Help! My hands are cracked to the point that they are bleeding!

[perlanga]

This past week I actually arrived to Michigan from California. I've been so super duper busy that I have not really done any of my regular beauty routines. This whole week I remember telling myself that I had to put lotion on my hands, but never got around to it. I actually never even glanced at my hands since they have pretty much been covered with gloves for the past week. Well now that I finally got some downtime, I was typing and looked at my hands. To my horror they felt like sandpaper and my knuckles are red and peeled, with little bloodspots on them. What should I do to put the mositure back in them. I slathered them with the vitamin E creme and they are covered with some Body Shop gloves right now. Is there a lotion or creme I should put on them? How bout Vaseline?

 

[divadoll]

What you are doing right now will help.  That's what I would have suggested - lots and lots of moisturizer and gloves at night to let it set in.  Shea butter or cocoa butter, anything thick is better will help more than something runny.

 

[katana]

Ouch! I had this happen once too!

Your doing all you can, try sleeping with cotton gloves and vaseline on.

/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Hope its better soon, I know it can be painful!

 

[magosienne]

Do you have any face serum? That works too !

Apply a hydrating cream first, then some more greasy like butters, wax. Vaseline will not moisturize but help protect the skin against the cold and the elements, so it's good for that purpose.

Macadamia nut oil also works great.

I don't have gloves so instead i just bandage my hands with gauze.

Reapply, and reapply, in light coats, that's the key.

Make sure you don't use any harsh soap to wash your hands (like all those sanitizing soaps, or sodium laureth sulfate) and use warm water.

 

[pumpkincat210]

i use face moisturizer on my hands, but it gets expensive.  You might try Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Hand cream.  It works very well.  Start drinking more water too.

California is much drier than Michigan, which is good in a way because your hair stays in place better and your makeup lasts longer if it's not too hot.  Don't forget to pay attention to your feet, knees and elbows too.  Your face might get dry so invest in a good moisturizer and chapstick.

 

[magosienne]

That Neutrogena cream you're talking about is vaseline. Again, dealing with cracked, bleeding hands is not as easily treated as just dry hands. Not to mention the fact vaseline is too big to be broken down so really you just use it as a protective layer under your gloves.

Hydration through a hydrating cream, then a more nourishing cream (with fatty ingredients like butters and waxes), then eventually vaseline. Of course using your face moisturizer is a more expensive option, but when all else fails, and i've been there last year, it's the most effective and quickest solution i've found.

For the bleeding parts, disinfect the cut, then apply a large bandaid over it. When it starts to heal, i like to apply some oil (macadamia nut oil or castor oil) and apply another clean bandaid over it. 

If you have to do any sort of house cleaning or worse, clean dishes, wear gloves, and make sure they do not contain any powder inside, talc is the worst enemy of cracked hands.

 

[pumpkincat210]

i had no idea that the norwegian stuff was vaseline..i used to use it the winter when my hands were dry and chapped.

 

[magosienne]

Yes, i think it's written petrolatum, which is basically the same thing. I actually like to apply vaseline on my leather boots. But for your hands i've just noticed when it goes that extreme, it's really not the best. For moderately dry hands, it remains a cheap option.

 

[photomakeupguru]

That Once happened to me as well Its winter and you get dry skin  How about Vaseline  Cocoa Butter

It has a very good scent and it is a very good mositurizing product

another Good DIY scrub for hands and face is

- Virgin Olive Oil

-Honey

-Vaseline And Sugar After that all you need to do is mix them all together and  apply it the area where there is dryness and wait about 5-10 Minutes and You will have your smooth hands /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[xjackie83]

I only use Vaseline Cocoa Butter on my body as well.  It's super hydrating without leaving me feeling greasy.

During the winter months, I only use Olay Body Quench wash.  It's the only body wash I use that doesn't leave my skin feeling dry!  Even Dove leaves my legs feeling itchy and scaley! 

Buy a humidifier!  It will help add moisture into the air which will help with dry winter skin!

 

[kwong04]

I use this great hand moisturizer. Does the trick for me everytime:

http://www.skinplicityskin.com/products/intensive-hand-cream

 

[tdbull]

I found using LAVEVE PURE Argan Oil nightly, and sleeping with cotton gloves, works wonders.  My hands are soft and smooth now.  Argan Oil has great healing capabilities, and I use LAVEVE on my face, hands and feet.  I love what it does for my skin.

 

[magosienne]

At night i like to apply a thick lipbalm coming from a pot (like Nuxe reve de miel), i took too much and applied whatever was left on my finger on my most painful cuts, and the next morning they had reduced a lot, i tried again last night, and they were pretty much healed. Yay !

 

[dancerdink19]

Hands are very easily dried out, especially in the winter. Mary Kay has a hand treatment that really helps with cracked hands, and really protects them!!! It feels soo good, and can go with a yummy peach scent or unscented! It is called the Satin Hands set.

 

[EviLeviathan]

Nivea's hand cream(Aqua something, I forgot the exact name, I finished the whole bottle a long time ago.. I like the product but I forgot the exact name! How ironic.. Anyway it has sea minerals for hydrating and moisturizing dry skin) is quite good. My hands became moisturized by the time the lotion's been completely absorbed. And yes, the lotion's completely absorbed in a matter of seconds! Pretty good. But I can't seem to find it in the malls near me.. Out of stock maybe.. so.. back to body lotion to be applied to hands or.. no lotion at all /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[RubyC]

I work outdoors during the winter, and my hands have a tendency to easily crack and bleed.

My solution: I use pure Lanolin or any product where lanolin is at the beginning of their ingredient. Pur eLanolin is what hospitals use for breastfeeding mothers when their nipples get cracked and bleeding during the initial stages of breastfeeding. Ithealed my skin in both scenerios.

 

[SouthernXBelle]

This happens occasionally at my job. I work in a lab and we are washing our hands a million times a day.  Lotion just isn't strong enough. We keep an extra large jar of Vaseline at work (well, i bought the jar and everyone is using it).  The Vaseline always helps.

 

[CallmeMrsAL]

My hands are constantly bleeding. I live in Michigan also and I work in a deli. I am always washing and drying my hands and wearing gloves. Also, we use alot of harsh chemicals, and even when I try I can't keep them from my skin. I tried alot of different hand products but I have had the best luck with Gold Bong Ultimate healing Concentrated Therapy. Burts Bees didn't do anything for me /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Vaseline is  too greasy and I want to wipe it off immediately. And most lotions, even unscented, burn because of the actually breaks in the skin.

 

[imonabhaute]

I use a moisture serum and face cream on my hands at night and rock the gloves.  I live in West Michigan and I do all my own automotive work for my cars and motorcycles.  That orange cleaner and the car chemicals can wreck your hands.  After I use the orange cleaner, I use a moisture face mask on my hands.  They are soft as can be despite what they've been through.

 

[magosienne]

I want to add another cream i'd suggest you try : Weleda's sea buckthorn handcream. Oddly enough i had totally forgotten about it until i hit a healthfood store this weekend. This cream is really strange, it's really soothing and moisturising, and it smells divine (the food supplement they sell considerably less). The texture sinks in well, but if you apply several coats the thin texture will leave some kind of protection on the hands i really appreciate.