cracking skin

[quietann]

I garden a lot, and hate wearing gloves, but as I get older my skin is getting drier and not standing up to gardening as well. This is especially true of the outside of my right index finger; the skin is cracked and sometimes painful. Any advice as to what to do (besides wear gloves!)? A product to strengthen and moisturize skin?

Comments

Ymmv...

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Well, I use Cetaphil on my hands every day, which certainly helps. Before rough work, try cocoa butter, and afterwards if chafed and cracked Bag Balm is excellent stuff.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

lotion before hand (I like the udder creams), then into *rubber gloves*, and then gardening gloves. yes, it's a little squishy, but my mother, who is 62 now, does this, and she has lovely, soft hands.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Udderly Smooth. You can find it at Trader Joe's. Good shtuff and doesn't make Tigerlily itch (which a number of hand lotions, even those labeled hypo-allergenic, can do)

[maedbh7.livejournal.com]

A hearty second for Udderly Smooth and/or Bag Balm. Both are wonderful products. -H...

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i heart "badger balm", and the various products from "wiseways herbals".

hope you heal up!

[tb]

I know what you mean about gloves. I can't stand wearing them either (and they're useless for, say, re-seeding carrots, something on my agenda RSN), so between pottery and gardening my hands are usually in pretty rough shape. Try to give yourself days off between bouts of gardening so your hands can recover (not to mention knees and back).

I think it helps to wash the dirt off as soon as possible when you're done; letting it dry on your skin seems to do a lot of damage. Maybe keep a bucket, filled from one of those handy rain barrels, around for periodic dunking? There are also some gardener's scrub products out there which help get dirt off without completely drying out the skin. Follow that with the lotion of your choice. Also try applying hand lotion before bed.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that a lot of the avid gardeners I know really don't like wearing gloves. My mom *hated* them even more than I do, and like me, didn't care about her hands being "pretty." "Not painful" was a suitable goal for her, and thus for me.

[tb]

It's that whole "hands-on" thing. I like to feel what I'm doing, and I hate having sweaty hands.

Good thing I'm not a guy...

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I hear good thing about Bag Balm, and not just from the Lunacon book raffles...

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I like Gold Bond Lotion. They make an unscented. Working with textiles, my hands can't have lotion on them all day and they are constantly being washed so they get really dry during the day. I also have a reaction to the sizing in fabric, it makes my hands all dry and cracked. The Gold Bond lotion is nice.

[fizzygeek.livejournal.com]

I will second the recommendation of Badger Balm......I use the healing balm formula myself, but use it sparingly because it is greasy. Another one I've had luck with is a product called Softguard.