How to heal chapped hands
Chapped hands heal when you do two things at once: stop the damage, and give the skin the conditions to repair. Neither works alone. Slathering on cream every night while still washing in hot water with a degreasing soap is treading water.
Gardeners get this worse than most, because gardening combines every one of the things that break down the skin barrier. Wet then dry, wet then dry. Grit. Sap. Cold wind on damp hands. It is a fairly efficient system for taking skin apart.
- Why gardening is so hard on hands
- The four things actually doing the damage
- How to heal them
- Washing without stripping
- Which cream, and where to keep it
- When to see a pharmacist
- Frequently asked questions
Why gardening is so hard on hands
Your skin barrier is a layer of oils and cells whose job is to hold moisture in and keep irritants out. When it is intact you never think about it. When it is stripped, water escapes, the surface roughens, and small splits open up.
Gloves help, and you should wear them, but they are not a complete answer. Hands still chap inside gloves if the gloves trap sweat, soak through in wet soil, or rub at the seams and cuffs. And the damage does not mostly happen while you are gardening. It happens at the sink afterwards.
The four things actually doing the damage
- Wet work. Repeated wetting and drying is the single biggest driver. Watering, rain, rinsing pots, then drying off in wind or sun. Each cycle takes a little more.
- Detergents. Washing-up liquid, strong hand soaps and the sprays used for cleaning pots and tools strip oils quickly, and they are usually the thing nobody thinks to change.
- Friction and grit. Compost is effectively fine sandpaper. Add tool handles, twine and the edge of a wheelbarrow and the damage concentrates in the same places every time: knuckles, fingertips, and the webbing between thumb and forefinger.
- Irritants. Fertilisers, plant sap, and occasionally the gloves themselves can provoke contact dermatitis. If one particular job always leaves your hands angry, that is worth noticing.
Drying badly compounds all four. Water left sitting between the fingers is where splits start.
How to heal them
The routine is short and it works, but it only works if it is done every day rather than on the days your hands hurt.
- Drop the water temperature. Lukewarm, not hot. Hot water strips oils faster than the soap does.
- Moisturise within a minute of washing, while the skin is still slightly damp. That traps the water rather than sealing dry skin.
- Use a thicker barrier balm before you go out, not just after you come in. Protect first, repair second.
- Treat splits properly. Press ointment into the crack and cover it with a plaster so it closes instead of reopening every time you grip something.
- Overnight, go heavy. A generous layer of rich cream and a pair of cotton gloves to bed. It looks silly and it works faster than anything else on this list.
Expect improvement over days rather than hours. Skin repairs on its own timetable.
Washing without stripping
Changing what you wash with is the highest-value swap, because it happens several times a day.
A gentler cleanser lifts soil without taking the oils with it. The hand washes we stock are chosen on that basis rather than on fragrance. The RHS White Blooms and Wild Rhubarb & Mint hand washes are glycerine-based with botanical extracts, so they clean without the tight, squeaky feeling that means you have just removed too much. The Norfolk Natural Living range, in Eventide, En Plein Air and Coastal Walks, uses natural surfactants and the same glycerine base, in fragrances that suit someone who has just come in from outside.
For the genuinely filthy hands you get after potting up, a scrub is the better tool than scrubbing harder with soap. The Sting In The Tail Gardener's Handscrub uses orange peel oil and a glycerine base, so it shifts ingrained compost without leaving skin stripped afterwards.
Which cream, and where to keep it
The best hand cream is the one you will actually use, which usually means keeping two.
A lighter, fast-absorbing cream lives by the sink for daytime, because a heavy cream that leaves you unable to hold a mug will not get applied at eleven in the morning. A richer one goes by the bed and in the potting shed for after gardening. Creams with shea butter suit the second job well.
The practical trick is distribution. A hand cream gift set of mini tubes lets you stash one in the kitchen, one in a coat pocket and one in the car, and the barrier is maintained by the tube you happen to be standing next to, not the one in the bathroom cabinet upstairs.
When to see a pharmacist
Most chapped hands settle with consistent barrier care within a couple of weeks. Some things are worth taking to someone qualified rather than persisting with cream.
- Redness, itching or burning that does not settle, which can indicate eczema or contact dermatitis
- Weeping, crusting or yellow discharge, particularly around deep or long-standing cracks, which can suggest infection
- Deep splits that bleed, significant pain, or a rash spreading beyond the hands
- No improvement after two to three weeks of regular moisturising and better protection
A pharmacist can advise on most of this without an appointment. Pharmacy guidance on dry hands is a reasonable starting point, but nothing here replaces asking someone who can actually look at your hands.
Protect first, repair second, repeat daily. The rest of our hand care range is built around that order.
Frequently asked questions
How do you heal chapped hands quickly?
Reduce the damage and moisturise at the right moment. Switch to lukewarm water and a gentle, glycerine-based cleanser, and apply cream within about a minute of washing while the skin is still slightly damp, which traps water rather than sealing dry skin. Overnight, apply a thick layer of rich cream and wear cotton gloves to bed, which is the single fastest thing you can do. For painful splits, press ointment into the crack and cover with a plaster. Expect improvement over several days rather than overnight.
What causes chapped hands in gardeners?
Four things, usually in combination. Repeated wetting and drying, which is the biggest driver and comes from watering, rain and rinsing pots. Detergents, including washing-up liquid and strong soaps, which strip the skin's oils. Friction and grit from compost, tool handles and twine, which concentrate damage on the knuckles, fingertips and the webbing between thumb and forefinger. And irritants such as fertilisers and plant sap, which can trigger contact dermatitis. Drying badly between the fingers makes all four worse.
What is the best hand cream for very dry, cracked hands?
The one you will use often enough to matter. In practice that means keeping two: a lighter, quickly absorbed cream by the sink for daytime, since a heavy cream that leaves your hands greasy will not get applied during the day, and a richer, shea butter based cream for after gardening and overnight. Distribution matters more than the specific formula, so keeping small tubes in the kitchen, a coat pocket and the car will do more for your hands than one expensive tube upstairs.
Does wearing gloves to bed actually help dry hands?
Yes, and it is the most effective step in the routine. A thick layer of cream applied at night has hours to work rather than being wiped off on the next thing you pick up, and cotton gloves hold it against the skin and stop it transferring to the bedding. Use plain cotton rather than anything synthetic, so the skin can still breathe. It is worth doing nightly for a fortnight when hands are badly chapped, then a couple of times a week to maintain.
When should I see a pharmacist about dry hands?
If redness, itching or burning does not settle, if there is weeping, crusting or yellow discharge around cracks, if splits are deep enough to bleed or genuinely painful, or if a rash starts spreading beyond the hands. Also go if there has been no improvement after two to three weeks of consistent moisturising and better protection. A pharmacist can advise without an appointment and will say if it needs a GP. Persistent problems can be eczema, contact dermatitis or infection rather than ordinary chapping.
Written by David Hurrion
David Hurrion is a trained horticulturist, teacher and journalist who has worked on nurseries, taught at colleges, and edited some of the nation's leading gardening magazines. He chooses everything Norman & Vera stocks, and makes practical gardening videos for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.