Very dry, cracked skin..help !

16 years ago

My husband & son both have really dry, cracked hands in winter. They've tried various creams, etc., with little results. Does anyone know of a tried & true remedy? Even better if it's homemade !

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Comments (3)

oilpainter
16 years ago
You get chapped hands in winter, the same way you get chapped lips. Your hands get wet repeatedly and mostly air dry in cold air, or you have to wash your hands often. In addition there's the hot dry air in the house. Whatever the cause, this is what works for me.

First go to the dollar store and buy a couple of pairs of PVC gloves--soft plastic coated gloves often called rubber gloves. Turn the gloves inside out so the coating is on the inside.

At bedtime, put a bit of sugar in the palm of your hand--about 1/2 teaspoon. Pour baby oil over the sugar --just until all the sugar is moistened. Rub your hands together like you are washing them. Rinse off the sugar and use a little handsoap to get the rest--not too much, you just want to get rid of the sugar not the oil. Pat your hands to remove excess moisture not to completely dry them. This process removes all the dry, rough, dead skin.

Next coat your hands with vaseline and rub it in--they will still be greasy feeling because it does not absorb. What it does is put a barrier on the skin so the moisture below--from not drying your hands completely--can be absorbed. Then put on the gloves and go to bed. In the morning wash off the excess vaseline and apply a hand cream. I like shea butter or glysomed but really any hand cream will do.

Some say put on cotton gloves, but the vaseline is hard to wash out of cotton. The rubber gloves can be washed off easier.
blueheron
16 years ago
Also, shea butter is a big help. I put it on my hands before bed and it really softens them. You can get it at Health Food Stores and it comes in cute tins. LOL!
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User
16 years ago
We have the same problem here. What we use to heal it is yarrow salve. I get mine on ebay. I can't say it stops the problem but it helps. Other wise try some utter cream or just keep some moisturizer on through out the day.

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Very dry, cracked skin..help !

Comments (3)

oilpainter

blueheron

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