18+ Dry, Chapped Hand Remedies

Every winter I struggle with painful dry, chapped hands -- resulting from the cold weather, my lax hand moisturizing tendencies, endless dish washing, and increased hand washing to combat germs. And it turns out Laurel is prone to the same chapped hand syndrome. I've tried a variety of hand creams but haven't found the perfect one, so I decided to turn to Facebook and Twitter last week to solicit recommendations. And what did I learn? Not only that you people are awesome (actually, I already knew that), but that you people are passionate about moisturizing! Here are the comments I received, grouped alphabetically by brand. Soft, happy hands -- here we come!
Aquaphor

@Sarahlynnes: "Aquaphor has been a lifesaver for my hands!"

Carla: "I Love aquaphor!!!"

The Whole Bag of Chips: "Aquaphor is our lotion for chapped hands, chapped lips & dry skin."

Heather: "we use aquaphor or for my really chapped boy I do Eucerin Calming Cream and I mix in hydrocortisone - works magic!"

Jennifer: "Aquaphor or Eucerin hand therapy"

Jennifer: "aquaphor! LOVE it!!"

Karen: "We use Aquaphor on hands since the kids never fully dry them after washing and they become chapped so easily!"

Christina: "I have a big vat of Aquaphor that works for my daughter's hands. It is really, really thick so a little goes a long way."

Aveda

Lauren: "Aveda Hand Relief!"

Kaitlyn: "I second Aveda!"

@rookieheather: "I like Aveda hand relief but I need even stronger stuff these days."

Jeff: "Aveda Hand Relief rocks!"

Aveeno

@MelissaMangs: "Aveeno"

Body Shop

Lynne: "Body Shop Body Butter, Shea Butter is my favorite!"

Gold Bond

Farm Visits: "I am outside in the barn a lot in the winter and the only thing that I have found is Gold Bond Ultimate Healing."

Hydrolatum

Roxanna: "Hydrolatum. It's like Aquaphor, but absorbs quickly."

Lanolin

@WFM_FreshPond: "Pure lanolin -hands down! (pun intended) :)"

Lubrex

Amy: "We use Lubrex. You can only get it (as far as I know) at allerderm.com. It is not greasy at all and works great! It's really the only one the girls will tolerate!"

L'Occitane

Liesbeth: "L'Occitane shea butter hand cream, or for actual chapped skin: Lansinoh!"

Wendy: "Also a fan of L'occitane... So creamy!"

Erica: "L'occitane is my fav too. Only one that doesn't sting my poor hands and isn't too greasy."

Neutrogena

@susanjmoody: "Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream is amazing!"

Multiple Recommendations

@MauraCrabassMcG: "Bag Balm- sold as 'Udderly sMOOth' cream. Really works. Or Look, Ma. New Hands by BathNBodyWorks"

@CharChronicles: "rosebud salve or aquaphor are my go to winter staples. (all year long too since aquaphor is great to prevent run chaffing.)"

Melissa: "Anything with cocoa butter/cocoa oil in it - Queen Helene's or Cocoa Care (the yellow tubs in drugstores) are my must-haves in the winter (even though they contain parabens, boo), but I've also been using Lansinoh as winter chapstick for lips for years. :) The Burt's Bees honey body butter isn't bad, either, and anything thick from L'Occitane usually does the trick."

Charles: "Crabtree & Evelyn gardeners hand care is the best I've used. Also Target has an Aquaphor substitute that is cheaper and just as good for any kids' skin irritation.

Not Just For Babies

Diane: "I get eczema on my hands when it gets dry and the California Baby Calendula Cream is magical (doesn't smell magical though, the fragrance is sooo strong)."

@LTPParents: "I had a friend who would get the worst chapped hands I have ever seen. The only thing that worked was diaper cream!"

This thread reminded me of my friend Heidi's brilliant recommendation of repurposing lanolin breast cream for dry skin.

+ + + + +

You guys? Are totally awesome!

I am totally intrigued by and intend on trying a number of these recommendations, but this week I bought Hydrolatum because: a) I have heard my friend Roxanna sing the praises of this product repeatedly; and b) Jon was making a drugstore run and it seemed like the easiest thing to direct him to (i.e., a single, easily identifiable product, versus asking him to find a particular product within a huge array of, say, Neutrogena products). He was able to find it at our drugstore (at the pharmacist counter) and it's working well on all family members (I have also started wearing gloves when I wash dishes). It's creamier than Aquaphor (which we also like using for pretty much everything!) and does absorb well -- though like any thick cream, you'll be initially sticky before it soaks in.

Note: The products above are linked up via the Boston Mamas Amazon Affiliates account, which I personally find handy for future shopping and visual reference. If you do click through and shop, a (very small) percentage of your sale will come back to Boston Mamas to help with operating costs. Otherwise, you can of course look for these products at your local drugstore or at specialty stores.

Image credit: David Castillo Dominici via FreeDigitalPhotos.net