Heavy duty moisturiser recommendations for cracked hands

[mrsvilliers2]

Now that the dc are a bit older I want to sort my hands out. I get eczema on my knuckles which I can keep at bay but also have a prescription steroid which I use sparingly (betnovate cream). But I also have dry skin all over the rest of my hands with weird cracks on my finger and thumb pads. I wash my hands a lot but the cracks still look dirty and I can't work out how to shift them or even make them look less filthy. Tried normal hand creams, coconut oil, even my steroid cream briefly but nothing shifts it. I'm 39 so wouldn't have thought it was time for my hands to fall apart just yet?! Any help appreciated!

I use foot cream on my hands. It works brilliantly. I get on well with CCS cream, Scholl heel repair and Flexitol. Which one I use depends on which was on special offer when I was buying.

Moo Goo milk wash has cured mine and DS's problem hands. Rarely have to use handcream now, as long as we don't wash with anything else. Prior to that discovery, I'd spent a fortune on so many different types of handcream for the past 20 odd years.

Pure Potions Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising Ointment is our miracle moisturiser when needed.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, apileof funny my DH uses skin salvation which I have used before to stave off an excema flare up but last night slathered some on my cracked thumbs then jumped into bed. They seem a bit better this morning, less open in the their cracks if that makes sense!

I get deep cracks across my fingertips and down sides of nails in this weather. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula is brilliant and cheap, I slather it on overnight under cotton gloves. EA 8 hr cream good also, but basically the same as the Neutrogena.

I get this too it’s bloody horrible! I have CCS foot cream as I swear by it for my feet so am going to give this a try on my hands thanks to this thread

I have this in winter. The only thing I’ve found that works is Aveeno Moisturising Cream. Tried a lot of others and was happy to find it as mine were getting very bad.

Also echo what PPs have said about gloves when outside ALL THE TIME. That made a big difference.

I also loved the Body Shop rose soap free hand wash as that massively helped, but they discontinued it Now have Simple mint one again after trying a lot!

I don't have a skin condition or allergies, but I do have very, very dry skin all over my body and my hands are no exception. I've tried masses of hand creams. The ones that I think work for me are Aveeno and any of the Molton Brown hand creams (in the tubes, not the ones in the jars, they are hand lotions and nothing like as good). Molton Brown comice pear and honey is lovely. The Body Shop honey one for sensitive skin is also really nice (they do a miniature for £5, which is within the 3 for 2 offer at the moment).

I have extremely dry skin on my legs, and the only moisturiser that repairs that is one with urea. If I use that every couple of days, it keeps the dryness at bay. And then I can alternate with one that smells nice (the urea one isn't nicely fragranced) like one of the soufflés from Rituals.

O'Keefes working hands is miracle stuff. Targeted at men I think, but sorts my cracked-from-too-much-outdoor-work hands.

Moisturising is great - and often not enough.

Go find your hand wash and look at the ingredients.

If it has any of the following in, Chuck it:
SLS / sodium lauryl sulphate
Anything diethanolamide (usually coconut)
Cinnamein (sometimes called balsam of Peru)
Methylisothiozolinone.
Frangrance (can be anything)
Parabens

All these can cause contact dermatitis (check your shampoo and conditioner too.) some people don’t seem to be that affected by them, others do.

Find a bar soap or handwash without any of those things (a simple bar soap is fine for hands and body - it’s the rubbing action that cleans hands.)

Moisturise after EVERY handwash and shower. What works for you is highly individual but try to go for something with a high fat content and as few ingredients as possible. Norwegian formula fisherman handcream works well for me but your mileage may vary.

Use rubber gloves when washing up - washing up liquid will strip the protective oils off your hands faster than almost anything.

It’s a two pronged approach - moisturise and stop the damage.

I had really bad contact dermatitis on my hands a few years ago. The things that helped me most were using latex-free gloves for all household tasks and switching to sulphate-free shampoo - all normal shampoos kill my hands. I also use E45 hand wash rather than soap.

Following as I’ve developed eczema for the first time at 39 post second baby (weird). Does anyone have the type that develops just between the fingers and starts off as little tiny blisters?! I’ve got hydrocortisone cream which seems to heal the skin but the itch is still crazy mainly when I wake at night. I just want to put my hands in ice. I’m trying hemp cream at the moment which seems to help.

It’s called pompholyx, heather

Usually triggered by contact with an allergen. Have a look at the products you use on skin and hair.

Mine developed after dd1 and all the handwashing involved with a newborn. Mine comes on in the winter but I find prevention us better than cure, I use a non perfumed, gentle handwash (I think it's waitrose or simple) and have Neutrogena Norwegian Formula unscented next to each sink, so I put it on after each time I wash my hands. I used to have to use a special prescription wash and strong steroid creams but this mostly keeps it at bay,

I'm always using my hands and wash them a lot when preparing food and cooking. What works for me is non latex washing up gloves - never wash up or do any cleaning involving water without them. Wear vinyl gloves when dusting. Use a good handcream - I find L'Occitane's Shea butter one really good and Clarins is pretty good too. I also use L'Occitane's minute scrub for hands to get rid of rough and dry patches before they split. Using a pumice stone or a foot file or even an emery board lightly can help on the pads and sides of fingers. Always put handcream and cotton gloves on when you go to bed.

www.purepotions.co.uk/products/skin-salvation

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula here and Flexitol when they're really bad.

Aveeno! As good as some far more expensive ones