can my hands be saved?

[Cruise Arizona]

Oh my! I have been doing a lot of "spring" cleaning and detail cleaning IE scrubbing baseboards and scubbing out shower stall ect. I have worn gloves for part of the cleaning, but unfortunately not all of it. As a result my nails are all worn down and looking horrible. I even caulked a window today, got silicone caulk all over my hands and had to scrub it off with a sos pad. So you can imagine my hands look pretty bad.

 

 

Is there anything I can do to rescue my hands before my cruise in a week? Any great products or treatments will be appreciated.

[blueapsara]

Try slathering on Vaseline or some heavy-duty hand cream for very dry skin, and then putting on a pair of cotton gloves (CVS has them for sure). You can wear the gloves while sleeping. Repeat as necessary. I'm thinking that if you take care of your skin first, the damage to your nails may not seem as bad.

 

I don't do anything with my nails, so can't help you there.

 

Good luck!

[Buster27]

I would love to find a good hand creme to use on a daily basis. I don't want to sleep with gooey gloves....would just like something to use a few times a day.

 

Everything I have tried is either so greasy my hands feel dirty or it's just thin and watery and 10 minutes later, my hands are dry again.

 

Is there anything out there that really is absorbed and makes a difference if used on a daily basis?

[Milaandra]

SOS pads!!! Next time, no matter what you have on your hands, try using vegetable oil first, then vegetable oil with baking soda if it doesn't come off with the oil alone. If it's really desperate, oil and sea salt. We do our own renovations and the oil mixtures have never failed me.

 

Glycomed is the best heavy duty hand cream I've found.

[cb at sea]

The caulk will 'sloth" off in a week...no worries!

Get a good skin scrub, use it every other day, and slather on the hand cream after....Then, get a manicure (or do it yourself)...your hands will be fine! Hands are meant to be used!

[Happy ks]

My hands are dry since I wash so frequently. My job is constant hand washing, I probably wash them 20-30 times in a 6 hour period. It's a requirement, we use a lot of gloves as well, but they require us to wash our hands or use an antibacterial solution even after gloves. I find hand washing less drying than the antibacterial solution.

 

My suggestion is to go get a manicure, even if your nails are short it makes a huge difference. If they have a parrafin dip, pay a little extra for that, it really makes your hands nice and soft. I have one at home that I use after a rough week at work, very soothing and the hand cream really penetrates with the warmth.

 

I'd not use vaseline as it can stain lighter skin and I have seen from your pictures how fiar skinned you are. Find a good thick hand cream, like a body butter. Use a good cuticle cream as well, every single night. My favorite is Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Therapy (any fragrance is fine), pricey but just a little dab goes a long way.

 

I can't stand hand cream on the palms of my hands so I genereally wipe them off with a towel after applying, but the backs of my hands it's fine. I think it feel weird since we don't have much natural oil in the palms of our hands or our fingers.

 

If you have any cracks in your knuckles (I told you my hands get really dry from my work ;)) I use neosporin on the cracks, covered with a bandaid overnight, they are healed in the morning.

 

You may be surprised at how quickly your hands recover.

[Willie T]

I've used the Miracle Foot Cure, or whatever it's called, on my hands. If it can fix my feet, and it does, just think how it can fix up your hands. I agree about the mani, and the parrafin dip.

What were you thinking doing all that a week before a cruise? LOL

[iheartbda]

The caulk will 'sloth" off in a week...no worries!

GOOD GRIEF.....do you even know what caulk is and what her hands would look like until it SLUFFS off? Besides, who wants an animal on their hands for a week?:D

[MauiGirl55]

Get a spa manicure with a REALLY moisturizing treatment and paraffin dip. Your hands will definitely thank you! Then, moisturize the living daylights out of them until your cruise. I'm not a fan of all those greasy, goopy creams so don't use them, but I've had really good luck with Curel lotion. It soaks in well and heals chapped skin quickly.

[blueapsara]

I'd not use vaseline as it can stain lighter skin

 

It can?! Wow, I didn't know that. My mom mixes a dollop of Vaseline with water so it's not as goopy. I don't mind it myself.

 

Agree with others about the paraffin dip and Glycomed.

[JanineM]

The caulk will come off after several hand washings. Trust me ... I seem to have spent a lot of time re-caulking bathrooms in the last couple of years!

 

I am very fair and have used vaseline lots of times on my hands and feet without problems, but recently I started using this Neutrogena foot cream at night and man - do my hands feel fantastic! Someone at work even commented that my hands were really soft. It isn't too gloopy so you could probably use it during the day. Arbonne also has a really nice hand cream that is not greasy.

[Cruise Arizona]

I tried a couple of suggestions, I've been using Palmers Coco Butter (The stretchmark stuff on the backs of my hands. I think I will try a manicure in about 4 days.

 

I have two nails that look particularly horrible, one that broke off when I didn't have clipper around to trim it so it wouldn't tear below the quick. That one needs to just grow a tiny bit and it will cover quick. The other one is kind of a lost cause. Its my thumb that I smashed in a door way about two months ago. I first it was black, and then that part all came off and I have a very very thin nail at the end with a ridge and then a thick nail growing behind it. If that one can grow a bit more then I can file it to look pretty too.

 

Moisture Moisture Moisture, and Gloves, Gloves, Glove.

 

And somebody asked why so much work right before the cruise... Well it will be just my husband and I on the cruise and my Mom and my MIL will be here to help watch the kids.... both of whom are immaculate house keepers.

 

Over the last few weeks I found my self singing that song from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid." Now that song is a comedy song sung by men for another reason other than a clean house, but I was singing it because I want a house keep to really keep house. LOL

[esther e]

I was definitely going to suggest a cleaning lady, but I didn't want to sound facetious. Bliss makes a good hand cream and I carry a small one in my handbag all the time. Good luck. And get a cleaning lady!!!!:)

[lovesublime]

GOOD GRIEF.....do you even know what caulk is and what her hands would look like until it SLUFFS off? Besides, who wants an animal on their hands for a week?:D

 

 

 

Actually, it's SLOUGH.;) And I'm also anxious to hear what you guys recommend as well. My hands have taken a lot of wear and tear lately.

[iheartbda]

Actually, it's SLOUGH.;) And I'm also anxious to hear what you guys recommend as well. My hands have taken a lot of wear and tear lately.

Merriam approves as well as good ole Web.:)

 

OP, Eucerine works for me as recommended by a dermatologist.

[Cruise Arizona]

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Caulk came right off with the SOS pad. A little soap and steel wool will clean any thing. I had to get it off last night as we were going out to dinner and I didn't want to accidentally eat any of it.

 

We are very excited about this cruise!!!! 10 days with no kids!!!! Yeah!!! And on the Cruise I will have a Maid!!! Well I think they call them cabin stewards, but they take care of the cleaning ..... one of the best things about cruising.... no cleaning!!! No doing dishes!!! Yeah, I'm so excited.

[slynn111]

Check out http://www.roundaboutgarden.com

 

Really thick, but not greasy. REALLY helps dry skin!!

[Milaandra]

 

If you have any cracks in your knuckles (I told you my hands get really dry from my work ;)) I use neosporin on the cracks, covered with a bandaid overnight, they are healed in the morning.

 

You may be surprised at how quickly your hands recover.

 

Another great thing for cracks is Vitamin A&D ointment. It's made for diaper rash, I think, but it's amazing. As a child I was a mouth breather and in the winter I'd get a bleeding crack in the centre of my lower lip. (Wearing lipstick prevents that now) Vitamin A&D ointment would heal it right up.

[Cattie]

I would love to find a good hand creme to use on a daily basis. I don't want to sleep with gooey gloves....would just like something to use a few times a day.

 

Everything I have tried is either so greasy my hands feel dirty or it's just thin and watery and 10 minutes later, my hands are dry again.

 

Is there anything out there that really is absorbed and makes a difference if used on a daily basis?

 

I really like these 2 lotions.

 

http://www.amazon.com/SEEN-MHRCD12-Miracle-Repair-Cream/dp/B000136P7S

 

http://www.amazon.com/St-Ives-Replenish-Mineral-Therapy/dp/B00157GT0W

 

I was my hands a ton at work since I'm a casino dealer and you don't want to know what I see sometimes and have to touch and these 2 are great!

[ArthurIhde]

yeah,you can

[Jan_In_Maine]

Sounds terrible but living in the cold northeast this really works http://www.bagbalm.com/ :D Jan

[Jesscap5]

I live in northeast also, bagbalm works and have also used Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream..My hands would crack and dry up so bad they would start to bleed and it was extremely painful washing my hands or using sanitizer. I used the Norweigan hand cream and it wasn't long before my hands started getting moisture back in. In fact I'm gonna grab some today.

[dulcimergirl]

I swear by Gold Bond hand lotion. I love the Creme also, but its harder to find. Really helps my dry hands. I do alot of work outside, and they are really rough. Helps my knee's and feet also..

 

It seems to stay on quite a while and is not greasy. love it!

[dustyroad]

the most wonderful gift i ever received from my neices was a 3 set hand therapy saver kit from Crabtree & Evelyn. it has a gardners hand scrub with pumic, gardners hand therapy cream, plus a tube of nail & cuticle repair cream. it is a fabulous hand saver ( i also use it on my elbows ) and i use all year long. it does not feel greasy and smells really good. go too their site and see if they have it on sale for the holidays. it is well woth the money and last a long time.

[Soxfan05]

Sounds terrible but living in the cold northeast this really works http://www.bagbalm.com/ :D Jan

 

Jan I was going to suggest the same. Best stuff in the world! You can often find it at CVS and Walmart.

 

For really cracked hands, put on rubber gloves or wrap hands in saran wrap and then put them into clean white socks. Hands will heal practically overnight.