I like to call it Elephant Hands. Matt does not believe this is a real thing, but it SO is. The skin on my hands gets really dry and hard and painful, and if I don't moisturize enough, it starts to crack and bleed. The dryness makes me itch, which leaves my hands all red and blotchy. Horribly unattractive.
You'd think that after years of this, I'd have learned to start moisturizing well before it gets cold, but ... well, this is Texas. You never know if the cold is here to stay. So here are the products I use to keep my hands feeling soothed and soft.
Gold Bond Ultimate Healing
This is my #1 winter product. It's Matt's least favorite thing ever, as he is totally grossed out by lotions, especially the sound it makes as I apply it. Every night before bed, I squirt a ton of it onto my hands and feet, and then I put on socks so it'll continue to soak in all night. (I don't put on gloves, though I suppose I could and that would make my hands feel even nicer!)
I've tried their hand creams, foot creams and standard formula, and they're all basically the same to me. Though I like their hand cream in particular just for the fact that it that if you have to get up in the middle of the night, it doesn't all rinse off when you wash your hands.
Bath and Body Works Body Cream
As a child of the '90s, I received many a gift basket from Bath and Body Works for various birthdays and Christmases. (My favorite scent ever was Strawberry Lemonade, which they only produced for a couple of seasons and then discontinued. Boo.) While I'm not crazy about their body lotions that comes in the little rectangular bottle (they absorb too quickly and leave your skin feeling dry again), their body creams that come in the tube are fantastic. They soak in fairly quickly so you're not stuck with sticky hands, but they also make your hands feel relieved instead of dry again. Throughout high school and college, I always kept a giant tube in my car so I could apply on my way to work or class.
Mary Kay Satin Hands
This stuff just feels nice. It's like giving yourself a manicure without having to pay a tech. The hand scrub has grainy stuff in it to exfoliate dead skin, which feels awesome. You apply cream afterwards, and the whole process feels totally luxurious. The kits come with a hand softener, hand scrub and hand cream, and comes in both peach and unscented varieties.
What are your favorite winter skin products?
None of these companies paid me. But they should, because I will shout this stuff from the rooftops all winter long.
I didn't know I suffered from Elephant hands, but I'm so glad there is a name for it! I get this every year, and it was really bad when both of my boys were still in diapers, since I was washing my hands every five seconds all day long. I really like Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, and my mom got me some of Aerin by Estee Lauder's hand cream, and that works well, too. I'm trying to get better about drying my hands completely after I wash them, and then I put hand cream on before bed. I can tell that my Elephant Hands are not as bad this year, though they are still dry.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get better about putting on lotion throughout the day and not just before bed or in the car. I keep a little bottle on my desk now so I can reapply!
DeleteUgh--I can't stand how dry it is in the winter, too! My face gets so itchy, my lips crack all the time...I'm not nearly as good about remembering lotion as I should be. I'm not super particular about brands, but Angel usually has some strawberry body butter from the Body Shop around--that does smell pretty good! It's crazy expensive but I just wait on their rare 50% off sales for a slightly better deal.
ReplyDeleteI totally get elephant hands in the winter! I drink lots of water and use whatever lotion I have on hand, usually Neutrogena or Jergens.
ReplyDeleteHa! Elephant hands. So true. I LOVE B&BW hand creams!
ReplyDeleteOuch ouch ouch! My best friend is like that... she ALWAYS has a tube of lotion with her, no matter where she goes!
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