Hands of a mechanic
I try to wear my gloves as much as possible while working on the house and while gardening, but my hands still take quite a beating. I have all sorts of hand lotion, but I can’t seem to make a habit out of using it consistently. My favorite hand product is the Burt’s Bees hand salve.
Here are the ingredients: Sweet almond oil, olive oil, beeswax, tocopheryl acetate & tocopherol (vitamin E), comfrey root extract, rosemary oil & leaf extract, lavandin oil & flower extract, eucalyptus oil. It smells good without being overpowering and soaks in well. It does take awhile to soak in, but it makes my hands feel better almost immediately. I’m thinking I should just leave one can of it next to the bed, one the bathroom, one by the sink and one by the couch. Then I think I would use it every day and my hands would look a ton better!
Anyone have any other favorite hand remedies or products?
5 Comments
Jocelyn·June 15, 2005
Actually I do and I have bottles of this particular lotion in the bedroom, bathroom, and living room as well as my desk at work. As you alluded to, working with construction materials and solvents and dirt too, your hands can become ravaged.
For a hand lotion, I really like Earth Theraputics “Gardener’s Hand Repair”. It has alot of plant extracts, is reasonably priced and smells good to boot. For a more intense treatment they have a cool kit at H2O that has gloves and an overnight hand treatment. I use that once in a while too. And I think pure Shea Butter is great too- but takes a bit more effort to apply.
I remember in my pre-house days I used to get manicures. I quit that pretty darn quick.
Dave·June 15, 2005
Try “Look Ma, New Hands” hand lotion from Bath & Body Works stores. Soaks in fast, no greasy hands afterward. Really works great, for me at least.
mefl·June 15, 2005
Bag balm ointment - usually used by dairy farmers on the udders of their milking cows for dry and cracked teats. Smells to high heaven, but it works great and it’s cheap.
Jane·June 15, 2005
I give a vote for Neutrogena New Hands. It’s the best for smoothing out your hands especially when you have been working with concrete or mud all day that just sucks the moisture out of your hands. What I do is buy a box of 100 latex gloves to wear under my work gloves. I also have a big container of vaseline that I put on my hands before I put on the latex and then the work gloves. Your hands will feel like a baby’s bottom after a hards days work.
Kasrmia·June 16, 2005
I’m also a Neutrogena fan. I just buy the regular hand cream (comes in a small, 2 oz tube). It has very little odor and doesn’t look creamy, more like vaseline. It takes very little product to moisturize (just a SCHMEAR). This is the only thing that helps after submerging my hand in clay soil for hours.