Sweaty hands? Not with the right undergloves

These days, it has become almost normal for gloves to be worn, not only at work, but also in the private sphere. Surely some of you know the topic that the hands start to sweat in some gloves. What can be done about it? The protection professionals have compiled the most important tips.

Undergloves – who needs them?

In many professions, the wearing of occupational safety gloves is mandatory. This can lead to some challenges, especially if the gloves are not breathable and at certain temperatures. People who have to deal with sweaty hands therefore like to use undergloves, which can easily provide relief.  Wearing work gloves can be a challenge, and not only on warm summer days.

"At high temperatures, which can not only be caused by the weather, and long work assignments, sweaty hands can occur," says Sonia Niedhart (Managing Director AAV GmbH) "Especially due to the accumulated heat and the body's own sweat, it can lead to softened skin on the hands. This means that pollutants and pathogens penetrate the skin more quickly."

Does sweating in the glove put a strain on the skin?

Let's imagine that liquid-tight chemical protective gloves are worn during a prolonged work assignment. If you work for a longer period of time with colloquially known as rubber or plastic gloves, sweating is inevitable. However, since the wearing time cannot or must not simply be shortened, especially for such work, it is necessary to protect the skin of the hands.

Perfect for this use are so-called undergloves, preferably made of cotton. These breathable cotton gloves are very skin-friendly and can also score points in the area of moisture balance. If necessary, the pair of undergarments can also simply be replaced. Just in case, there are also hanging devices that allow the user to hang up the gloves to dry. However, this is not useful or possible in every industry or application.

Skin protector against skin softening

Many occupational health and safety dealers advise against the use of special skin protection products that are intended to reduce skin softening caused by sweating in gloves. According to ongoing studies, there is no convincing result to date that proves sweat reduction.

After the work is done, special attention should be paid to the care and regeneration of the skin. When skin care for the hands, care should be taken to ensure a good balance of moisture and fat, so that the skin is well protected and recovered before the next work assignment.