Help for hands

[Ottb5627]

Ok two part question here, part one, need a hand lotion that doesn’t feel like it’s burning my skin off (dry cracked hands) must be available in Canada. Recommendations?

Part two- I need ideas for keeping my fingernails looking decent, I work in a job where people see my hands and i need a neutral polish or something that lasts long around a farm and won’t chip off in a day. I used to get the gel nails at the salon but I can’t justify the extra cost and time anymore (new job with an extra 1/2hr drive each way ). Suggestions?

Thanks all!!

[freshman]

Classic Nivea is the only lotion that doesn’t burn for me. I primarily just use the original blue bottle for body as well as my hands, since Nivea’s magi super power is how quickly it is absorbed without any residual oiliness/residue/odor. There’s also a hand creme that comes in a nifty little blue tin.

Otherwise I notice that my hands do better in the winter when I’m on a cooking or baking spree that has my hands coated in cooking oil on a regular basis. No joke, it helps. I would try applying it therapeutically if I started some really nasty chronic hand chap or fissures like I used to occasionally develop.

Otherwise, since you mention your hands are kind of on public display and you care about their appearance, maybe try to be very conscientious about wearing gloves outside and during riding/barn chores in the winter? Hard to do. Maybe folks here could recommend some good ones to try?

[Scribbler]

I get good gloves at Mark’s Work Wear in Canada. Really protection is the number one thing, more effective than trying to repair damage.

[stb]

For hand cream I use L’Occitane Intensive Hand Balm, which is 25% shea butter. This is not their regular hand cream. I like that one too and use it during the warmer months, but find I need the heavy duty version for the winter. The L’Occitane is expensive but it works well for me and a tube lasts a long time if you buy the bigger size. I also like Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Unscented hand cream. It’s not as luxe feeling as the L’Occitane but it does a good job for a very good price point. I have found that using one of these lotions EVERY night before bed really helps my hands. I also try to use hand cream after hand washing during the day but don’t do it every time.

As far as nails go, I can’t help you. I gave up on mine a long time ago and just keep them short and natural. I can’t find any do it yourself nail polish that holds up to barn work.

[StormyDay]

Is bag balm available in Canada? It’s one of the best things ever for cracking or splitting skin. Apply it before you go to bed and then put on some soft gloves to keep it in overnight.

As for your nails, I would get one of the at home gel nail kits. My mom uses the red carpet gel manicure kit and her nails look amazing afterwards and it lasts forever.

[initiate1987]

I really love O’Keefe’s Working Hands hand cream. Doesn’t sting when they’re really cracked, just soothes and doesn’t leave your hands feeling oily. Unfortunately, no recommendations for nail polish. I gave up long ago.

[hoopoe]

strongly recommend never wash dishes without gloves. the soap that gets grease out of the way strips the natural oils of the nails.

[Scribbler]

Yes, all cleaning chores involving soap and water are death on nails.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I have very sensitive skin yet never found that lotions burned my hands. Do you have an allergy? The shifts from cold to heat can cause prickling fingers that’s very painful, but that’s not from lotion.

I actually hate the way creams feel on my skin (I know, I’m weird), but for cracked fingers. I find the best thing is to cover them with clear liquid bandages, rather than moisturizer. Sealing them up prevents the cracking from getting worse.

Polish and remover can be hard on the nails, so another vote for clean, short, and natural.

[lorilu]

I have used Corona for my hands… very protective. Lots of lanolin in it.

[demidq]

The Aveeno 24 hour hand cream is good, and not expensive. I also use the Udderly Smooth FOOT cream- not greasy and soaks in quickly. I also second (triple?) wearing gloves when ever possible. I cream my clean hands then use cotton liners under work gloves for most barn work.

[oldernewbie]

I have a friend who is an oiler for heavy equipment who tried this stuff and liked it:

Hand & Skin Shield

Gloves help with the nails. Mine are hopelessly short and ugly so I don’t know much about taking care of them!

[cutter99]

Part time farmer here and full time homemaker, and I second O’Keefe’s Working Hands. I find housework is harder on my hands than farming because I tend to wear gloves outside and never think to wear them indoors. I slather it on generously and rub it in well. I use it all year round and it does make a difference.

[Posting_Trot]

Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair lotion works. It is an unscented formula (since scents often cause allergic reactions). The only downside is it contains parabens. It’s a big enough brand that I’m sure you can find it in Canada.

Another is Cerave’s Moisturizing Cream, which is unscented and does not contain parabens. It’s thicker than the Vaseline lotion, but it absorbs more quickly. (It’s also more expensive, and may be available in fewer places).

[Saskatoonian]

Cetaphil is amazing and the only reason my hands survive winter.

[Scribbler]

As far as the nail polish question in the OP, I haven’t tried for decades. I work in a field where the norm is a healthy look, business casual range of clothes, minimal makeup and no nail polish. So my thought is that the number one thing is to get the cracked dry skin under control. Do you actually have a form of dermatitis or eczema and might a doctor or dermatologist have suggestions? Most people don’t get cracked hands evrn in Canadian winters.

I would address that before I thought about nail polish. If your hands are chapped or cracked or raw, nail polish will draw attention to that and can also be an irritant. On the other hand, if your hands have healthy skin, short clean unpolished nails will look fine in most situations.

I’ve never found a nail polish that doesn’t chip off fairly quickly. I think the new gel nail polishes might require UV light to set? There has been a lot of innovation since I gave up on nail polish, I’ve never had fake salon nails or evrn been tempted.

My nails are however a bit bendy. So nail polish chips because the tips bend. Then the tip will just spontaneously crack off. The only time my nails grew nicely at all was when I was on more or less bed rest a few years back for a medical reason.

[sophie]

It’s better to prevent than repair, but I never think of wearing gloves before cleaning dishes etc. So repair it is.
My favorite hand creams are Burt’s Bee shea butter Hand Repair cream (unfortunately I don’t think they make it anymore), J.R. Watkins hand cream, and Nuxe rêve de miel hand cream. I keep them everywhere in the house, the car, my handbag, so I can always moisturize.

I keep my nails short and natural, so no help there.

[anon32936625]

I second the Burts Bees! The hydration day lotion works really well for me.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

@Scribbler

Most people don’t get cracked hands evrn in Canadian winters.

Really? I don’t work on a farm and get cracked fingers all winter long, as soon as it goes below a certain temperature. I do ride, run outside, and do yardwork, but wear gloves almost always for all three activities in the cold.

Like I said above, the moisturizer doesn’t really help; if anything it just irritates things, so I seal the cracks with liquid bandages. It’s not exactly funny, but every now and then they’ve bled during ordinary things, and really freaked me out until I realized where the blood was coming from!

[Feathered_Feet]

@Impractical_Horsewoman, you might have eczema. Basic instructions are 1) don’t wash or get your hands wet any more than absolutely necessary, and 2) always use a cream - more often than you think you need to. I like the Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream for hand eczema. I keep a bottle EVERYWHERE and it has absolutely changed my life.