Winter weather has been tough on just about everyone in the U.S. this year. But hairdressers’ hands, already irritated by water, chemicals, detergents, prolonged glove wearing and high heat, really suffer in this weather. Studies show that, globally, four out of five hairdressers experience work-related skin irritations on their hands. And the cold, snow and wind experienced by most salon professionals—as well as their clients!—during this brutal winter especially have taken a toll on everyone's hands.

When the KALLISTA team in Geneva, Switzerland, was developing two new products for America's salon professionals—KALLISTA Daily Moisturizing Cream and KALLISTA Intensive Moisturizing Cream—the team discovered that the five most common signs of irritated hands endured by hairdressers were:

• chapping
• redness
• dryness
• sensitivity
• a tight skin feeling

Sound familiar? Take a look at your hands right now, and tell us about them in the comment section below.

Sharyl S. of J. Gordon Designs, Chicago, one of the brand’s early salon pro testers, told us, “In the winter my cuticles get so dry and cracked that they bleed. This cream is a great protective moisturizer suitable for everyone, regardless of age or gender. It smells nice and sinks in very fast. It helps keep my cuticles moisturized and free from cracking, and it makes my dry elbows look and feel much better.”

The key to caring for your hands—which, let’s face it, are your most precious professional tools—is to continually remind yourself to take care of them as you go through your workday as well as when you’re at home.

Applying hand cream is not difficult—but the cream doesn’t work if you don’t use it!

KALLISTA co-founder Linda Gillette Parodi, who began her career as a hairdresser, recommends setting ‘triggers” for hand cream application. The one we especially like is: “When a client says ‘thank you’ for making her hair look great, say ‘thank you’ to your hands with a kiss of KALLISTA Daily Hand Cream.”

At that same time, offer your client a kiss of KALLISTA hand cream to send her on her way with softer, smoother hands to complement her great ’do! She’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness—and on her next visit will be open to a suggestion of purchasing a pump bottle of her own.