today are aware of the importance of protection and thorough hand washing, but not everyone pays attention to the next step, which is nourishing the skin with the best emollient products.

Have you ever thought of using a good cream to relieve your hands after work?

In order to adopt a routine that is truly in line with its needs, you should also take meticulous care of the post-washing moment: start by getting into the good habit of applying a cream to your hands that is able to nourish the skin thoroughly, through the contribution of regenerating, emollient, moisturising and soothing substances. Among the most recommended products in this sense there is undoubtedly Protexem Rinnova, the Nettuno moisturising cream for hands and face, which is able to support the natural regeneration of the skin with the contribution of emollient and anti-dryness ingredients.

The result? Soft hands free of cracking, redness and irritation.

Nettuno products are the result of more than 50 years of experience and constant listening to your most concrete needs. Nettuno products are easily tolerated by the skin and also by the environment: the use of biocompatible products and a constant drive towards sustainability makes our company a green and reliable point of reference for all workers.