Hand washing, hand washing, hand washing! Sound familiar? If you’re like me, your hands probably look as if someone has taken a piece of sandpaper and massaged your skin with it! Ouch! The constant hand washing and winter weather can take quite the toll on our hands and skin. Here are a few of my favorite hand moisturizers and lotions to help repair dry and cracked hands.
1) Eucerin Hand Cream
I always love to use Eucerin during the winter months. This lotion feels great on the hands without having that really greasy feel afterwards. The best part about this product is that it works great for dry skin on babies. I actually tried Eucerin for the first time after it was used on my son in the local children’s hospital!
2) Vaseline Intensive Care
This is what I call “The Old Stand By.” Vaseline products have been around for years and I think that speaks volumes when it comes to product reliability. I like this lotion because it is inexpensive for a large pump size and a little bit goes a long way! This product is good for maintaining healthy skin and nail. This lotion also has a nice, but light fragrance.
3) Neutrogena Norwegian Formula
This is a great lotion that in my opinion, penetrates really well into the skin. By this, I mean that after I wash my hands, I still feel as if they are somewhat moisturized and that I haven’t washed off all the lotion that I applied. I really like this for when my hands are feeling chapped and sore after a day at the hospital.
4) Philosophy Pure Grace Lotion
This lotion is one of my favorites. I first saw the Philosophy products on one of Oprah’s Favorite Things episodes a few years back. Not only does this lotion feel wonderful on my hands, but it smells amazing! I know we really shouldn’t use “smelly” fragrances in the hospital, but this has a nice clean scent. By no means does it smell like a perfume. This lotion is a little pricier than the others, but it is a nice treat for your hands! While the other products can be found at local drug stores, Philosophy Pure Grace can be found at Macy’s and Ulta.
5) Johnson’s Baby Lotion
Who doesn’t love the smell of a clean baby? If it is gentle enough for our babies it must be good for our hands right? With its trademark pink bottle and baby powder scent, there is just something about Johnson’s Baby Lotion that keeps us wanting more!
I guess it comes down to the moisturizers I use at work vs. at home. A great tip from an occupational therapist was to be sure you wet your hands before you apply the soap/cleaner when washing your hands. Also using moisturizer during the process of washing your hands always helped me.
I really hate cracked hands/fingers – boy do they sting.
By Sean Dent on February 6, 2010 at 8:34 am
Vitamin E oil put on at night before bed with a pair of cotton gloves over them, is another treatment for this problem.
By Rosemary and Christina on February 20, 2010 at 5:07 am
Gloves in a Bottle is my favorite while at work – the barrier on it doesn’t break down quickly, so you can wash your hands without stripping them of moisture. At home, I’m a big fan of your #3
By Katy on February 23, 2010 at 8:14 pm
The best hand cream that I have ever used is Lotil, from England. I bought a jar from Amazon after a nurse let me try hers. Works great!
By Marsha on February 23, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Please watch the lotions that you use at work because you may not get the protection from the gloves that you should. Some lotions break down the proteins in the gloves setting us up for poor protection from the gloves. You may want to check with your infection control department or wound care nurses because that is where I learned this from.
By Marilyn on March 9, 2010 at 7:52 pm
How in the world can your hands become dryed out and damaged if you use wet water to wash them? Makes zero sence to me.
RSVP,
-sean-
By sean on March 24, 2010 at 12:14 am
Nexcare (by 3M) skin crack care is a must for those painful splits and cracks, Apply it like nail polish (it contains tea tree oil) It protects and helps heal your skin (I know it’s sold at Walgreens $7-8/ definitely worth it!) CeraVe lotion and Lubriderm work well.
By Pat on March 25, 2010 at 6:21 pm
These are all great, but I SWEAR by Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. I love it and I don’t even mind spending the extra money. I use the cream and the face wash and it is AWESOME!!!
By Victor on April 15, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Burt;s Bee’s Hand Repair Creme. It’s smell isnt the sweetest but I swear by the stuff and it’s all natural!
By Chanda on April 19, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Renew Intensive Skin Therapy from Melaleuca works for me…..it’s great for those with psoriasis too!
By Natascha on April 23, 2010 at 5:40 pm
L’Occitane’s 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream for dry skin is amazing!
By Jessica on May 15, 2010 at 10:31 am