My hands are not smooth or soft. They are wrinkled and scratchy and constantly crying out for lotion. But thus is the peculiar predicament of a food writer who develops recipes for a living: no sooner do I rub lotion into my desperate, thirsty skin than I have to wash them again. Going from task to task as I prepare a recipe involves regular loops back to the sink to scrub away the dough I just kneaded, the chicken I just touched, the sticky honey I just dripped, and on and on and on.
And so my hands are sadly, woefully, abused. This is a situation I have come to accept, though not with any particular amount of grace. Lotion is both my ally and my jailor: my constant companion.
My dry hands have been bothering me more than usual recently. This is something that I've come to expect in the late-winter (even here in sunny California), but it's also no doubt been helped along by the huge recipe testing project on which I'm currently working. For no other reason than because it's on my mind, I give you my current lotioning regimen:
This is the lotion-equivalent to my bread and butter. If you're applying lotion hourly, you need something that a) works dependably and b) that you don't mind having to wash off five minutes later when you realize you forgot to dice the sausages for that soup. It comes in a huge bottle that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and it smells nice. Done.
• L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
Oh, man, I love this stuff. I slather it on right before I go to bed and then fall asleep with my happy hands right next to my nose so I can breathe in its aroma as I drift off. What is that aroma?! It's like baby powder and soft meadow herbs and fairy dust. This lotion doesn't come cheap, which is why I only use it at night. I received some as a Christmas present a year ago and am amazed that it lasted a whole year. I am almost finished with the tube now and am torn between buying more or picking up a tub of my other favorite:
Supposedly this stuff is intended for your cuticles, but I never stop there. Oh so soothing rubbed into cracked knuckles and that odd always-dry spot between my thumb and first finger. My only problem with this lotion is that it smells so much like fresh lemon curd that I have to constantly resist the urge to lick my fingertips.
Speaking of cuticles, I just remembered that I have a little tin of this stashed away in my bedside cubby, though I haven't used it for months. Not sure why. I remember that it actually worked quite well for softening the cuticles and preventing hang nails (those inevitable party crashers to the dry hands party). Note to self: bring this stuff back into rotation!
Does your job also come with a side of chronic dry hands? What's your lotion regimen?
(The top image is mine [and my dry hands], see links for all other images)
Oh Emma, I have the exact same problem. My favorite hand saver is this 100% shea butter with lavender. It's expensive but amazing. http://uncommonscents.com/Pre-de-Provence-Pure-Shea-Butter-p/pp35050ka.htm
ReplyDeleteI need all of these lotions.
ReplyDeleteDid I tell you I've been going to bed with white cotton gloves on my hands after I slather them with hand salve? Sexy.
My fix this year (I'm in Minnesota so imagine Emma's California X 10 for hand exposure to dry and cold!)has been good, old fashioned "Bag Balm." My husband gave it to me for Christmas several years ago and I avoided using it because it was kind of a thick, sticky, not good smelling lotion originally used to treat chapped udders of milking cows....no kidding! (not anything sexy about it, Sheri!) My husband grew up on a dairy farm and knows these things. This year I started using it at bedtime and, wow, it does work. The smell isn't horrible and doesn't last long. I usually add a squirt of good smelling lotion before heading for the bed.
ReplyDeleteI hear you sister! This time of the year I look at my hands and shudder because they're so dry and chapped.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this stuff is insane...
I usually can't stand to use "commercial" lotions because they are so greasy feeling. This balm, made with grassed tallow goes on ONCE and keeps my hands and elbows baby-butt soft all day :)
http://www.vintagetradition.com/
My hands are dry a lot as well since they're constantly in water. In the winter though they're so much worse. If they really get back I put vaseline on them before going to bed and put white gloves on. Then in the morning they're fine. However, that's only in extreme conditions which is rare.
ReplyDeleteUsing extra-virgin olive oil on your hands and face is also a great remedy and not that expensive. That said I always have a tube of Aveda's hand cream in my purse or cabinet. I use it morning, noon and night.
Hi Emma!
ReplyDeleteHa, I know exactly what you mean about all the hand washing. I once thought about counting just how many times a day on average I wash my hands (I'm guessing at least 20) but decided that might not be a good idea, lol. Between cooking and farming, my hands are always dirty!
We use St. Ives lotions too (although I haven't seen that particular 'flavor' - sounds perfect) along with various other lotions and potions. Recently I discovered that you can buy a pound of pure organic shea butter from amazon for about $8, and it's really neat stuff. It's thick stuff and works best at night when you don't have to wash it off in 5 minutes. ;)
I hear you! As a food writer and recipe developer in rainy Seattle, I have that problem all fall and winter. Thanks for the product recommendations--I'm always looking for a solution that doesn't involve a trip to Hawaii (although that's always a foolproof fix).
ReplyDeleteThe frequent hand washing followed by heavy lotions and then repeated hand washing is stripping the natural oils and waxes made by your own body from your skin. Not just the dead surface layer of skin but from deep within the living layers of skin. So when these living layers (stratum corneum) get pushed to the surface to act as a natural barrier to infection and abrasion, boom! no protection and dry scaly skin. First step, switch to a cheap, unscented bar soap made from animal tallow. It won't strip the natural oils like those SDS or SLS based synthetic detergent based liquid soaps. And no Triclosan! No bar soap will clean and dissolve grease like a modern synthetic detergent but they wont strip natural skin oils from deep within your skin either. Use the automatic dishwasher for scrubbing beer and winemaking bottles and supplies and then soak in a bleach disinfectant but wear gloves! About those hand lotions? They also strip natural oils from your skin when they get washed off. I would try to find a barrier coating used at nurses stations and hospitals as any amount of hand washing you do is less than a health care provider does in a hospital setting!
ReplyDeleteThe frequent hand washing followed by heavy lotions and then repeated hand washing is stripping the natural oils and waxes made by your own body from your skin. Not just the dead surface layer of skin but from deep within the living layers of skin. So when these living layers (stratum corneum) get pushed to the surface to act as a natural barrier to infection and abrasion, boom! no protection and dry scaly skin. First step, switch to a cheap, unscented bar soap made from animal tallow. It won't strip the natural oils like those SDS or SLS based synthetic detergent based liquid soaps. And no Triclosan! No bar soap will clean and dissolve grease like a modern synthetic detergent but they wont strip natural skin oils from deep within your skin either. Use the automatic dishwasher for scrubbing beer and winemaking bottles and supplies and then soak in a bleach disinfectant but wear gloves! About those hand lotions? They also strip natural oils from your skin when they get washed off. I would try to find a barrier coating used at nurses stations and hospitals as any amount of hand washing you do is less than a health care provider does in a hospital setting!
ReplyDeleteMy top tip is for Coconut OIl,
ReplyDeleteUse it for Hands, Face, Body, Hair, even to clean my Teeth, great for cooking and in place of butter/marg on bread
We love it