I keep forgetting to use ANY cream, and I probably have a dozen by my bed! Too tired at the end of the day!

When I do use some, I have a tube of Mary Kay's overnight super something concoction: the Satin Hands line. Thick, almost greasy, but wonderful feeling the next morning. The Satin Hands "ordinary" handcream is also divine.

Also on the bedside table are a container of Shea Butter (there was a LONG thread on this on maybe this forum, or one over on That Home Site a year or more ago, w/ close to a hundred responses, and those people raved about Shea Butter, being FAR better than anything w/ Mineral Oil in it), a jar of unscented thick cream from Restoration Hardware, various Bath & Body Works' items. One of the B & B lotions is almost as nice as the Mary Kay Satin Hands' product. I've had good results w/ Udder Cream, which might be similar to BagBalm.

I treat myself to fake fingernails, and have been for almost a year. If my own were strong, I'd skip the fake ones. Fake ones look okay for a few days, then decline rapidly. But I NEVER have to worry about a nail snagging on laundry, I can dig/plant/ etc to my heart's content, and except for the dirt ground in around the nails, and the rough skin on my hands, the "fake nails" make my hands look nice! LOL! Truely, if I didn't have the fake ones, my nails would be bitten short, the cuticles ragged, and there'd be NOTHING nice for people to look at (self included!) --hand hiding here, too!

Susi.

I like Burts Bees hand ointment. Comes in round flat tin about 4" across and a texture like vasoline but smelling of strong herbs. THere are several others I have used but always come back to Burts. Badger makes some but they are petroleum based and I prefer a plant oil or lanolin based one..something really greasy that settles into all the cracks. IT has to be a tough one. Lotions are nice and smell good but too light weight.

I tried a really nice hand cream at walmart yesterday. it is hemp and smells tropical (reminds me of hawaii). a large bottle also.

My vote is in for Burt's Bee Hand Salve. Yes, it is greasy at first, but it soaks into your hands. Great "Herb" smell. Kind of like rosemary. I also like the burts bee lip salve. When I'm in a real hurry I wipe some of the hand salve onto my lips also, probable the same stuff as their lip salve. Heidi

Here is the stuff I like, mentioned above. I like Burt's Bees salve to for both lips and hands.

Here is a link that might be useful: Udder Balm

Burts it is. Yes, it's pretty greasy when you put it on, and a strong scent as well, but if your hands are in rough shape, as all of ours are during our season, then those wimpy lotions just won't do. My husband has problems with cracked finger tips, and for him, nothing works like bag balm. I like burts the best. And hey, it even says on the tin, "A farmers friend". So there you have it!
Cheryl

Thanks All for your helpful responses...looking forward to giving a couple of these things a try..appreciate it! Randi

I just thought I would toss this in, but you may already know it. Before you can put on the cream, you have to get rid of the dirt. And the only thing I use any more is Boraxo Powdered Hand Soap. It's gentle on your hands, but really gets the dirt out/off. My brother the grease monkey says it gets his hands clean, too. It can sometimes be hard to find, and if the store has it, it's either on the very top or very bottom shelf.

Sue

Pooch, are you talking about CORONA cream? In the yellow tube with black and red writing? I've got some here, says for horses, cattle, etc-- it's bag balm with a different name. Same basic ingredients. I'm good at creams because my daughter had hellacious eczema for the first year of her life ... bag balm worked wonders on her shredded, dried out legs (same stuff as this CORONA cream)... It's good but it STINKS. I HATE the smell. Burt's Bees is good- doesn't work quite as well IMO but the smell is much more pleasant. I also like Aquaphor, the pricier version of Eucerin cream. But nothing really helps my cracked cuticles ... Yuck. Oh and then sometimes I let my nails get too long and they start shredding and cracking, too... what a mess.

Kristen

No, KristenMarie, I linked what I was talking about above: it's a cream version of udder balm made by Dionne, light to no scent, not as greasy as vaseline-based Bag Balm but riddled with lanolin, Vit A and D. Works very well and I'm out of it, wouldn't you know.

Ah yes, wrecked hands, the occupational misery all gardeners have in common! For those nasty, painful skin cracks near the top of the fingernail, that just won't go away, I use Burt's Bees hand salve (it's called Farmer's Friend) or Bag Balm or another product I get from a local crafter that is very similar, only slightly waxier, and heavily lavendar-scented. The waxier and thicker, the better. Whichever I use, after washing thoroughly, I apply the salve liberally - really glob it on, especially in and around the cracks - just before bed, then put a clean white sock over each hand. I suppose cotton gloves would work as well but I don't have any, and socks work just fine. Leave the socks/gloves on all night. By morning, all the skin is soft and the cracks don't hurt any more. I don't use a fresh pair of socks on my hands every night, just keep re-using the already-salve-impregnated gloves, which work better, the more salve they have absorbed (yes, I wash them eventually!).

When I have cracks like that, I'm more motivated to use gloves when I'm working. I use rubber/plastic household gloves, not the thin ones for dishwashing, but one grade thicker than that. They are orange and come in see-through plastic packages here. I don't like anything heavier because then I can't feel what I'm doing through the gloves, and don't like anything lighter because I poke holes in them. If it's too cold for rubber gloves, I wear a pair of polypro glove liners and wear one size larger household gloves to go over them (I buy both sizes routinely - it's cold here more often than not). As far as I'm concerned, cloth gloves are worse than nothing. I can't feel through them BUT the dirt still gets through and stains my hands.

You can use any of the heavier waxy/Vaseline-y salves under your garden gloves, too, for even happier skin, unless it's so hot your hands are sweating in there. In that case, don't bother with salves until your gloves are off.

Ray, where do you get your Gloves in a Bottle stuff? It sounds like it's worth a try. I'm wondering if it's anything like the crafter-made lavender-scented stuff I use, which is actually named Before the Garden and is meant to be put before working, to keep the dirt from adhering. I love the stuff but don't use it that way - it wears off too soon for me and therefore ends up being a waste of money. I love using it for my night treatment, though. It's very waxy.

Jeanne

We get ours through a local industrial jobber who services the industrial parks, but you can go to www.glovesinabottle.com--I'm not posting it as a link. It costs $13-14 dollars for an 8-ounce bottle plus shipping, so it's kind of pricey, but a bottle lasts a long time.

It isn't a softening cream; it's designed to function as a thin, chemical-resistant glove. It is an alternative to a latex glove for those who are latex-sensitive.

The molecules of the cream bond with the cells of your skin. As you shed the skin cells, you also shed the cream, so you don't have to scrub it off. I've used it as a protectant for poison ivy, lime, hay dust, sodium hypochlorite, and all kinds of cleaners. It won't protect against everything, but it does a lot. One nice thing about it is that you can spread it on skin gloves can't cover--arms, legs. And you sweat through it, so you don't have the damp squishies of gloves.

Ray

AHAVA Hand Cream made with dead sea salts is excellent and repairs cracked fingers enough to go public in one day. My dil first bought this in Isreal and after she raved about it I got online. I buy it direct from Isreal at a good price if I buy the amount to get the best shipping. It is also sold in upscale touristy type shops here in the states. Link below is to my source.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ahava products

I was born with very dry skin and have dealt with it all my life. In school, kids used to tease me because my skin was so dry and wrinkled and looked like "old peoples skin". Consequently I have tried, at one time or another, almost every product in my search for something really wonderful. At a herb festival last year I discovered one that is at the top of my list and is made by Laughing Rabbit Soap Company in Choctaw, Oklahoma. See their website www.lrsoaps.com. The product is called "Emu Hand and Body Butter"
I have Burt's Bees and it's okay and found that Bag Balm was a waste of money for me as are most of the rest. I was using Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion by Galderma Labs and thought that was pretty darn good but this Emu stuff is wonderful.

Bob

For bad cracky hands might I suggest an oldfashioned product called Mazon.. my Gran used it and so do I 40 years later.never fails M

I just saw this product for painful, cracked skin at the grocery store last night. I have no idea if it works, but for those who are badly affected it might be worth a try.

Nexcare First Aid, Skin Crack Care

Here is a link that might be useful: Nexcare site

I have not found anything that quite compares to O'Keefe's Working Hands Creme - formulated by a dairy farmer's pharmacist daughter - because her fathers hands would get so cracked and bloody he couldn't work. This stuff is wonderful and FAST! Go to www.workinghandscreme.com.
An 8 oz tube is about $5.99

Debbie.....WOW....I just love this Emu Hand and Body Butter. After I read this I ordered two jars online. It is indeed a great product and the scent is nice also. Also, what delightful people to deal with...they enclosed a personal note and sent a purse sized butter and soap free. thanks for the recommendation.

and wouldn't you know I already have one of those annoying thumb-end cracks formed on my dominant thumb. I'll be scouting out these posts and recommendations again sooner than I wished.

I'm tempted to order the Emu cream just to deal with someone who encloses a personal note! How very nice.

msgreenjeans, I'm confused. Did you order the Emu Hand and Body Butter that Bob recommended, or the Ahava products from Israel that Debbie recommended?

I'm sure both are great, maybe I ought to order both and compare!

Susi.

Hey, sorry about addressing my previous praise about the Laughing Rabbit Emu cream to Debbie when I should have said "Bob"! the products are available at www.lrsoaps.com.

I am so happy that the Emu Hand and Body is making a hit with folks. I wouldn't have recommended it if I wasn't certain about the benefits as I have tried so, so many products.
The folks who make and sell the stuff are just as nice in person as they seem by mail.

Bob

Well, I'm in trouble... because of nails cracking into the quick, I've been wearing latex (and sometimes, non-latex) gloves sold in any store like Target.

And then I started getting weird little bumps under the skin of my palms, in little quarter-sized patches, and these bumps itched so much I thought I had some kind of chigger-type parasite.

Noooooo. The doc said, "it's from too much handwashing, doctors get it all the time" and I said, "well, how about spending all morning every morning in sweaty plastic gloves?" and he said, "yup, that will do it" and prescribed a steroid cream. :( Booo!

But anyway, the emu stuff sounds great but my problem is more vertical cracks down the center of my nails, especially the thumbs, into the quick, more than cracks in the skin. Does anybody know of a nail product? maybe some kind of equine hoof salve, if such a thing exists?

what i usually do it after i wash my hands put ona good hand lotion. I have it setting by the sink all the time that way i cant forget. The other thing you might want to try is vaseline ( which yes will make your hands repell water ) which will help hold in the moisture. Or a really strong foot cream might work because they are made for moisturizing tough dry skin. Wishi could do more. Good luck!

When I get a skin crack, I do the lotion or whatever thing, & then, before I go to bed I dab Vaseline onto the cut & put a bandaid on it. By morning it's usually healed. Don't know if it'd work for the nails, but it's worth a try. Karen

Hi Guys,

I am a lurker and usually read and absorb all the truly great knowledge on this forum...don't have a favorite hand cream, but for the small cuts, nicks and cracks, try using the liquid skin, available at any pharmacy...not exactly cheap as would need to be applied regularly, but actually "seals" the cut or nick with a layer that keeps them from splitting further....hope this helps :>)

I enjoy this forum!!

Jeatonne

THis is the best stuff that I've found - it's the only thing that has worked for my mom's terribly chapped and cracked hands too.

Here is a link that might be useful: NexCare cream

After decades of search for a solution to my severely dry hands and peeling cuticles, I have finally found a product that really works. I have used literally hundreds of different products over the years, from the cheapest to the most expensive. A great product for anyone who has severely dry skin or uses their hands lot for gardening and housework like I do, is a very reasonably priced product called Mi Fine Skin. The top two ingredients are glycerin and lanolin They make a soapless, fragrance-free cleanser, a lotion and a nice thick cream. I use the lotion during the day and the cream along with a high grade lanolin called "Lanisoh" (available in drugstores in the baby product aisle) or from drugstore.com at night (with cotton gloves on my hands). The Mi Fine skin products make your skin feel soft and moisturized and my cuticles are as smooth as silk. Many of those other products made my skin feel worse, not better and were often heavy and greasy---yuck! The Mi Fine Skin lotion and cream have a very subtle fragrance, but it's not bothersome (I had eczema as a child, so I have sensitive skin on my hands and if this fragrance doesn't bother me, it won't bother anyone) and does not compete with other fragrances you might be wearing. I have had the worst luck with many skin moisturizers that contain petroleum or mineral oil (made my problem of peeling, dry skin much much worse)---the Mi Fine Skin products don't contain this ingredient (or 25 other ingredients that have the potential to irritate). For the first time I feel as if I have normal skin on my hands. I strongly urge anyone who's looking for a solution to their dry skin woes to give these products a try! You can find them at www.mifineskin.com or by calling them at 1-800-433-1477. They will send you a free sample if you wish to try the products before purchasing them. Good luck and thanks for this discussion! If you have questions, please let me know.

I have been using Hemp Chanvre I found at the "Body Body Shop" in the Seattle Airport. So far that is the best for penetrating my crusty layers and cuticles. I also use Rite Aid's Cracked Heel Softner with Emu oil but it's a bit greasy so I do save that for the feet covered with socks.

I do the same as Karen. Sometimes, if the crack is bleeding or especially tender and pink I'll use a triple antibiotic cream, but not very often.

I too find the Crabtree and Evelyn Gardener's Hand Therapy to be very good on my hands. I also like the Bag Balm and Burt's Bees hand salve but they do feel quite greasy to me so i use them sparingly.

And regarding the Burt's Bees, they have a salve that contains comfrey that does an excellent job for me when I've been out working in the rose or berry patches and I've been scratched and punctured by thorns. After I shower up I rub the comfrey salve into my wounds and by morning I am pretty much healed. The salve is very soothing to my minor scrapes and cuts.

Grimmy

My hands get horrible during winter.Last year there was an elderly woman who overheard me complaining to my husband about my hands when I was paying for something and she swore by an avon lotion with aloe.She pulled some out of her pocket that she carried with her. A week or so ago they had a free shipping deal going online and a heap of hand creams on sale for 1.79 a piece so I bought of of each kind :) Cause I couldn't
remember the name and they are good sized so I figured they will take me through winter and gardening season : So far the one with aloe is my favorite too :) But there is another one that is more of a thick salve type called intensive that is good and I will be using when ithe weather gets colder and in pulling weeds season next year :).
Heidi

I worked at a tree seedling nursery (for reforestation) and the girls -- the guys were wierded out at the thought, used a cream called 'Udderly Smooth' for cows udders. Same concept as bag balm I suppose. This stuff has peppermint in it too, which helped with the girls' stiff sore hands from repetitive work. (BTW tendonitis ran rampant there.)

I get the feeling that people are confusing bag balm and udder balm. They are not the same thing. Bag balm is petroleum based (made from oil products) where Udder Balm is made from aloe, lanolin and a bunch of vitamins. Udder Balm was designed for the same purpose as bag balm, to protect cows udders, but in my opinion is much better for humans. Udder Balm is in fact registered as a human use product, where bag balm is for animals only.

as for udderly smooth, it is a cheap watery knockoff of udder balm. It does not soak in as quickly or last as long.

Udder Balm is definately the best way to go for my hands when they are dry and cracked. The best deals are usually at http://www.originaludderbalm.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Original Udder Balm

I had a pottery teacher that said washing your hands in warm or hot water was a large part of the problem, said hot water chaps and cold water bothers arthritis, so take your choice.
I use Jergens, the kind that is supposed to keep the hair from growing back so thick on your legs. lol. It doesn't work on the leg part but is nice on your hands.
If my hands get really bad, and they do in the winter, I slather vaseline over my hands and put old socks over my hands before I go to sleep. In the morning my hands are so much smoother.
susan

For those dry cracked hands I first use a product called "Pretty Feet and Hands" which actually removes all the rough stuff. Then apply Curel. I swear by this pair! Never fails.

i make lotion bars which are cheap and easy to make (if you can melt butter you can make them). you can actually see the water bead up on your skin and skin gets soft too. i use them on my dry cracked feet too. if i remember to use it they don't crack. recipe: 1 part beeswax; 1 part cocoa butter; 1 part coconut oil; melt and pour into mold (can be plastic bottle bottom or soap mold) let cool, pop out and use. lots of recipes on internet under lotion bars. sandy

Does anyone know where I can get Delon Vitamin E dry skin cream that comes in a round white jar with gray lid, 16 oz? Thanks for your help!

I'm a family physician with eczema and a latex allergy who also loves to garden. I'm lucky to have a sister who raises her own bees and makes lotion bars similar to those recommended by sandy_s. They do work well. The important hints for anyone dealing with dry skin:

-Keep hands/skin protected with non-latex gloves whenever possible
-wash with cool or tepid water
-moisturize immediately after washing with some cream or lotion that forms a moisture barrier (lanolin,shea butter,bees wax,petroleum, etc.)
-at night, gob on a similar cream and cover with cotton gloves or socks
-if cracks are a problem use the crack sealing products like Nexcare.(Before that was available we used super glue!)
-My nails were never stronger than when I was taking prenatal vitamins, so a good multi vitamin might help cracking nails--but it will take months to see results.

More important than the actual products we use is the consistancy with which we use them. It is much better to prevent the dry symptoms by starting treatment before the dry season is in full swing, rather than trying to fix a problem in the height of the dry season. Best of luck everyone!
Martha

I use Bonny Doon Lavender Gardener's Salve and others I know have also raved about this salve. Lavender essential oil is very healing for skin and the fragrance is relaxing and good for muscle aches.

I was recently at a craft fair and tried some emu oil and I was amazed at how the oil penetrated my skin but was not oily or greasy immediately after use. The folks who raise emu and were demonstrating the emu oil had me pick up a piece of paper to see if any oil residue was left on the paper immediately after I used the oil and it wasn't. They also raved about all the benefits of emu oil, its healing properties, and how it is one of the few oils that actually penetrates through to the deeper layers of skin. I am going to try some emu oil and lotion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonny Doon Farm

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The other thought I have had, reading through these posts, is that, for me, if I am not careful about keeping hydrated, my cuticles will crack, even to bleeding, and I get awful hangnails. If I am careful about drinking water, they go away quickly, and I just don't get them. The other thing I have found is that if I take essential fatty acids, or Omega 3 fats, as olive oil, flaxseed oil or evening primrose oil, my skin on my hands stays good. Hope this can help some of you.

I have been making my own hand cream for decades. It's so easy to make. A quick fix is to get wheat germ oil and a pair of cotton gloves. Just apply the wheat germ oil over hands and put on cotton gloves overnight.
If anyone wants my recipe, just email me.

I don't think anyone mentioned Vitamin E oil.. Well - if you want the best results you've ever seen - put a few drops of Vitamin E oil into your hand and mix with your lotion of choice. I mix it with my night time facial moisturizer, and with a hand cream. Nothing repairs cuticles and moisturizes better.

Sometimes I use almond oil or apricot kernel oils mixed with Vaseline Intensive care as a body lotion after bathing or swimming. They absorb very rapidly and do a better job of moisturizing than the cheaper store bought lotions - which are mostly petroleum based products that just create a film over your skin.

I found a Whipped Vaseline product in a tube - comes out white like a thick lotion, but it protects chapped hands very well and sinks in, unlike regular Vaseline.

new one:
OLIVE OIL--it works great, honest! Also good for babies. But more for maintenance than rescue.

as far as what people have said above:
-Vitamin E oil (or just bust open the gelcaps)--I use this when things are only starting to go bad.
-Burt's Bees--I use this after things have gotten out of 'hand.'
-Lanisoh--If you're bleeding, this will soothe it, protect it, and fix it. You can put it on the most sensitive skin you can imagine.(Same concept as Udder Cream--only this IS made for nursing human mothers.)
-Superglue--isn't this what everyone uses to repair their split nails? There's some on one of my toe nails right now.

I have eczema, can't use mineral oil or other petroleum products, and have lots of allergies.

I realize this is an old message, but since we are all out in the garden again and washing our hands constantly, I thought I'd share what I use. My skin is severely dry on my hands, face and feet mostly. I formulated a cream made of Shea Butter and Emu Oil that works great. It's all natural and has no preservatives, dyes or fragrance. It's called Emushea if anyone wants to give it a try just email me.

I hope this doesnt sound like an ad....just know it's working for me and I use it daily.

Here is a link that might be useful: Emushea

Please. Can we let this one die now? Lol!

Natural Skin Care products are where it's at. People don't realize that all of these chemically laced products seep through the skin into the blood stream. It's good to see that people are becoming more aware of the importance of using natural products.

Here's a useful link to a Monthly Natural Skin Care Give-Away: Dead Sea Cosmetics Sweepstakes

Here is a link that might be useful: Dead Sea Cosmetics

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, available at health food stores, is magic stuff. I have very dry skin, and I use it for cooking AND on my skin. I grease a pan using my fingers, then slather what's left all over my arms and hands. I used to have heel cracks (mainly because I live in flip flops), but no more! I have little jars of it all over and it's easy to apply. The expeller pressed variety has no scent, but I love the taste of the extra virgin.

It has many health cures as well. google the coconut oil diet, and you will see everything else it can do for you!

I loved many of your suggestions. This is a good thread! Before I learned about Coconut Oil, I wanted to try udder balm, but someone told me it smells bad. Is that true?

I know this is a really old thread, but for those of you who were using Dionne Udder Balm and can no longer find it, I think it is no longer being made.

The Original Udder Balm and Fiebing's Udder Balm both supposedly have the same formula as Dionne. I recently bought some Fiebing's and if it's not identical, it's certainly very similar to Dionne.

I think Fiebing's sells a medicated (menthol) version, but I don't think Original Udder does (yet).

I don't mind the smell at all. I think it's a light citrus smell. I bought one container of the medicated and didn't like it.

For those of you with eczema, lotions with 10% urea may be helpful. Two that I know are Uremol, which seems to be available only from Canadian sources, and Nutraplus, which I've found at drugstore.com.

I've also bought crystallized urea and added it to the Dionne (now Fiebing's) udder balm.

I love fragrant thick creams. My favorites are "Vanilla Bean Noel" body cream sold only during Christmas season at Bath and Body Works and "Satsuma" body butter from the Body Shop.

Does anyone know if there is a topic about fragrance oils? I love "Fresh Cut Roses" from Save on Scents. I'm looking for a strong pumpkin spice scent.