Despite having a penchant for developing difficult acne, my skin has actually been pretty good to me. It’s only been recently that I’ve needed to start using moisturizer, and it’s generally pretty soft. I can thank dad’s side of the family for that 
Unfortunately, my hands have been pretty badly abused as of late, and it’s seriously starting to show.
I work in a rather oily, dirty environment, so any time I come into the office I need to wash my hands. Regular soap doesn’t do the trick, so I end up using something a little stronger. The dispenser calls it “super duty hand cleanser with grit”. If you’ve ever used Fast Orange, it’s like that without the citrus scent. When I’m working in the shop, I wash my hands with this stuff a minimum of 4 times a day, though it’s frequently more often than that.
As a result I’ve exfoliated the crap out of the backs of my hands, to the point that the skin has started to get sore and go hard and scaly. Not cool! I have a little tube of moisturizer at my desk, but I’m starting to run out of it. It hasn’t been the most effective at dealing with the abuse my hands have been putting up with either, so I’m looking for something different. I now understand what the intensive care moisturizers are for!
These are some options I’m considering at the moment:
Glysomed – One of my friends gave me a tube of this in high school. I didn’t really need it back then, but I seem to recall liking the texture.
Aquaphor – I figure if dermatologists use it after laser skin resurfacing, it must be doing something right!
Vaseline – It would be a little difficult to use actual petroleum jelly at work (though I do have access to it), but maybe their moisturizer line would have a winner?
I’m hoping that I can find something that doesn’t just sit on the skin like a greasy film. Obviously I’m open to suggestions! What do you use, have you used, or what would you use if you had to? Do you have anything you swear by? This is my first time dealing with chapped skin on my hands, so if you have any ideas fire away!
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I use glysomed every night at bed time. But I wait until then because its very thick and takes a long time to soak in (but it’s the best I’ve ever used!). You will probably find it to slipeery for at work. But I use Aveeno during the day as it dries quickly and still works reasonably well during the day if needed (Target makes their own brand similar to Aveeno and it works relatively well–but the Zellers one is not the same).
They just closed the Zellers nearest me, and they’re putting a Target in it’s place. I’ll nose through there when it opens up.
yeah, I think you will need one at work and then a heavy duty one to use at home. I really like bag balm, it smells nasty and farmer’s use it on cow udders, but sometimes my feet get so dried out that they crack and bleed and bag balm works. On the hippie end of the spectrum, I really like the Burt’s Bees almond milk beeswax hand creme. Both of these are super thick and take time to soak in, but are really effective. The Burt’s Bees stuff smells like marzipan, so that’s a bonus.
I didn’t even think about bag balm! I seem to remember my mom using something similar on our goats when I was a kid. I love the smell of almond as well, so I’ll look into that one.
L’Occitane is a more expensive brand but it did wonders for my hands when I was a server and had to wash my hands constantly!
I gave some of theirs to my mom for Christmas a couple years ago. Maybe I’ll check and see if they have samples I can try?
I use Glysomed although it is very heavy and greasy when I first put it on. Seems to work the best. When my hands are really bad ie. Cracking and bleeding I rub ozonol/poly into my hands at night.
I’ve never heard of Ozonol before, I had to google that one. I’ll keep my eyes open for it if my hands get to the point of cracking though, thanks!
I use glysomed and it’s really good.
Multiple votes for Glysomed!It appears to be an oldie but a goodie.
I am a Glysomed fan for my hands, my feet, my legs in the dry of winter.
I was actually just recently given a tube of it, so I’ll probably use it before I look into the other options suggested.
Here is an inexpensive alternative that I use that works GREAT! http://www.stives.com/Hand-(and)-Body-Lotion/Prevent-(and)-Relieve-Dry-Skin/Intensive-Healing-Hand-Cream/
I didn’t even think about St. Ives! Thanks
I love glysomed but it’s rather thick… So it does have a rather greasy after feel for awhile. I suggest Aveeno intensive hand cream. I find that it’s soaks up really fast.
That’s what Lisa was saying too. Maybe Aveeno on my desk and Glysomed at home?
Use the glysomed before bed. Aveeno at work. St Ives makes a good intensive skin cream that I use at work. It’s not as think as the glysomed as it’s not a hand cream which is pretty good too.
You might want to look into shea butter. It’s very concentrated so a little goes a long way.
Also a solid suggestion. This is why I ask you guys, I forget about other stuff!
I get ready for winter armed with Glysomed. It’s not the cutest tube, but the most effective thing I’ve used. I don’t use it at night because I have sensitive skin and I’m afraid that I’ll touch my face and wake up with 6 new zits (I still get those in my 30′s – crazy).
I love Aveeno. Call me cheap, but I find their products ridiculously overpriced. St. Ives products have always worked well for me and they’re seriously budget friendly.
Those products seem to be getting pretty consistent thumbs up. I actually received travel sized containers of both Glysomed and Aveeno recently, so I’m giving them a shot right now (and I’d never call you cheap for finding certain products over priced – to each her own)