Dry Chapped Hands

Yikes, my hands suddenly look weathered and ancient, near
cadaverous. Between colder weather and ammoniated cleaners it’s no
wonder. I dislike lotions,

feel icky and slimy. Anyone have some good home remedies?

bag balm and white cotton gloves at night works good on feet
too. (but use socks on feet)

An age old remedy for chapped hands is three parts glycerine to one
part soap liniment

Sam Trump.

Well, I am sure you will get a ton of advice on this subject, but you
might try parrafin wax (you dip your hands in it, take them out, let
them cool & then remove the wax.) It leaves your hands soft, but not
slimy like lotion may. Most bed, bath, beyond stores or similar sell
a little kit that heats the wax, etc.

If you were a lotion person I would also suggest Restoration
Hardware’s No-Crack hand cream–it is a great moisturizer, but it
will leave your hands slimy for a while–you just have to suffer
through the slime to have hands that have “no cracks”. It is not one
of those heavily scented kinds so you don’t have to worry about
smelling like a flower for the rest of the day. I will be interested
to see what others have to say on this subject.

Rose

I am a low-maintenance type but I do use Neutrogena Norwegian hand
cream-a little dab’ll do you.

In the cold weather, my hands actually bleed and for that, I use a
prescription Lac Hydrin with lots of urea in it. It burns
momentarily, but it does the job.

if you don’t want to make your own ( if you do email me and i’ll
give you a super easy recipt based on beeswax and simple
ingredients/process) there’s an over the counter product for cracked
hands in blue labeled packaging called “chap relief”. it comes in
spray on, balm, and tube formula’s that penetrate quickly and
relieve the deepest cracks overnight. I used to buy into a lot of all
natural ( this product line is all natural by coincidence), organic
health food store pricey stuff…this product line"crack relief" works
better, and is reasonably priced and easy to find and with the
various formats its easy to find one you prefer. I like the spray on
stuff…it’s non-greasy and beats burt’s bees, badger balm, bag balm,
and cloverine salves by a really long shot…i can apply, rub my hands
together, have a quick smoke, and then make jewelry without
fingerprinting it or oiling the workpieces up…not that a good dip in
acetone, alcohol, or other innocuous stripping bath aren’t
recommended first!..you get the picture…

R

try a mixture of :

1 cup aloe vera gel
and 1 tbsp olive oil
with a few drops of vitamin E oil and peppermint oil,
store in a squeeze bottle.
I have used this for years and it is very healing,

enjoy, suz
Nevada Cassidys
P.O. Drawer 528
Silver City, Nevada 89428

Try Vaseline before you go to sleep and wear a pair of thin cotton
gloves like glove liners. Your hands will be super soft in the a.m.
and you can wash them as many times as you want throughout the day
and they will still be soft. Repeat as needed.

Cheers!
J

Hi Neil;

Yikes, my hands suddenly look weathered and ancient, near
cadaverous. 

Two things. If you are using any “antiseptic” or especially
“antibacterial” hand soaps, stop using them. These really strip all
the oil out of your skin, and I’ve known a lot of jewelers, including
myself, who found that out the hard way. Use Ivory or some natural
hand soap. The best hand creams I’ve used are “Corn Husker’s Lotion”
or “Burt’s Bees” hand products. Corn Huskers soaks in and softens the
chapping, and doesn’t leave much sticky or oily feel. The Burt’s Bees
stuff is a tiny bit oily, but is very soothing for cracked skin. Some
people like “Bag Balm” but it’s a little greasy, I think.

David L. Huffman

My wife and I both suffer from chronic dry skin when the heat comes
on here in Pennsylvania. We’ve tried a bunch of things. The best I’ve
found for me is Lubriderm (recommended by more dermatologists ! :wink:
My wife get to the point where the tips of her fingers split and she
has to SuperGlue them together.

Brian Corll
Brian Corll, Inc.
1002 East Simpson Street
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

Hello Neil,

I notice that when the furnace starts coming on that my hands begin
to deteriorate - hang nails, splits, etc. The best solution is to
wear latex or other flexible type gloves that will keep the chemicals
off the skin. Not always possible though.

I’ve had good results from a hand cream called "Nothing Like It"
made by Cut Heal. It isn’t icky or slimy and seems to absorb well,
leaving a protective coating on the skin. Here’s the website for the
company, and the current charge is US$8.50 for an 8 oz tube (includes
shipping). If you Google, you’ll probably find other sources. Before
bed, I always wash & dry my hands and apply the cream (not much -
maybe a squirt about a quarter inch long) while the skin is slightly
moist. Really good for those nail cuticles and rough heels too.

Judy in Kansas, where the next week’s forecast is for sunny days in
the 70s with light wind. Guess whose hubby went fishing!

I lust Vaselines Nightly Renewal-- it comes in a purple bottle, has
grape seed oil and a hint of lavender. This is some really great
stuff ! I use it only at night and I also am not a lotion person but
it works so well, it isall I will use.

Take care all,
Tina
www.createdwithfire.com

Hi

Yikes, my hands suddenly look weathered and ancient, near
cadaverous. 

I have this problem pretty much every year. It used to be much worse
when my sons were babies(I obsessively washed my hands tens of times
daily). I agree about not using antibacterial soap, that stuff turns
my hands dry and bleeding overnight. I wanted to add that when the
temp drops below 40, I wear gloves. They don’t have to be heavy, just
something to keep the dry, cold winter air out.

Good Luck
Kim

Use Burt’s Bee’s Hand Salve. Another jeweler recommended it to me.
It’s great! Buy it at Walgreen’s drug store or oddly enough, book
stores.

Neil -

Something to try is Working Hands which is a paste (not lotion -
quite thick). I’ve had good luck with this. The other thing I use
sometimes when I’m doing a lot of production and washing my hands a
lot, which chaps them, is a barrier cream called Gloves in a Bottle.

You can google them for sources - I got the Working Hand at
drugstore.com and the Gloves in a Bottle at an art supply store.

Ivy

I have a lot of trouble with chapped hands and fingers that crack and
bleed. No product is foolproof but I have had some real success with
using creamy petroleum jelly. It’s not as greasy as vaseline and it
really seems to absorb into the skin. Like anything else, you need to
apply it regularly for best benefit.

Try “Fruit of the Earth”. It’s aloe vera gel. There are two versions:
aloe vera lotion and aloe vera. I live in northern NM where the
humidity is usually low and I do a lot of lapidary work. It’s made in
Texas and I’ve found it from MD to CA. The gel is absorbed quickly
and leaves no greasy feeling.

Kevin Kelly