We are in a very strange moment in our life, we search the news, look for some sparkle of hope for the treatment or the vaccination or even any news about natural weakness of the virus as it passes through more and more people, however so far one things that we hear over and over again and all expert agreed on, is washing your hands frequently, whenever you can or use hand sanitizer.
I tell my kids the same thing every day, I try not to scare them but I can’t avoid talking about it and I have to explain the reason. They hear it all the time, the schools are closed so they have to know the reason and they have to know how to prevent it. In normal days I am not that picky about the hygiene, I explain but I am not fussy. But now I check every time they wash their hands if they actually use enough soap or if they use soap at all.
Hand dryness after frequent wash
As a result of frequent hand washing, my daughter’s hands got dry and had signs of dermatitis. This kind of dermatitis is called primary irritant contact dermatitis caused by exposure to any substance including chemical, physical or biologic agents, if the concentration and duration of contact are sufficient. In this case a repeated or sustained contact with a mild irritant like soap, produced inflammation, itching and redness.
How to soothe hand redness, inflammation and dryness?
I have to find a cure, a cream or ointment to soothe the itching. In an article before I explained about the rose water and its therapeutic effects. It has been used as a toner and soothing agent. So I made a lotion. Here is the recipe:
Homemade rose water lotion recipe:
- ½ egg yolk
- 2 table spoon rose water
- 2 table spoon glycerin
- 2 table spoon avocado oil
I freeze egg yolk in a sealed plastic bag in a flat shape, whenever I use the white part for a recipe. So normally I have one ready in the freezer. I broke a half of the frozen yolk and warmed it up while stirring. Then I added oil gradually then glycerin and at last rose water almost drop by drop.
This makes a nice emollient lotion that actually does the job so well. But since there is egg yolk with no preservative, I suggest you to make small amount and refrigerate after each use.
Why do we add egg yolk?
Egg yolk is a natural emulsifier. In each cream or lotion we have water phase and oil phase. Obviously they don’t go together. We need an agent to bind with both phase to make them mix well and stay together which is called emulsifier. Egg yolk is the available emulsifier at home, however in commercial lotions and creams available in the market there are many different emulsifiers with different properties specific for the type of emulsion.
Why do we add glycerin?
Glycerin has moisturizing properties and prevents excessive skin dryness. It also acts as emollient and keeps the skin moist and soft.
Why do we use rose water?
Rose water is suitable for sensitive skin and by experience it has shown it can reduce inflammation and redness.
The whole point of making this lotion was to avoid seeing dermatologist since many non-urgent doctor visit are cancelled because of current situation of quarantine and we are avoiding going out as much as possible. The other reason was to make chemical-free product that I feel confident putting on my daughter’s hands or myself. This product is very clean and safe and easy to make with simple ingredient.
After one or two applications I visibly noticed the improvement in her skin condition. She used it twice a day and the itching was gone, her hands got softer and they are not red anymore.
What I normally think of using in this condition is corticosteroid cream once or twice and then for maintenance and to prevent dryness I suggest using moisturizing cream specific for sensitive skins. We didn’t have any corticosteroid at home, I didn’t want to go to the pharmacy to buy it, I am not working in the pharmacy currently, and as I said earlier I wanted to avoid seeing a physician or dermatologist.
That was a success! I will share more of my recipes.
Let me know if you have tried any homemade lotion or cream and how was your experience?
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No way!! my hands got the same thing and i followed your AMAZING RECIPE. IT WORKED SO WELL. thank you so much. I LOVE YOUR BLOG.
OMG! this literally helped me so much!!!! Thank you for your recipe. It was so simple but still amazing.
I am glad you liked it, thank you so much for your comments
I am so happy it helped you, thank you so much for your comments.