Causes and Cures: Dry Cracked Fingers and Skin

1. Wear gloves when washing dishes

2. Use only SLS-Free soap like Burt's Bees sls-free soap ($6.79) to wash your hands


3. Switch to an SLS-free shampoo like this one from Burt's Bees ($7.99)

4. Limit skin's exposure to wind and cold temps

5. Limit use of waterless hand sanitizers


Nothing will heal your hands overnight (in fact, one study showed that damage caused by sls took an average of 17 days to completely heal!)

When you hear hoofbeats, don't look for zebras.

There are less simple causes of dry, cracked skin. But the overwhelming majority of dry cracked fingers is caused by sodium lauryl sulfate exposure. Before you go looking for dry skin 'zebras,' try looking for the 'horses' - products with SLS.

If your dry fingers only happen during the winter or get worse then, chances are very good that you're experiencing a common reaction to SLS. The other 'clue' is if the dryness and cracking gets worse during periods of heavy cleaning. The good news is that while this chemical is in nearly every cleaning and personal hygiene product you use, it's not too difficult to avoid.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is a common ingredient in bubble bath, liquid and bar soap, shampoo, dishsoap, toothpaste, and some mouthwash. It is usually added to increase 'foaming.'

SLS is made from coconuts, so companies using it claim that it is natural. I suppose that it is, but so is poison ivy and hemlock - and neither of those could be called safe.

In short, the authorities have deemed SLS as a safe ingredient in skincare products. And since it's not going to kill you, I guess it is safe.

But...

Sls is used to degrade skin integrity in laboratory tests.

The quick translation of that statement is that when a lab study wants to ruin the natural protective ability of skin, they turn to sls. That's right - if scientists want to harm skin, they use the very same ingredient that skincare companies are putting in your products.

If you want the science lowdown on sls, I've created a lens which gives the data - check here.

If you are thinking, "what now?" keep reading.

I've had two jobs that made my fingers crack and bleed.

Within one week of starting my cashiering job, my finger skin went from healthy to completely shattered - peeling, cracking, bleeding. It was awful. I figured out quickly that the problem was the plastic bags which I had to handle regularly. The areas worst affected were on my right index finger and thumb - where I was pinching the plastic bags! Apparently, the plastic bags were sucking all the oil out of my skin, leaving it dry and vulnerable.

While I continued to have a problem throughout my employment there, I managed to get on top of it by using an SLS free wax based hand cream (this one from Burt's Bees - $6.95) to coat my fingers often throughout my work shift.

The other job was managing a restaurant. Naturally, as I was working with food, I washed my hands constantly - and the soap and hand sanitizer the restaurant provided was loaded with sls. Applying hand cream during work shifts was a big no-no (who wants a little moisturizer on their sandwich?)

Thankfully, after I switched to using sls-free liquid soap, my skin recovered nicely - even though I was washing my hands 6 or more times every hour.

SLS doesn't make your hands any cleaner than SLS-free soap. It will make the bubbles foamier - but dirt and bacteria will wash away just as effectively with sls-free soap and water.

There are other jobs which typically lead to problems with dry skin on the hands.

Bank tellers or anyone who spends their day fingering paper, healthcare workers must wash their hands often, and people who handle cleaning chemicals on a regular basis will all find their hands suffering. Hairstylists spend their days washing hair (serious sls exposure) and often use harsh chemicals.

If you are working in one of those professions, give your hands a fighting chance by retaining your skin's natural ability to protect itself. Don't expose yourself to chemicals which strip away the skin's oils and moisture.

SLS can also cause canker sores (yep, it's in your toothpaste,) dry skin at the corners of your mouth, eczema, dry itchy skin and scalp.

What are these companies thinking? Here's an ingredient responsible for so many skin problems and they include it in nearly every skincare product they make!

The answer? They usually say that sls is deemed safe (which is true, technically) and that customers demand products with good foaming (which is also true, sadly.) But what it means to you is that your dry, cracked skin problems have no end in sight, unless you hit them where it hurts - their bank accounts.

There are a few, small companies producing skincare products that don't contain sls.

The surprise is who isn't producing sls-free products. Some of the companies who built their name on 'natural' products still include sls in their goods. Check the label!

I'll say it again -

Check the label!

Lush, Body Shop, Tom's of Maine - all use sls in their products. Crazy, right?

What's a little foam worth to you?