I'm getting good results with baby bath oil. If I'm damaged, aloe vera gel. If I've been dabbling in the cement bag and my hands have turned to prunes, a drop of olive oil.

If you're on something like a volcanic soil then you may find an industrial strength barrier cream before you start work will help prevent the splitting of finger tips.

I can't/won't work in gloves so it's my fingernails that vanish - especially when I'm potting up. Any suggestions for getting them to recover would be great.

Olive oil is a great skin moisturizer my grandmother and great grandmother used it and everyone said my great grandmother was a "great beauty"...... anyway..... I was wondering if the bee balm lotion from Burt's Bees was really so good? Or that canus goat's milk creme I've heard of...... :)

The BEST hand lotion I have found is lanolin...the non-water kind...I found mine with the breastfeeding mother's section in the drugstore. The sort with water works ok, but the non water is the best. It heals overnight, is edible (I use it on chapped, cracked lips in the winter), smells ok (like a norweigan sweater), contains no petroleum. I began using it on my nipples to heal cracks, my baby's bum, etc. etc. Smooth it on at bedtime and happy hands by morning.

i have several favorites... i use baby oil alot - mostly on my legs and arms after a shower. i have very dry skin and lots of problems and have experimented with alot of stuff. i have found using the the baby oil after a shower before i towel off seems to work the best.

i tend to stay away from alot frangrances or smelly lotions but i one smelly lotion that i do like is the toasted vanilla Vasoline intesive care hand lotion. i keep it on my kitchen sink as a touch up between hand washings.

i also really love the Mary Kay satin hands set. i reccommend everyone should try it at least once... its a four step set that i try to do at least once a week. it includes a heavy vasoline-like base moisturizer and then an exfollient (scruffy like soap) then a cleanser to wash the exfollient and heavy moisturizer and then hand cream to finish up. you really feel a difference in your skin after using that set. the exfollient soap is great to use after working in the garden. it gets those scrubbies down in the creases and removes excess dirt along with excess skin. i keep the mary kay hand cream on my desk at work for daily moisture.

I've tried a lot of salves and lotions, including Bag Balm (formulated to sooth cows' udders), which I had seen as a recommendation in a number of gardening articles. Although it is very healing, it is also very greasy. I only use it when my hands are unusually raw and then only overnight. I don't like any of the products that contain paraffin derivatives (St. Ives, for instance), which leave a kind of waxy, actually almost plastic-like film on my skin. Same goes for any of the Vaseline products - all are either too greasy or leave a plastic-feeling residue. Okay, sorry. The question was "What's your favorite?"

The products I've been reaching for automatically over the last several seasons are from Aubrey Organics. The two I use are Rosa Mosqueta and Almond Collagen hand and body lotions. They have no synthetic ingredients, and in fact have formulae based upon combinations of herbs, barks, flowers etc. They have citrus seed extract and vitamins as preservatives.

These products really work for me, and considering how effective they are at protecting and restoring my gardener's hands, they are surprisingly light and totally non-greasy.

Aubrey's Organics are sold in natural and health food stores. They're kind of expensive, but a little goes a long way. I go through two bottles of the Rosa Mosqueta a year (I use it all year), at about thirteen bucks per bottle. The products are so superior to anything else that I've tried that I don't mind paying this premium.

cranebill

The best way I've found to avoid the desert parched and filthy hand syndrome is to use a product like 'Yard Glove'on my hands before gardening(forms a protective barrier against irritation and discoloration), wear my gloves and after scrubbing off all the dirt, put on Crabtree & Evelyn's Gardeners Hand Therapy. That stuff is totally yummy and a little goes a long way!

while not pretty, i find neutrogena's norweigen formula hand lotion good at deep moisturizing. its a bit thick and hard to work in, but it does last - its the only thing that helps my feet in the summer when shoes become optional. My gardner's hand usually get kiss my face's honey and calendula lotion, mainly because it has no weird ingrediants, not too expensive, and smells heavenly.

I also love Burt's Bees carrot lotion (for the body) but have suspended using it..... it really turned me orange...... :) I was thinking of getting some lanolin or jojoba because it mimics skin oils...... shea butter is supposed to be a great hand cream...... l'occitane has one for like 18 dollars and palmer's has one for three..... which one should I try?

I like Aromatique's Body Blitz or After Sun Lotion. The After Sun has an analgesic and the Body Blitz also helps my nails if I use it regularly. They're also good on feet and elbows. Actually feels good all over, lol. Oh, and I keep Corn Husker's Lotion in my refrigerator. It feels like aloa vera juice but smells nice. Great for sun burns, especially when cold.
Barbara in Arkansas

I like Trader Joe's Gardener's Hand Cream.

I love Bag Balm.

Good ol' Lubriderm! No scent, no sticky feeling like Keri-lotion and seems to sooth my hands too. I just can't get used to gloves, not even for dishes.

I like the gardener's hand lotion by Crabtree and Evelyn (Gardener's skin remedy). But because I'm usually in a hurry, I use whatever happens to be next to the sink, because I've found that it doesn't matter WHAT I use as long as my hands are still wet. I haven't found a hand lotion that works well on non-wet hands.

I also use gloves in the garden, usually a pair of disposable nitrile exam gloves, or if I'm out of those, whatever else comes to hand. It does keep a lot of the dirt off of my hands and out from under my nails. It's also less painful to handle cacti, agaves and other spiny things wearing a heavy pair of gloves.

Still, if I do end up bare- and muddy-handed, I've found that any facial scrub is about the best, gentlest, most thorough hand cleaner out there. Facial scrub works better than Lava soap and it's not as harsh. I follow up with hand lotion, natch.

Bag balm "udder ointment" is good, but like stated earlier, somewhat greasy. I like Zim's Crack creme.. Found it at Walgreens, yellow tube. Very good stuff. My kids saw it in the bathroom and were almost afraid to ask what I was doing with it! lol

Just curious....has anybody here tried Pharmacopia's stuff?

Hands down. chuckle. It has to be Vaseline Intensive Care - Advanced Healing. Being a retired nurse, gardener and artist with hands in turpentine all the time, I need the best - it even helped when my fingers would crack in the winter from all the washing as a nurse.
jan

Bag Balm worked pretty well for me ... until my skin developed an allergy to it and broke out in blisters! Eek. Now I use Eucerin cream, which is very hydrating and fragrance free.

I like anything with Vasoline and also T Joe's Gardeners Hand Cream. But my all-time favorite is Caswell-Massey's Olive Oil with Orange Blossom. It goes on very smoothly, is not greasy, and nothing has left my hands feeling softer for a longer time. The fragrance is incredible. However, at $18 for 6.7 oz., it's not cheap! It was a gift from my DH. Don't know if I'd pay that myself.

Corn Huskers lotion, about $2-3 for a good sized bottle. Available most everywhere.

I like Jergen's for extra dry skin (I think that's what it's called). It has a pleasant scent and doesn't feel greasy to me.

I Use Borax to clean my hands and a nail brush from Lee Valley ( $1.20 for three) to clean my nails. For creams I use Arnica Daily Hand Cream and Arnica Restorative Hand Balm from Yves Rocher.My hands are as smooth as a babys bottom.

If you slather your hands with lots of olive oil then put on rubber gloves then wash the dishes in hot water, your hands will be perfectly soft when you remove the gloves. The hot water really allows the oil to sink in. I keep an inexpensive bottle of olive oil near the sink just for this.

My favorite lotion is hard to find. Spichter and Co. One scent is Flowering Legumes and another is Sugar Snap Peas. They both have a very fresh scent.

Does anyone know where I can find this brand - maybe mail order?

I bought mine while in Door County, Wisconsin, but its a long subway ride from NY :)

I have to agree with ladygoat, I like Eucerin also-the Calming cream is very hydrating. I also have a tube of Crabtree and Evelyn Gardeners Hand Therapy that I splurged on that is really nice, but was not cheap.
I never used to wear gloves in the garden, but after finding 2 black widows hiding under a geranuim, I do now and that helps not only (hopefully) protect me from a nasty bug bite, but also keeps my hands from really drying out.

Bonbon N K S, that is totally hilarious! May have to get some myself if only to have it on display in a discrete spot in my bathroom, so that I can delight and dismay any guests.

cranebill

flowersandthings,

Any of the Palmer's products, whether shea or cocoa butter-based, are excellent! Get 'em! I find the cocoa butter formulas a little mer effective for soothing one's garden hands than the shea butter ones. A little greasier, but man do they do the job of soothing and healing! I've had scratches and small cuts literally disappear overnight with a liberal application of the solid formula with Vitamin E. They have also developed some lotions that are lighter and less greasy, but they are somewhat less effective at healing.

I still use the Aubrey's products, which I described in my post above, but now I reserve them for face, feet and select areas in between. But since I discovered Palmer's last year, I no longer squander my hard-earned bucks by using it for my gardening hands. And it is way cost-effective in comparison to Aubrey's! I suggest you go with the Palmer's, and predict you'll never go back.

Please note that I almost never use exclamation marks in my postings. In this one? Four, count 'em - four! Five.

cranebill

what is " industrial strength barrier cream " mentioned above Posted by: Vetivert8 on Tue, Dec 14, 04 at 1:45

Gardeners's Secret, it contains Vitamins A,D, AND E and smells heavenly.

I use a prescription steroid lotion because I have chronic problems from a rheumatoid arthritis condition. Seems to be the only way to keep it under control.

I don't know how anyone could "love Bag Balm!" I used it "for the purpose intended" many years ago on the farm. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

My wife has tried many of the lotions suggested but swears by O'Keeffe's Working Hands Creme. It has gotten a little hard to find locally but is easily available online.

Steve

>The BEST hand lotion I have found is lanolin...the non-water kind...

I agree with Maggie. I've tried everything and this actually lasts more than a minute.

Lanolin is the oily secretion from the skin of sheep that becomes trapped in the wool. When the sheep is shorn each year (the sheep�s hair cut) the wool is washed, processed and the lanolin is extracted.

The oils of lanolin are extremely similar to those natural oils we secrete from our own skin. This makes the product very effective, completely natural and has the added feature of not hurting or harming the animals that we get it from.

Aveda Hands Relief. It's expensive, but it works for me

100% shea butter from L'Occitane - it's also expensive but well worth the investment as it is the only thing that heals my dry, cracked knuckles. My DH always buys some for me at Christmas!

my favorite hand lotion after gardening is Avon Oatmeal lotion. I tend to get dry itchy hands with redness & the oatmeal really helps soften and relieve the itch.

Hands down (no pun intended!) my favorite is Awakening HANDS. I found out about it on TV (local station in California where I live) and I've been absolutely addicted ever since. It's made with Dead Sea minerals. It's REALLY different than any other hand cream I've tried. It's not greasy AT ALL. There is one Tack Shop near where I live that carries it, but I think you have to probably get it on their website. Totally worth it!

I've had good luck with many different brands & types-

it seems like the key or common ingredients are

shea butter (miraculous)
goat's milk
lanolin
vitamins A & E
aloe

I've had excellent results using aloe straight from the plant for a lot of problems other than burns.

Last week I had an insect bite that turned red, got chapped, flaked, & *itched* like fire.

I tried every single remedy in the medicine cabinet with no effect, & then...
I accidentally broke off an aloe vera leaf.

Figuring I didn't have anything to lose, I squeezed the fluid onto the spot & the itch stopped immediately & the place started to heal.