Cracking bleeding hand skin

[soprano]

+1 on the shea butter.

It might be helpful to learn a bit about surfactants so you can pick a gentler hand soap. A lot of what is being called "soap" on this thread are really detergent cleansers, such as sodium laurel/eth sulfate. This stuff will strip the heck out of your skin if you use too much (very common with liquid hand soaps) or it's not mixed in with a good conditioner/moisturizer. SLS and a few of its related cousins are the surfactants found in most shampoos, hand and bar soaps, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, etc. It's what we all started using when we gave up lye soap. Incidentally, we didn't make that mass change because detergent cleansers are any easier on our skin, because they aren't. What detergents do better is rinse away in hard water conditions, which are very common in the US; they're easier on our clothing, plumbing and appliances.

"Real" soap, which is saponified with sodium or potassium hydroxide, had an underserved reputation for being caustic. A hundred+ years ago, this was true for most homemade soap because it was difficult to control the strength of their homemade lye. Today almost all handmade, high-end soap is made with commercially produced powdered sodium hydroxide (lye) or potassium hydroxide, which allows us to tightly control the amount of fat/conditioners in the finished soap. You really might consider trying a superfatted handmade soap, which you can pick up at just about any natural food store. It's more expensive, but if you just use it on your hands and not in the shower it'll last forever.

[OakLeaf]

It's more expensive, but if you just use it on your hands and not in the shower it'll last forever.

It'll last forever if you use it in the shower, too, as long as you get over the obsession with suds. Real soap doesn't foam very much, but you still don't need to use very much of it. I think a gallon of Dr. Bronner's lasts us five years, and that's shower and sinkside both.

[Lauralyn]

I use bag balm on my hands and gloves at night. You can get this at most equestrian tack shops. I have also used the Shea butter and that is good.

[Owlie]

It'll last forever if you use it in the shower, too, as long as you get over the obsession with suds. Real soap doesn't foam very much, but you still don't need to use very much of it. I think a gallon of Dr. Bronner's lasts us five years, and that's shower and sinkside both.

I've also heard of people using it for hand-washing hand-knit wool things. It's a pity I can't find it here.
Edit: How well does it work in hard water? We've got super-hard water here.

[OakLeaf]

I've also heard of people using it for hand-washing hand-knit wool things. It's a pity I can't find it here.
Edit: How well does it work in hard water? We've got super-hard water here.

Your water can't possibly be any harder than mine. I have to filter out the precipitates that form when I boil water, before I can even brew tea. Again - you just have to get over the obsession some people have with suds.

I don't use it on my hair, it's a little harsh for that IMO. Just body and hands.

You can use it to wash Gore-Tex or other moisture barrier fabrics, too. NikWax Tech Wash is expensive, hard to find and smells awful. The only thing those fabrics really need is not to be washed in detergent. Any real soap will do.

[deeaimond]

Wow ladies, That is loads of great advice. I have super sensitive skin too and sensitive to most 'soaps' and 'shampoos'> Dr Bronner's has helped me a lot. when I go to drier climates (here is 60% to 90% most of the time, 100% when it rains) i get microcracks on my skin, even my regular creams and lotions stung like crazy.

One of the all over lotions I liked was Bonds Gold.. something or the other..

Shootingstar, u gonna try the gloves?

[VeloVT]

Best hand cream ever... L'Occitane Shea Hand Cream. Very moisturizing, and not greasy. My boyfriend gets dry skin on his thumbs so badly in the winter that, without this hand cream, he ends up putting A&D ointment on them and covering them with band aids for weeks at a time - this hand cream, but not others, prevents that. He can also use it during the day without feeling that it make his hands too greasy to use the computer.

It also smells lovely - he is comfortable wearing it because the scent is not excessively feminine, but I love using it too (and smelling it on him). I think it smells like expensive French baby powder, in the best possible way.

[Melalvai]

My mom & daughter & I all have that same problem. We swear by Eucerin. (Ok not really. We swear around lots of things. Rarely do we swear nearby the hand cream.)

Not the lotion in a tube, the cream in the jar.

[Maye]

My daughter suffers from Eczema and dry skin year round but it gets worse during winter. Every night after I bathed her, I lather her body with Vanicream (local Walgreens) and then I put her onesies. Its like wearing a huge glove all over her body and it works wonders on her skin!! I swear by this cream since I really hate to use steroid prescribed creams on her body. I use it as well for my super dry and cracked hands in addition to the L'Occitane Ultra rich body cream which is rich in Shea butter. The cracked hands is for using dish detergents, heat and sanitizers, sigh...

[Scrappy]

Pure extra-virgin coconut oil will do wonders for dry skin. It's a solid at room temp, melts in your hand and absorbs very quickly. Almost all grocery stores carry it these days - it's yummy in baked goods instead of butter.

To help heal the cracks add a drop of Frankincense or Geranium Essential oil to whatever you use 2-3 times per day. PM me if you'd like info on reputable brands of essential oils that do actually work - not just smell nice.

Scrappy