Winter is coming right up. This means cozy fires, hot cocoa, and playing in the snow. It also means extremely dry skin and cracked hands.

Why do our digits seem to get hit the hardest in winter? Sandpaper skin and gnarly cracks are not only unsightly, but painful too.

Once we turn on the indoor heating and the air brings a bit more chill, our face shows extra dryness right away. And we adjust our skincare routine accordingly. We turn to a more emollient moisturizer, or add an oil or balm to our skincare regimen, and our facial skin issues are usually resolved. But the skin on our hands is thicker than elsewhere on the body, and doesn’t show signs of dryness and irritation as quickly. We often don’t notice our dry hands until we have redness, scratchy skin, and deep cuts.

Preemptive care is essential in staving off extremely dry skin this winter, and keeping hands soft, smooth, and pretty straight through to spring. The key is to start now.

Stock up on hand cream and start using it even before your hands show the signs of winter drying. Keep one near each sink in your home, one in your purse or gym bag, and another on your nightstand for easy access. At nighttime, the glove trick works like a charm to give hands an infusion of moisture. Don’t be afraid to slather it on before bed and don gloves (or a pair of socks) for deep hydration.

Exfoliate, if you are already to the cracked skin stage, wait until your skin has healed to do any exfoliating. To keep skin smooth and ready to soak up moisture, use a scrub twice weekly to slough away dry skin. This sugar and honey lip scrub (honey is great for softening skin!) does double duty as a hand polish.

Soap and water is drying. Yes, it is a good idea to keep hands clean any time of year, especially in cold and flu season. But washing with a soap made with harsh surfactants is ultra drying. Opt for an organic hand wash, like SKIN Naked Foam unscented shave cream and wash, made with natural oils, and remember to apply hand cream afterward. And unless hands truly need washing, substitute a nontoxic hand sanitizer. EO is the pro at making safe sanitizers and offers a wide variety.

Protecting skin from wind and cold also helps to keep them from becoming dry. Score a pair of glam gloves to, you know, go with your ear muffs.

Choosing the best hand cream for extremely dry skin is super important. Certain natural ingredients are better than others at protecting skin and warding off dryness. Olive, avocado, and coconut oils are all beneficial to dry skin. Shea butter helps to seal in moisture and protect hands.

To heal deep cracks and callouses, apply a salve to affected areas. SKIN Healing Calendula Salve and Laurel – Healing Balm are both good options.

Best Hand Creams for Extremely Dry Skin

1. SKIN Lemon Mousse Extra Dry Hand Cream

2. Pai Fragonia Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream

3. Amala Hydrating Hand Cream

4. Lavera Basis Hand Cream

5. Cocovít – Coconut Oil

6. 100% Pure Coconut Hand Buttercream

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of woman holding tea in winter via Shutterstock

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EO turns 20 this month and we’d like to help them celebrate! You may know them by the fabulous eco-friendly hand sanitizer that is a staple of their line. Learn more about EO in this interview with co-founder and co-CEO, Susan Griffin-Black.

1995 was the dark ages of modern natural personal care. Sure, many people were making clean products. But doing it right and sticking with it for the long haul? Pretty rare. So when we see a natural product creator that is still in the biz two decades later, and with a stellar product line to boot, we have to tell you about it.

In case you don’t already know, EO is a plant-based personal care line with an emphasis on essential oils. Yes, the hand sanitizer is the bomb. But the EO product line up includes items for face, body, and hair too.

Want to know more? Thought so. Read on for all the juicy deets in this interview with EO co-founder and co-CEO, Susan Griffin-Black.

An Interview with EO Products Susan Griffin-Black

Liz Thompson: Happy Anniversary! So, you started EO 20 years ago. What was the catalyst behind creating a line of clean products?

Susan Griffith-Black: Thank you! It’s been 20 wonderful years. My business partner Brad and I started EO for a few reasons; the first is we wanted to make healthy, safe products for our family and friends. Additionally, we wanted to live an integrated life and be able to be present for ourselves, kids and family – so we set up shop just minutes from where we lived.

I was passionate about the energy and vitality of essential oils, making wholesome and beautiful products and Brad was a great guerrilla marketer who could figure out the manufacturing process. Our combined strengths have made EO what it is today.

LT: How do you use essential oils in your products? Which are your favorites?

SGB: I have a natural affinity and deep connection with essential oils, and I’ve been working with them for years. Essential oils not only smell beautiful, they have a powerful influence on mind and body, and they enable us to appreciate the inner-connectedness of our world. A few of my favorites are: rose absolute, rose geranium, jasmine, sweet orange and lemon myrtle.

LT: Can you please share a bit about the evolution of EO over the past two decades?

SGB: We’ve grown and learned a lot along the way. We now have two brands, EO and Everyone by EO, and we’re nearing 100 employees which is amazing considering Brad and I started this company in our garage with just the two of us. As we’ve grown we’ve learned to appreciate the challenges of scaling a business and the purpose for doing so. Intentional growth with a purpose has always been our guide.

LT: What is your ingredient commitment?

SGB: We have an essential ingredient charter, the first being that everything we do is rooted in the benefits of essential oils and the plant based ingredients that work to enhance and support them. We also manufacture in-house in our own certified organic facility, something that allows us complete control and transparency into how our products are made, by whom, and with what ingredients.

Additionally we choose to use certified organic or non-GMO ingredients, and our products are certified cruelty-free, gluten-free, and are packaged in PCR materials. In addition we’re a certified B Corp, meaning we put equal value on people, the planet and purpose, as we do on profits.

LT: What types of products do you create?

SGB: We have more than 250 different products between our two brands! We’re most well known for our French Lavender products, including our natural and organic hand sanitizer. We also have a wonderful new Skin Care Line that launched earlier this year.

LT: What can we expect to see in EO’s future?

SGB: We are evolving into a lifestyle company with 2 distinct brands. We are focused on creating innovative, wholesome and beautiful products that enhance the quality of daily life for ourselves, each other and our community of customers.

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Image via EOProducts.com

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You should never have to apologize to your hair. Even if you’re soaking in gobs of sea salt, sun and chlorine, your hair will understand. After all, don’t you deserve to enjoy your outdoor-sy time after six months of snow, sleet and rain? Should you be guilt-free about dipping your scalp in the water, no matter how salty or filled with pool chemicals it may be? (Yes and double yes!)

But your hair can be like your mother-in-law – you shouldn’t have to make her happy, but in the end it makes it a lot easier to just get through the day. The fun of the sun can turn our hair drier than the 5,500 year old hair filling out the shoe of this ancient Carrie Bradshaw. It’s all about the sebum. (Isn’t it always?) Sebum is the natural lubricant in our hair that keeps it moisturized – and chlorine, salt, and sun essentially suck this straight out of your hair. This causes your hair sheen to diminish and the cuticle to possibly crack, causing split ends.

Luckily, there are some good natural products on the market that help wash away dry hair with a mere rinse in the shower. One in particular? EO’s Products Repair – Deep Conditioner Wild Lime and Ginger. EO is a fantastic company and I’ve always had good luck with their products. Their certified organic products “use the highest grade natural and certified organic ingredients” and they are sustainably sourced and free of parabens, artificial dyes, and fragrances. Oh, and their signature blue bottles are made from recycled PET plastic.

So yes, their deep conditioner does well in terms of keeping things natural. (Here’s a complete list of the ingredients in the deep conditioner.) But how does it work? The directions call for you to leave the product on your wet hair for ten minutes. I lathered up for a little less but was still pleased with the outcome.

The conditioner works well – I have fine hair and felt like I was walking around with a pleasant ball of fluff on my hair after using it. It has a non-descript scent that is fairly pleasant. It didn’t weigh my hair down like a lot of deep conditioners can do – but I did have to spend an extra minute or two rinsing it out of my hair. Use just a little at a time and rinse well. It’s $9.99 for four ounces, and you can find online here.

Image: Môsieur J. [version 3.0b]

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