Cure for Dry Hands

Try vaseline or any kind of petroleum jelly at night with a glove on. I work with chemicals and get dirty hands so I have to wash my hands constantly. This is the only thing that I found that works and doesn't cost a fortune.

Use a little sugar with either a mild hand soap or even dish detergent the soap washes as the sugar exfoliates the dead skin cells and rough spots leaving them soft and nice.
I learned this from my ex sister-in-law that had over 40 years in the grocery business at the time I use it when mine get rough from the same business.
It works the sugar actually feeds the skin to to help repair the damage done.

Eucrine cream--not lotion is what my dermatologist recommended to me. I have "chicken skin" on my hands and feet.

And this stuff works.

At first it feels likes it is so heavy it won't go in, and you have to rub it in. But use it in moderate amounts and it goes in. It lasts two days for me. I wash my hands moderately throughout the day. You can find it in most drug stores.

Hello A.,
My name is T. and I have two suggestions for you. Either try some bag balm, which I think you can get at any drug store. My second suggestion would be to buy a container of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries. They carry something called Chapped Hands Cleanser that is "Soap Free". It contains aloe vera oil and jojoba oil that highly moisturizes the skin. It works wonders. It's a little bit pricey but worth the money. Just add the cleanser and then wash it off with water, nothing else. It's fragrance free and none of their products are tested on animals. For the most effective results apply Dr. Hiosous Quince Hand lotion after using the cleanser. Then slip on cotton gloves and leave it on over night. Good luck.

A.,
We live in a very dry area of Oregon. Every night before bed I put on Neutragena dry hand creme. It is a little weird because it turns white before it soaks in, it is just my favorite, non-greasy creme. For my kids and myself when it is really bad, we do hand socks. Just cut the toe part out of an old pair of cotton socks, snip a thumb hole and rub Aquaphor generously on your skin, put on the hand socks and go to bed like normal. It works better than anything else we have ever tried. Several friends of mine have adopted the same system and had great results.
Good luck,
K.

I LOVE anti-crack creme. It is in the first-aid section at Albertsons. It stops hands from cracking and peeling. It's a homeopathic liquid remedy that comes in liquid and creme.

By the way (I hope no one else reads this) - I avoid using soap when washing my hands, unless I went to the bathroom. Chlorine in the water removes a lot of germs. Also, I NEVER use anti-bacterial soap. NO Purell - VERY drying. My immune system can't handle and it makes my daughter's hands peel.

Also, I learned only to wash my hands when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Dry cracking hands have been a big problem for me all my life. Make sure you use moisturing soaps only and that they have no alcohol in them.

Lush Cosmetics.... Lemony Flutter. It's a thick cream made with a whole lemon, shea and coconut butters. Awesome stuff. It's a great cuticle cream, all over hand cream, great on elbows, knees and heels too!!! Go to a Lush store and they'll give you a hand treatment where they massage your hands with the lemony flutter then they use Ocean Salt on your hands. It's a salt scrub made with 2 different sea salts, vodka and an oil. They'll rub this all over your hands and it takes the dead, dry cells off your hands. Rinse it off with warm water and rub a Buffy Bar over them. The Buffy Bar is shea and coconut butters with ground almonds in the bar. Moisturizes and emollient properties. Then a dab of Dream Cream to top it all off. Your hands will be as soft as a baby's bottom. Protected from the elements. Do this about once a week. Use the lemony flutter on your cuticles every evening while you're watching tv or before you go to bed. The Buffy Bar you should keep at the sink, either in the bathroom or the kitchen, even both... so after you wash your hands rub your hands over this bar much like you would use a bar of soap. This will help to keep them soft and clear of dry skin.

The Buffy Bar is great to keep in the shower/bath as well. Use it just before you step out of the shower. Rub it on your legs and arms, then rinse to get rid of the almond pieces. The Ocean Salt is great to use on your legs and arms when you first get in the shower.

The products are 100% handmade, with natural occurring ingredients... all done in Vancouver BC. Stores in the Seattle area are at the Westlake Mall and Bellevue Square. Portland has a shop as well. You can always order on line at www.lush.com. Great products.

For those times when you just need 30 minutes to yourself, get a bathbomb and a bubble bar, run a tub of warm water crumble the bubble bar while the water is running (everlasting emolient bubbles) and the bathbomb... a fizzy in the tub, and relax.... you deserve it. If momma isn't happy, no one is happy!!!! Take good care!!!

Hi A.! I am a massage therapist, so taking care of my hands is critical. When my hands get dry and my cuticles are cracking I use "Skin Doctor". It is an organic product made here in Bend OR, by Angelina Skincare. You can check out her website at: www.angelinaskincare.com. It is naturally antibiotic and antifungal, and makes your skin very soft. I often put it on at night or in the evening and wear gloves for a little while to help it absorb. It is slightly oily for a little bit, but a little goes a long way and it absorbs quickly. I carry a small tin in my purse too! Hope this helps!
D. B., LMT

Kiehls products are amazing. When I was pregnant I had super dry hands all the time, and Kiehls helped! They are a little spendy, but worth it! Check them out online:
http://www.kiehls.com/_us/_en/home/index.aspx

Hi A.!
You've received some really great responses so far, but I wanted to give you one more option... Dry, cracked hands seem to run in my family, especially during Oregon winters. My son was born 2 mos premature so we were in the NICU for 4 weeks. The soaps they use in the hospital are very harsh, not to mention the hand sanitizers, so my already dry hands quickly felt like sandpaper & were cracking & bleeding. I noticed that the lanolin I was using for the breast shields during pumping said "also for dry cracked skin." Light bulb went on! I started rubbing small amounts into the cracks after every time I washed my hands, which in the hospital is A LOT. (BTW, it doesn't sting at all either!) It does feel a bit greasy before if soaks into your skin, but it does soak in. I would rub an even more generous amount into the cracks & on my knuckles at night before bedtime. I noticed a difference in just a few hours, and in 48-72 hours the cracks were nearly healed! Best of all, lanolin is CHEAP (2oz tube for around $5) and can be used for lots of other things too!

Here is a fun website I found listing top 10 uses for the Lansinoh brand of lanolin.

http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/top-10-uses-for...

Good luck!

~ R.

I have a lotion that works well for me and many others. Any lotion will work best if you apply it at night before you go to bed so it has a chance to work for a few hours. Here's a link for information:
http://www.bellamiacandle.scent-team.com/products/bellaba...

Feel free to contact me if you'd like to try a free sample.

Aveeno Baby fragrance-free is the kind that you supposedly only have to put on once at night. It's also rated very well on skindeep.org as a low/no chemical product. Something about the dimethicone is supposed to make it last 24 hours. Good luck.

I am a cook and my hands are always dry, the gloves I wear cause itching and cracking if I don't use enough hand lotion. I found that Udder cream lotion and aveeno skin relief moisturizing lotion work the best for me.

A.,

Isn't it amazing how much we start having to wash our hands when we are at home all day?!?

Anyways, my company sells a product called Miracle Oil. It is wonderful for everything you described about your hands. You could apply 1-2 times daily and be good. A couple of drops and boom, dry skin is gone. Let me know if you want to try it. It is normally $26 a bottle but I am willing to give it to you at my cost of $16 -- Also, this goes for anyone else from Mamasource who wants to try it!!

Give me a call or email if you do want to try it.

T.
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A.,

I didn't read all of your responses, so I hope I am not repeating someone. I have had really dry, cracked hands one time and I would put corn husker lotion on at night and then put socks over my hands. It took a few nights, but it worked.

The best thing to cure dry hands is Olive Oil!! Just pour a little bit on your hands over the sink...a very small amount!! Rub it into your hands until they don't feel super greasy. Just one time of doing this and you will see a major improvement!!!

Another trick, when doing the dishes, put a bunch of olive oil or creamy lotion on, then put dish gloves on and get to work. When you're done, take the gloves off and pat your hands dry. They will be super soft!

Good luck!!!

=) S.

Hmm, have you tried Skin Food from Weleda? You can find it at New Seasons, etc. I like that alot, some may find it too greasy, but it does help my dry hands.

I second the Neutrogena hand creme. It's the only thing that's worked for me!

I also use Aveeno Skin Relief moisturizing lotion, and must reapply often. I also wear gloves for housework to protect from chemicals and eliminate extra handwashing. Costco has inexpensive nitrile disposable gloves which are non-allergenic, and fit snugly enough to use for food prep or diaper changing.

My hands are inherently dry and I feel like Neutrogena is by far the best help!! I put it on each night as I get into bed and in the morning, my hands are baby butt soft. It is thick, but they now have a rapid absorb formula and that might be better. I haven't tried it yet.

The other thing I would strongly recommend is getting a set of Mary Kay "Satin Hands". Just use it once a week and it's wonderful!! If your husband helps, it's also a nice way to treat yourself! :)

I second the vaseline and gloves advice. Eczema runs in my family and although we have prescriptions for our skin, even the allergist suggested the vaseline. Put some on at night, put some cloth gloves over it and your hands will feel silky smooth the next morning. It's also great for the tootsies too! Much cheaper than anything else out there, good to know during these tightening of the belt times.

I second the Renue from Melaluca! It is so great, I can't even believe it!

I do!! But it's sort of a shameless self promotion!! I use (and sell) Arbonne products, and we have the absolute best hand cream (FC5 Ultra Hydrating Hand Cream)! Keep in mind, however, it's not only the hand cream you're using, but the type of soap or cleansing gel you are using to wash your hands, since this is such an intregral part of your life with little ones around. Soap can strip your protective acid mantle from your skin causing your hands to become dry and not retain the moisture you are applying over and over again. So you want to be sure you are using a gentle formula for cleansing too... And of course Arbonne's got great cleansers/gels for that. Another option for your cuticles is Arbonne's Skin Conditioning Oil, which is seriously out of this world in terms of healing and keeping your cuticles in check.

Take a look at my website if you're interested, or give me a call. I'm happy to hook you up.

Pam
www.pamelagreb.myarbonne.com
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Aveda makes "Hand Relief". It is very spendy but I think the best hand lotion out there! Ebay is the bast spot to find it cheap.

I use Mary Kay Satin Hands treatment once a week. Works wonders! You might also get hand soap that has a touch of lotion in it...

I was in your place at one time and I understand what you are going through. My Mom says that vaseline works great for her hands and feet, she applies at night and wears socks, it didn't work for me. I exhausted all lotions and creams and finally went to a dermatologist and with a prescription got it handled. On occasion I still get very dry hands but nothing like what I used to have, and just using a good thick cream in the evenings has it under control. This was quite a few years ago, the medication was acid based, but not painful, and really did the trick for me.

I have a hard time with dry hands also. The treatment stuff like bag balm and corn huskers don't do much for me. My favorite cream so far has been the Aveda hand repair. It's expensive, but you don't need much and it works great. You can buy a travel size to try it out. Also I remember a few years ago, Real Simple had a best of hand creams, so if you go to their website you might find something there. I have some Orjone (or is it Orjine?) body lotion right now that actually works quite well. Good luck!

Hey A., all five of my kids have really bad exzeama. The absolute BEST thing for and dry skin is oatmeal bath. You can buy it at the grocery store and generally its one packet to a bath tub of water, but i also had really bad dry skin on my hands so I did one packet to a sink of water. Works like a charm! Also pick up some CETAPHIL cream and use that after. Try it, you wont be dissapointed.

I used to work as a florist, where your hands are constantly in water and getting cut up. At the end of the day, I would have sore, cracked, dry hands. It was never-ending. I tried every lotion and potion I could. The best was using Bag Balm at night with socks or gloves on, which gave my hands some time to repair. BUT I know what you mean about wanting to do something during the day! A light lotion would be nice to have to help.

In addition to bag balm, I used a silicone-based hand cream that I bought through Avon. I am sure you could find a silicone-based cream somewhere else. The silicone seemed to help it not wash off/stick around longer.

The best thing I found to help was actually purchasing a hot wax pot to dip my hands in. Also this was the most relaxing thing to do! You can get them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The wax lasts a long time, so the initial investment is the most costly ($30-40?)...then you can purchase additional wax blocks as needed. If you have no idea what this is, go get a manicure and ask to have your hands dipped in wax - it's an extra fee, but so worth it! My hands always felt soft and back to normal for a day or two afterwards. At home I would do this every day and it was like HEAVEN!

The best way to cure dry skin is from the inside out, because as you say, you are always washing your hands and whatever you put on gets washed off. So the best way is to take a high quality fish oil. Make sure it is mercury free though. A lot of fish oils now contain mercury because of the scope of mercury contamination in seafood. I get mine from www.mercola.com in the form of antarctic krill oil and it is mercury free. I also use coconut oil for cooking because it is the only oil stable enough to cook with, without turning to a trans fat. But the best part is whenever I get it on my hands, I rub it into my skin and it soaks in very quickly. If you get a good quality coconut oil it wont have been heat treated so will still contain antioxidants and it has wonderful medicinal qualities as well. I heard that it got rid of athletes foot when rubbed on your feet. So there are lots of really great uses for coconut oil. I get mine at www.tropicaltraditions.com or you can get it really inexpensively at a local store in downtown Bellingham called Otions. I always get really rough dry skin in the winter and this winter I kept putting coconut oil on my hands and it was much better this year and I only had to use the oil during the really cold spell we had. Staying well hydrated and avoiding caffeine will help as well. I hope this helps.

T.

Wear gloves when washing dishes, scrubbing bathtubs polishing furniture etc so you won't be constantly washing your hands.
The best hand cream is called "Working Hands" amazing stuff.
You purchase it at Bartell drugs, it actually works!
Get a manicure every 2 weeks to combat cuticle pain.
This works for me.

I have eczema and thus have tried a million and one lotions and creams out there. I have found through trial and error that nothing beats Aveeno overnight cream, intense relief moisture cream or repair cream. What you want is a cream as opposed to a lotion because lotions are water based and therefore require you to apply them more frequently as well as actually making your hands drier in the long run. A oil based cream will trap the moisture in your skin for a longer period of time. For my feet I use a thick body butter cream. Those are pretty greasy though. That's what I like about Aveeno creams. They go on smooth and quick and keep me moisturized without the greasiness. Good luck! :)

I wish I could help...have the same problem!

Here are a couple of ideas. Get gloves for dishwashing. I used to hate washing dishes with gloves, but now I do it because cracked, bleeding hands are MUCH WORSE!

Something you might try is to see if you can get a moisturizing hand sanitizer. I remember when I was at the hospital (in TX) they had this hand sanitizer that was kind of like lotion--at least, it had a moisturizing effect. Then when you want your hands clean but they aren't looking dirty (like after blowing your nose or something like that) then use the sanitizer instead of washing them.

Hope that helps!